NFL Player News

The Bears signed running back Daniel Thomas and safety Sherrod Martin on Thursday, the team announced.

Thomas rushed for 168 yards on 44 attempts last season for the Dolphins, while Martin picked off one pass in 13 games for the Jaguars last season.

Jaguars running back Storm Johnson says he expects to be back at practice on Thursday after suffering a back injury on Wednesday, per Jacksonville.com.

“I went to get treatment and got it all back together so it’s good,’’ Johnson said.

“I wouldn’t call it a setback,’’ he said. “It got the best of me today. I’ll be ready to go back Thursday (for the final day of mini-camp).’’

An ankle injury prevented Redskins running back Silas Redd from practicing Wednesday, reports The Washington Post. The injury is considered minor.

Jaguars running back Storm Johnson was forced to exit Wednesday's practice early after experiencing tightness in his back, reports the Associated Press.

Johnson ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns in 29 attempts last season.

Cowboys running back Darren McFadden is finally healthy, per The Dallas Morning News.

McFadden, who has been injury prone throughout his career, declared he is injury free and ready to take part in the Cowboys' offseason practices.

“I’m 100 percent and ready to go play ball,” McFadden said. “It felt great. We were just taking precautions, they didn’t want me to mess it up or anything crazy. Just being out there today, it felt great. I was out there running, opening up and just trying to do what I can do.”

McFadden says he's ready to take on whatever role the Cowboys present him with. The team is in need of filling the void left behind by last year's league-leading rusher DeMarco Murray.

“Whatever they ask me to do, I feel up to it,” McFadden said. “I’m just going out here and working hard. Whatever it is that they decide they want, that’s how I’m going to roll.”

Redskins rookie running back Matt Jones has been very impressive during organized team activities and minicamp, and he wants everyone to know he'd like to be the top guy at running back, per The Washington Post.

“I’m just grinding every day to be the starter,” he said. “I will put some pressure on Alfred [Morris].”

Jones, a third-round pick out of Florida, has been working on his receiving and pass-protection skills in order to truly challenge Morris for the top running back spot on the roster.

The workload for Cowboys new running back Darren McFadden seems destined to be ramping up at minicamp, per the team website.

Jason Garrett has declared that McFadden might get a bit more work as his strained hamstring is healing.

McFadden spent his first seven seasons with Oakland, where he exceeded 1,000 yards rushing just once and was generally considered a disappointment.

Browns running back coach Wilbert Montgomery has expressed optimism in regard to his backfield after a 2014 season in which friction revolving around free agent addition Ben Tate became toxic.

Tate was waived in November after losing carries to rookies Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell.

"[Tate] came in early and they paid him [free agent] money to come here so he felt he was 'the guy' and the other guys were in his way," Montgomery told the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "Everybody [now] is out relaxing and playing.

"It was bad. They would get into it, you know, in the locker room, just having words, and in the meeting room, and it takes away from what you are doing out on the field. It becomes a distraction. It's a serious thing, it's a hard thing, but then you have to move on like we did and let these young guys grow."

The competition should be heated again this year with the addition of third-rounder Duke Johnson, but Montgomery is claiming that in 2015 there are no personality clashes.

Tate has yet to find a team for this season.

Cowboys new running back Darren McFadden has grown impatient about his strained hamstring that has prevented him from joining his teammates in OTAs.

He hopes to participate at least a bit in minicamp next week, but he remains rankled.

"It's definitely frustrating," he told ESPN. "You always want to be out there taking plays and getting reps, but it's one of those things I'd rather sit out now instead of pushing it and have something linger on me."

McFadden signed a two-year contract with Dallas and could receive the bulk of the carries given the loss of DeMarco Murray to Philadelphia. He has worked some individual drills the last two weeks, but not in 7-on-7 activity.

Chiefs running back Knile Davis might be lacking in logic, but not in confidence. And one should not expect him to be accepting of the notion that his team can't afford to rest star backfield mate Jamaal Charles once the regular season rolls around.

Davis has claimed to be every bit the talent. "I don't feel like there's a gap," he told ESPN.com.

Never mind that Charles has averaged 5.5 yards per carry over seven seasons and that Davis has managed 3.5 YPC in 205 career attempts. The latter is at least realistic about his current status.

"He's the starter. It's his time. I'm waiting (until) my time," Davis said. He added that he does not doubt Charles can fulfull his goal to play another six seasons.