NFL Player News

Randle (oblique) didn't practice Wednesday, Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News reports.

During Sunday's loss at the Giants, Randle came down with what was initially termed a strained lower back, but the Cowboys diagnosed the running back with an oblique in the aftermath of the game. Leaving the game early allowed reserve Darren McFadden to get a head of steam, and when the play clock hit zeroes, he had accrued 29 carries for 152 yards. Head coach Jason Garrett stated Wednesday that McFadden has earned the right to start Sunday against the Seahawks, no matter the health of Randle. In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Cowboys haven't been opposed to making sweeping changes from week-to-week, but Randle's relevance is clearly on the downswing at the moment.

Cowboys veteran running back Darren McFadden has been named the starter for Sunday versus the Seahawks, per Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas.

McFadden arrived in the offseason to compete with Joseph Randle, but the holdover was afforded the first-team reps to this point in the season. In Week 7, though, Randle sustained an oblique injury that forced McFadden into action. He didn't disappoint, toting the rock a whopping 29 times for 152 yards and gaining the confidence of Jason Garrett, who said that he'll be the preferred back no matter the health of Randle.

If McFadden earns a similar volume of touches, another 100-yard outing could be in the offing, even against a Seahawks defense that has contained running backs this season (3.6 yards per carry and two total touchdowns allowed).

Jones was on the field for 46 snaps while Alfred Morris saw only 10 in Sunday's win against the Bucs.

While the team has struggled to run the ball since Week 2, Jones appears to be the lead back when healthy.

Redskins fading running back Alfred Morris, while still technically the starter, played only 10 snaps in the Sunday win over Tampa Bay.

Matt Jones, on the other hand, saw 45 snaps. While Morris has the starter label it's clear he is behind Matt Jones.

Sims was on the field for 23 snaps in the Week 7 loss to the Redskins, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Sims had a productive outing overall considering his relatively limited playing time. However, he curiously only received two of his 10 carries in the second half. Sims also had the untimeliest of fumbles on his second reception in the game's final drive, snuffing out any hopes of a game-winning field goal attempt by Connor Barth. Despite the turnover, Sims continues to be an important cog of the Bucs offense, and should continue to see 20-25 snaps per game at a minimum.

Martin tallied 40 snaps in Week 7,Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Martin was once again the workhorse of the Bucs' backfield, outsnapping backup Charles Sims by 17 plays. After a two-week stretch where he and Sims were neck-and-neck in terms of playing time, Martin's stellar performances over the last two games in particular have garnered him the bulk of the action in the backfield.

Ellington rushed for 21 yards on five carries and added 28 yards on three catches in Monday's win over Baltimore.

Monday's eight touches were Ellington's most since returning to the lineup in Week 5. The game also coincided with Chris Johnson's largest rushing yardage tally of the season. After trailing Ellington in carries in Week 1, Johnson emerged as the team's featured back in his absence and hasn't relinquished the title over the past three weeks. Barring injury, Ellington does not appear to be a threat to Johnson's stanglehold on the job and his size and running style do not make him an obvious candidate to vulture touchdowns.

Bolden (hamstring) was a limited participant in Tuesday's practice.

Bolden has been limited at both practice sessions the Patriots have held this week, and he will have just one more day to recover before the Patriots take the field Thursday against the Dolphins. Bolden was inactive last week, and it remains to be seen if he will return to action in Week 8.

Although he stopped short of naming McFadden his new starting running back, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett did indicate that the veteran would get more touches going forward, DallasCowboys.com reports. "I thought he was outstanding," Garrett said. "I think anybody who watched the game had to have been impressed by his performance. You saw him run inside, you saw him run off tackle and you saw him run outside. He made a lot of big plays in the game, he had a lot of dirty runs in the game. Just really, really played a complete football game and that's a well as we've run the football all year long and we have to continue to build on that."

Joseph Randle was sidelined Sunday by a re-occurrence of an oblique injury that he initially suffered in the preseason, and if he's unable to go in Week 8, McFadden would be in line for another big workload. If Randle is healthy enough to play though, expect a timeshare once again between them, although McFadden could be the one seeing the greater share of carries.

McKinnon had nine carries for 36 yards and one reception for one yard in Sunday's win over Detroit.

McKinnon played a season-high 15 snaps on offense as the Vikings made it a point to give Adrian Peterson more rest after dealing with an illness. McKinnon has barely been a factor in the offense and Sunday's game may not indicate a major change.