NFL Player News

Jones (shoulder) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game against the Steelers.

Jones, who is working his way back from a shoulder injury that he suffered in Washington's second preseason game, was listed as a full practice participant all week, and per ESPN.com has "said all along he plans to play" Monday, with Chris Thompson and Rob Kelley on hand to round out the team's backfield.

Head coach Pete Carroll said Friday that Michael will start Sunday's game against Miami, with Thomas Rawls coming off the bench, according to John Boyle of the Seahawks' official website.

While Carroll's quotes are far from reliable, there's a mounting pile of evidence that Thomas Rawls will be eased back into action, leaving Michael as the likely starter and lead back for Sunday's game against Miami. However, Carroll said Monday he wants Rawl to "carry the ball quite a bit", later adding that Rawls could get more work than expected if he looks good on his first few touches. Michael has a fantastic opportunity, but he may cede some passing-down work to C.J. Prosise, in addition to losing at least a few carries to Rawls.

Rawls (illness) returned to practice Friday, Curtis Crabtree of Sports Radio KJR reports.

The illness is a non-issue, as Rawls only missed one practice and said he already feels fine. The real concern is the uncertainty surrounding his Week 1 workload, with Sunday marking his first regular-season appearance since he suffered a devastating ankle injury in mid-December. While Rawls is expected to have some kind of role in Sunday's game, it seems increasingly likely Christine Michael will operate as the lead back. However, head coach Pete Carroll did suggest Rawls could get more touches if he impresses early on. According to John Boyle of the Seahawks' official website, Carroll said Friday that Michael will start against the Dolphins.

Pead (hamstring) is considered questionable to play Sunday against the Seahawks, the Miami Herald reports

Pead was limited earlier in the week, but has since completed his first full practice since tweaking his hamstring a couple of weeks ago. As a result, Pead seems to be trending in the right direction, which comes as good news for the Dolphins, who left No. 2 tailback Jay Ajayi (coach's decision) home for their trip to Seattle. While Pead's game-time status remains to be seen, Miami also has Damien Williams and rookie Kenyan Drake around to back up starter Arian Foster come Sunday.

Davis will be in uniform for Sunday's season opener against the Chargers, ESPN's Adam Teicher reports.

Davis, who was previously reported to be on the trading block, is primarily expected to handle kick return duties Sunday, but his anticipated active status seems to confirm that starting running back Jamaal Charles (knee) is destined to be ruled out. As a result, there's a chance Davis could see some spare snaps at tailback, even though Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware are expected to handle to bulk of the workload in Charles' absence.

Offensive coordinator Sean McVay said Friday he expects to see "a good rotation" of Kelley, Matt Jones and Chris Thompson at running back.

As recently as a few days ago it appeared Kelley, an undrafted rookie, might have a shot to lead the Washington backfield in Week 1 and take on a heavy workload. With Matt Jones logging a full practice Thursday and Chris Thompson not even on the injury report, Kelley is instead poised to open his career in a reserve role, though it sounds as if he could still get some carries. Considering Thompson is almost exclusively used on passing downs and in the two-minute offense, Kelley is the preferred handcuff to Jones, who has yet to prove his worth as a lead back.

McKinnon (foot) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game in Tennessee.

McKinnon was limited at Wednesday's practice and absent from Thursday's, but head coach Mike Zimmer said Friday that the running back should be fine for the regular-season opener. According to Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune, McKinnon returned to practice Friday, which supports Zimmer's optimistic stance. Considering Adrian Peterson is healthy, McKinnon is unlikely to get many carries if he does in fact play, though he does figure to receive most of the snaps on passing downs.

Jones (shoulder) was a full participant in Friday's practice.

Jones also practiced in full Thursday, so it appears he'll be fine to suit up Monday night versus Pittsburgh. That said, Jones has yet to be hit since suffering his separated shoulder during the Redskins' second preseason game, The Washington Post reports. As a result, it'll be worthwhile to see how he handles taking hits during Monday's game. If he's at all impacted by the contact, Rob Kelley and Chris Thompson would figure to see their respective snap counts expanded. Offensive coordinator Sean McVay said Friday that he expects to use a "good rotation" of all three running backs, hinting that Kelley could poach some of Jones' early-down snaps.

Williams (ribs, questionable) was a full participant in Friday's practice and is expected to be available for Sunday's season opener against the Ravens.

Williams practiced in full the past three days, so the ailment doesn't appear likely to hinder him going into this weekend. Rather, a Bills backfield that already includes starter LeSean McCoy, Mike Gillislee and Reggie Bush could impact Williams' status against the Ravens. If Williams is active for Week 1, expectations for the rookie's level of involvement should probably be low.

Grimes is listed third on Houston's first depth chart of the regular season.

Grimes appeared to be in danger of missing out on the final roster, but his pass-catching ability seems to have bought him at least one more year. His role probably won't expand beyond three or four touches a game, unless Lamar Miller suffers an injury. If that were to happen, Alfred Blue would likely get most of the early-down work, with Grimes and/or Tyler Ervin handling passing downs. Blue is the preferred Miller handcuff, but none of the bunch offers much upside.