NFL Player News

Abdullah (shoulder) will be ready for the start of training camp, which kicks off Friday, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

The Lions will place a trio of players on the preseason PUP list -- WR Corey Fuller (foot), TE Brandon Pettigrew (knee), and OT Corey Robinson (undisclosed) -- but Abdullah has avoided such an honor. Alas, Abdullah's recovery from offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum has followed the intended path, which should afford him every opportunity to solidify himself as the clear-cut No. 1 back. His rookie campaign was a roller-coaster ride, to say the least, yet he still finished with respectable output, namely 4.2 yards per carry and 25 receptions on 38 targets in 16 games.

Richardson (knee) will begin training camp on the PUP list, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports.

This is an unsurprising move as the 25-year-old Richardson underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in late June, and was expected to miss several weeks as a result. The third pick in the 2012 draft is hoping to find new life in Baltimore this season, but will need to get back on the field to earn his way into the mix.

Elliott was accused of domestic violence by a former girlfriend Friday morning, but the rookie running back has denied the allegations, ESPN.com reports.

Elliott was accused of assaulting the woman in a parked car early Friday morning, while four witnesses in addition to Elliott have denied any sort of domestic violence took place. Elliott was not arrested nor charged with a crime, but the league will likely look deeper into the issue. More information should become available in the near future.

Helu (hip) may have to compete for a roster spot, according to ESPN's Paul Guiterrez.

The Raiders already appear to have three roster locks at running back, with incumbent starter Latavius Murray joined by fifth-round rookie DeAndre Washington and kick returner Taiwan Jones. The team could opt to keep four RBs on the roster, but even so, Helu might have to fend off George Atkinson and rookie UDFA Jalen Richard. After playing just nine games in his first season with Oakland, the 27-year-old Helu missed the entire offseason program while recovering from hip surgery. Head coach Jack Del Rio does expect Helu to be available for training camp.

McKinnon could see an increased role in the passing game during 2016, the Vikings' official site reports.

The third-year tailback recorded just 27 and 21 receptions during his first and second seasons, respectively, but was noticeably more involved in Minnesota's offensive attack during the final five weeks of 2015. Across said stretch, McKinnon corralled at least three balls on three separate occasions. Prior to that, McKinnon had gathered just eight receptions across 11 total games. With fellow RB Adrian Peterson the unquestioned centerpiece of this offense, McKinnon may not see many more opportunities on the ground than he did last year (52), but if he can remain as involved in the passing game as he was to end the 2015 campaign, McKinnon could conceivably surpass 100 total touches in 2016, should he stay healthy.

Joining Drake (hamstring) and Jay Ajayi in the Miami backfield is veteran Arian Foster (Achilles), who signed with the team Monday, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Drake, who the report describes as "a talented pass-catcher but unproven downhill runner," now faces added competition for touches in the Miami offense, with his fantasy upside taking a hit due to the fact that a (presumably) healthy Foster is a candidate to earn a good chunk of both carries and catches in the Dolphins' 2016 backfield.

Rodgers will have an opportunity to see work on third down, as the Bears could employ a running back by committee approach, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Rodgers could parlay his past experience as a third-down back into a role he can hold onto for "a while". After Jeremy Langford struggled with dropped passes last year, and as he tries to improve in pass protection, Rodgers will have an opportunity to get into the mix on third down if he's able to earn it during training camp.

Carey will work with running backs coach Stan Drayton during training camp to try to become a more versatile player, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Bears' staff wants Carey to become tougher and more energetic so that he becomes a more complete back. He'll have a great opportunity to carve out a role, as head coach John Fox wants to limit the workload of his running backs while employing the hot hand approach. With no player in the backfield seeming to have a death grip on any particular role, Carey can force his way into the mix with a strong training camp.

"All indications" suggest Murray will be a bell cow back for the Raiders in 2016, the team's official site reports.

Murray assumed lead-back duties for the first time in his career during 2015, but his increased workload led to a precipitous drop in his efficiency, as his YPC fell from 5.2 in 2014 to 4.0 this past year. Nonetheless, Murray was the first Raiders tailback to top 1,000 yards on the ground since 2010, management only added competition for Murray in the form of rookie scatback DeAndre Washington, and the offensive line in Oakland only became an even more formidable unit with the offseason addition of G Kelechi Osemele. To boot, the growing rapport between third-year QB Derek Carr and second-year WR Amari Cooper could force defensive attention away from the running game in general.

Williams was arrested and charged with DWI on Thursday and will have a hearing later in the morning, KATV.com in Little Rock reports.

The Bills can't be happy with their running back corps right about now. LeSean McCoy, while cleared, was investigated for an offseason brawl that saw some off-duty cops get injured; Karlos Williams showed up to camp looking like a midnight stop at Dunkin' Donuts was part of his offseason routine; and now Williams, a rookie with high hopes to have a key role, is suspected of drunk driving.