NFL Player News

Jets running back Chris Johnson has had a pretty quiet October. He has totaled just 10 carries for 33 yards and two receptions for no gain in two games.

Though, it's not like Johnson has been a workhorse back all season. He has just 51 carries through six games. Despite Johnson's limited touches, the Jets still rank 12th in rushing offense (121.2 rushing yards per game) and Johnson hopes offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg will stick with the running game despite a 1-5 start.

"We’ve got to run the ball to put something out there," Johnson said, per NJ.com. "We haven’t been able to run the ball. It starts with opportunities. We’ve just got to stick with it. We can’t go away from it. We’ve just got to stick with it and it’ll come around.

"It’s frustrating, but I can only take advantage of the opportunities that I get. And there haven’t been many. That’s a battle that I can’t fight. I can only take advantage of the opportunities that I’m getting. I’ve just got to deal with it in that sense of mind."

Rams coach Jeff Fisher indicated he's leaning toward using all three of his running backs moving forward. Asked about a committee approach featuring Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham and rookie Tre Mason, Fisher told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "I have no problem with that. Nope."

In Monday's loss to the 49ers, Fisher added, "we were rolling all three of them."

Mason's 24-yard burst up the middle was the team's first run of at least 20 yards this season. "I liked the way he handled his first opportunity and made some explosive plays," Fisher said of the third-round pick, who was active for the first time this season.

The Cowboys will not suspend running back Joseph Randle after he was arrested on a shoplifting charge Monday, ESPNDallas.com reports.

Randle will receive a fine, but the team has decided not to further punish the running back. The charge, which is a Class B misdemeanor, is for shoplifting cologne and underwear from a Dillard's in Frisco, Tex.

The Patriots' Shane Vereen may seem like a strong candidate for a midseason breakout now that Stevan Ridley is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL, but it's not like he suddenly has all the carries to himself.

As I point out in my latest post to the Fantasy Football Today blog highlighting some of the biggest takeaways from Week 6, Brandon Bolden didn't touch the ball against the Bills until the fourth quarter, after Ridley left, and yet he still finished with more carries than Vereen. That's a pretty strong tell, I think. Vereen has his role in the Patriots offense, catching passes out of the backfield and getting the occasional change-of-pace carry, but the Patriots still want a grinder back there.

Though Bolden lacks experience, he's had success when he's gotten extensive playing time in the past. In the three games in which he's gotten double-digit carries in his career, he's averaged 5.8 yards per carry. He had 137 yards on a career-high 16 carries back in 2012.

Of course, he's no Ridley, and Vereen will probably get a larger share of the carries just because of that. But I'm guessing he won't get the majority, which makes me hesitant to start him Week 7 against the Jets.

Darren McFadden's performance Week 6 against San Diego was notable. Not only did he again stave off Maurice Jones-Drew, who played only 25 percent of the snaps in his second game back from minor hand surgery and carried only four times, but McFadden also ran for a season-high 80 yards against a defense that ranks ninth against the run.

McFadden hasn't exactly been a workhorse for the Raiders, but for the season he's averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He has been good enough to keep getting chances.

So does he deserve a second chance (or third or fourth) in Fantasy? That might be going a bit far. Given McFadden's injury history, the Raiders may never trust him to carry a full load and may gradually increase Jones-Drew's carries as he works his way back into form. Also, a big reason McFadden didn't get more carries in Jones-Drew's absence is because the 0-5 Raiders were so often playing from behind. That doesn't figure to change.

McFadden deserves to be owned in Fantasy because the opportunity is there for him to exceed expectations, but as things stand now, you probably shouldn't start him except as a bye-week replacement.

Zac Stacy's Fantasy value took another hit in Week 6 with the emergence of Tre Mason, who was active for the first time against the 49ers. Though the rookie played only about one-third of the snaps Stacy played and just 12 percent of the team's overall, he led the team in rushing, gaining 40 yards on five carries. The first run of his career, a 24-yard scamper in the first quarter, was longer than any of Stacy's 61 this season.

Of course, the Rams running back who saw the most action, playing 51 percent of the team's snaps, was Benny Cunningham, who had a modest showing, rushing seven times for 21 yards and a touchdown and catching two passes for 12 yards. Stacy actually led the Rams in carries with eight, but for only 17 yards.

Hoping to make sense of it? Good luck. The Rams' backfield is becoming a mess on par with the Saints' -- except in this case, you can't be completely sure any of the players are actually good.

I can say that Stacy didn't get a single touch after the 49ers took the lead in the second quarter, so the Rams may not think he's as suited for comeback mode as Cunningham. The problem is they don't figure to be leading many games.

I'm not ready to cut Stacy yet, but he's looking like a sit in Fantasy. Cunningham might be the preferred start, but he's a low-end one at that. Mason, the change-of-pace guy, can remain on waivers for now.

Jaguars rookie running back Storm Johnson was never supposed to get more than 10 carries in his first start Sunday at Tennessee. Coach Gus Bradley told the Florida Times-Union that "our whole intent was to get Storm 10 carries and he got 10 carries." Johnson ran for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Toby Gerhart missed the game with a foot injury. He'll be evaluated Wednesday.

Cowboys backup running back Joseph Randle was arrested Monday and charged with shoplifting about $80 worth of cologne and $40 in underwear from a Dillard's in Frisco, Tex., police told CBS 11 in Dallas/Forth Worth. The theft charge is a Class B misdemeanor.

Rams running back Benny Cunningham ran seven times for 21 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and caught both his targets for 12 yards in the loss to the 49ers. Cunningham scored for the second straight week.

He'll play the Seahawks in Week 7.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer seemed pleased Monday with rookie running back Jerick McKinnon, who made his first career start Week 6 vs. Detroit. McKinnon totaled 82 yards (40 rushing) in the 17-3 loss.

"Another bright spot I thought was Jerick McKinnon," Zimmer said during his Monday press conference, per the team's official website. "He does some things where he gets in space and he makes a lot of people miss. He has some explosiveness about him offensively and that’s a good thing."

Though, Zimmer did stop short of naming McKinnon the team's starting running back.

"I thought Jerick did a good job this week, so we will just continue to see where it’s at," Zimmer said.