NFL Player News

Colts running back Trent Richardson, who was questionable with an illness, is active for Sunday's playoff game against the Bengals. He'll continue to back up Dan Herron.

All the Colts who were probable on the injury report also are active. The list includes wideout Reggie Wayne (groin), tight end Dwayne Allen (knee), linebacker Jerrell Freeman (hamstring), guard Joe Reitz (ankle), linebacker Erik Walden (knee) and linebacker Bjoern Werner (shoulder).

Indy is a 3.5-point home favorite.

Ravens running back Justin Forsett had 16 carries for just 36 yards and a fumble in Saturday's 30-17 win over the Steelers. 

Forsett struggled to get going in the game, with a long run of 14 yards. Backup Bernard Pierce got the nod on the goal line and converted for a 5-yard touchdown.

Forsett also had a costly turnover when he fumbled in the third quarter, which led to a Pittsburgh touchdown. 

The Ravens will look to get the running game going in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Patriots next week.

Cardinals running backs Kerwynn Williams, Stepfan Taylor, Marion Grice and Robert Hughes could do little to nothing in Arizona's 27-16 loss to the Panthers Saturday. Arizona's running backs had 15 carries for 27 yards and one touchdown in defeat.

Grice had just one carry for one yard and a touchdown. It was initally called a fumble on the field, with the ball popping out as Grice stretched for the end zone. However, it was overturned and called a touchdown.

The Cardinals have been unable to get anything going on the ground the past few weeks, averaging 1.86 yards per carry in Arizona's last two outings.

Colts running back Trent Richardson was unable to practice on Friday because of an illness. He was officially listed as questionable for Sunday's wild-card clash against the Bengals, according to the team's official website.

Richardson rushed for 519 yards and three touchdowns on 159 attempts, the most he's compiled since his rookie season with the Browns. If he is unable to play, the team will likely shift to Dan Herron and No. 3 back Zurlon Tipton to handle all running back duties.

The Colts opened as a 6-point home favorite. The line has dropped to 3 points as of Friday, per VegasInsider.com.

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco confirmed the team will bring back running back Donald Brown, who is under contract for one more season. Brown ran 85 times for 223 yards, averaging a career-low 2.6 yards per carry, and caught 29 passes for 211 yards.

He did not score.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he plans to get receiver Cordarrelle Patterson a personal instructor to work with this offseason, reports ESPN.com. Zimmer would not name the instructor, a former player.

"He's somebody that I trust, somebody that I think would be a great influence for [Patterson]," Zimmer said.

Patterson caught 33 passes for 384 yards and a touchdown in a highly disappointing second season.

Following a promising rookie season, Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson had a disappointing campaign in 2014. He now heads into the offseason looking to improve, with his eye on bouncing back in 2015.

"It wasn’t the year I wanted, like I had last year," Patterson said, per The Star Tribune. "I feel like last year was a good year for me and I felt like I was going to come back and capitalize off that. Week 1, you know, things was good. But after that, it just started going downhill. I blame myself for everything. I need to just take full advantage of the offseason and get better."

Patterson has no specific goals for the offseason, but he does have an idea of what he wants to accomplish.

"I just want to work with Matt [Cassel] and Teddy [Bridgewater] and whoever in the offseason, just pick those boys’ brain and talk to [Norv] Turner and [Mike] Zimmer and see how he wants things done in this offense and just take full advantage of this four months or whatever," he said. "Just take advantage and just try to learn the offense more than I already know and, like I said, just take advantage of it."

Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon, who missed the final five games of the season with a lower back injury, said he is feeling much better following surgery in early December and should be ready for the start of organized team activities in May, per ESPN. 

Running backs coach Kirby Wilson said Friday he feels McKinnon can be a featured back in the NFL, and he could be the team's primary running back in 2015, if Adrian Peterson doesn't return next season. 

"I can’t really say what’s going to happen," McKinnon said. "Nobody knows. It’s the NFL, things change. All I can do is work hard and come OTAs, come back out here and compete and show the coaches I can still do what I can."

McKinnon averaged 4.8 yards per carry as a rookie in 2014, totaling 538 rushing yards on 113 carries. He also had 27 catches for 135 yards, but he has no rushing or receiving touchdowns.

Broncos running back C.J. Anderson found the end zone three times Week 17 against the Raiders. 

Anderson finished second on the team with 13 carries, but wound up leading the way with 87 yards rushing. He broke off an 11 yard run in the first quarter for his first score of the game. His second touchdown came easier, as Anderson was able to plunge it in from 1 yard out. In the third quarter, Anderson put the finishing touches on his excellent game. He broke off a 25 yard scamper, finding the end zone for a third time. He also picked up two receptions for 20 yards.

Anderson has a bye next week. He's started the last six games for the club, and finishes the regular season with 849 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns. 

Raiders running back Latavius Murray found a way to make an impact despite a poor day on the ground.

Murray carried the ball 10 times for 37 yards. His longest run of the day went for just eight yards. While he wasn't much of a threat on the ground, Murray did have a nice game in the air. He led the club with four catches for 60 yards. He caught all four of his targets.

Murray got some run as the team's primary ball-carrier near the end of the season. Aside from a ridiculous game Week 12, where he gained 112 yards on just four carries, he failed to really establish himself as a future starter. Murray finished the year with 424 rushing yards on 82 attempts.