NFL Player News

Cardinals running back Kerwynn Williams sat out practice Monday with a hamstring injury. Bruce Arians told ESPN that the ailment could keep him sidelined all week.

Williams finally earned a shot last season Arizona, his third team in three years. He rushed for 246 yards and a 4.6 per-carry average.

Buccaneers running back Doug Martin isn't ready for a change of scenery.

Martin, who is entering his fourth year in the league, doesn't want the Bucs' decision to not pick up his fifth-year option to mean he's done in Tampa, per The Tampa Tribune.

“I have my own house here now and I’m just now fixing up the backyard,’’ Martin said. “It’s almost finished, so I would really love to be back here. I love this place.’’

The move not to pick up the option was largely based off finances. Martin was slated to make $5.6 million during the fifth year, which was a hefty price-tag for a guy who has been injury riddled his last two seasons.

“It didn’t surprise me,’’ he said. “And I don’t want to say, you know, ‘Whatever,’ because it’s something that just comes along with the business end of things. It’s part of the game. Besides, if I do everything that’s under my control, everything will fall into place the way I want it to."

Martin has rushed for fewer than 500 yards in consecutive seasons after posting an astounding rookie season, when he rushed for 1,454 and 11 touchdowns.

Eagles running back DeMarco Murray and his former teammate Joseph Randle have an interesting back-and-forth going on, per csnphilly.com.

Randle, who backed up Murray as he lead the NFL in rushing, has recently said Murray "left a lot of meat on the bone" last year. 

Murray rushed for 1,845 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, helping the Cowboys become one of the most potent offenses in the league.

"Hopefully he can taste some of that meat this year," Murray said of his former teammate.“They’re a good team. Hopefully he can get a chance to run behind that line and do some good things. But I’m not worried about it. I didn’t hear about it until now. It’s not a big deal.”

The Cowboys will use a multi-running back system with Randle leading the way. He rushed for 343 yards and three touchdowns as Murray's backup last year.

With the Cowboys just beginning their organized team activities this week, running back Darren McFadden said he just wants to concentrate on becoming familiar with the team, reports the team's official website.

"For me, I'm just going out there grinding," he said. "However the coaches put me out there – whether it's first team or second team. When it comes time for them to make a decision, it's totally up to them. I'm just trying to get that playbook down and take advantage of this opportunity."

McFadden is competing with Joseph Randle to be the first-team running back, and he said he just wants to work hard and not worry about how many repetitions he's receiving with the first team.

"Once you've been in a place so long like Oakland, you can get set in your ways," McFadden said Wednesday, after his second OTA practice with the Cowboys. "Coming out here and being around guys that work so hard, it just brings out the best in you. It's something I look forward to."

With last season's leading rusher no longer on the team, Cowboys running back Joseph Randle said he can replace the 1,845 rushing yards DeMarco Murray produced last season, reports The Dallas Morning News.

"He had a good year last year, and I got to sit back and watch a lot," Randle said, "and I felt like there was a lot of meat left on the bone."

Randle did get first-team reps during Wednesday's OTA session and he said he's ready to handle a heavy workload this season.

"I'm going to try to go out there and grind as hard as I can and see which role I end up in," Randle said. "If they ask me to do that, I'm ready for it. And if they believe in me, I believe in myself, that’s for sure."

Randle has been arrested twice in the last year, but he said he's learned from his mistakes.

"Everything you go through in life you learn from it and I learned from it and I've moved past it. I've grown up," Randle said. "I've made some young and silly mistakes, but I'm moving forward."

Mike Zimmer has expressed optimism that underachieving Vikings wideout Cordarrelle Patterson is gaining a better understanding of route-running and the nuances of playing the position in the NFL, which would allow his talent to result in greater productivity.

Patterson took a step back in 2014 after a mediocre rookie year. He played in every game, but managed just 33 receptions for 384 yards and one touchdown. He has since stated that 2015 is his make-or-break year and is apparently acting like it in the offseason.

"He's done real well," Zimmer told Fox Sports North. "He's running routes good. He's working hard. So we just need him to continue to do those things and continue to keep getting consistent and keep improving. I've been impressed."

The Cowboys are in the market for another running back with Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle as their top three guys at the moment. 

Therefore, Dallas could be looking to add another. According to The Baltimore Sun and National Football Post's Aaron Wilson, the Cowboys worked out running back Daniel Thomas on Thursday. 

Thomas was with the Dolphins the previous four years and totaled 1,480 career yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. The Cowboys also worked out Ben Tate and Felix Jones. 

The Cowboys have far more to consider than talent on the field in regard to the possible featured back status of Joseph Randle.

Randle could earn that distinction with DeMarco Murray gone, but his recent arrests on shoplifting and drug charges have given the team much more to think about.

"I think Joe really has to make sure he takes care of everything on and off the field," running backs coach Gary Brown told the Dallas Morning News. "We want to trust Joe, we like Joe, but we want to make sure he's going to be with us at all times.

"I think he's maturing up and he's getting better and he understands the opportunity he has in front of him and I think he'll take full advantage. I think those days are behind him and we're looking forward to working with Joe. ... He and I have sat down and had one-on-one conversations about his future and I think he wants to go in the right direction."

Randle, would could face discipline from the NFL for his indescretions, averaged an impressive 6.7 yards per carry last season.

The Panthers have announced the signing of fifth-round running back Cameron Artis-Payne. Only second-rounder David Funchess remains unsigned among their 2015 draftees.

Artis-Payne thrived in his last season at Auburn, rushing for 1,608 yards on 303 carries and scoring 13 touchdowns. But his per-carry average fell from 6.7 in 2013 to 5.3.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has declared that the presence of Darren McFadden is the reason his team did not draft a running back despite having lost stud DeMarco Murray to the rival Eagles.

McFadden signed a two-year deal with Dallas. It calls for just $200,000 in guaranteed money, but could be worth as much as $5.85 million, per ESPN.

The scatback has been a disappointment in the NFL. In seven years with Oakland, he exceeded 1,000 yards rushing just once and has 25 touchdowns. He has not averaged more than 3.4 yards per carry since 2011, but the change of scenery and far better surrounding offensive talent could give his career a jump-start.

At least Jones believes so.

"McFadden made a big difference here," he said. "His availability - make no bones about it - we didn't know that McFadden was going to be available when we initially started to think about this year and in our decision regarding that. ... It might have been a little different story had we not had McFadden on our roster in this draft."