NFL Player News

Browns coach Mike Pettine said rookie Terrance West will start at running back Week 2 against the Saints in place of Ben Tate, who will be sidelined due to a knee sprain. Pettine added Isaiah Crowell will be the backup running back.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said running back Bernard Pierce remains in the team's plans at running back, despite Pierce sitting the second half Week 1 against the Bengals after losing a fumble in the second quarter.

Harbaugh said Pierce's fumble opened the door for Justin Forsett, whose production against Cincinnati kept Pierce on the sideline after halftime.

"You don’t lose faith in a player because of a bad play," Harbaugh said, per ESPN. "Bernard is still on his way to becoming, I would say, a very good player, and I’ve been saying that all along. I have the utmost confidence in him. He’s going to fight and battle. He’s not going to be perfect -- none of us are -- but Bernard Pierce is a big part of what we’re doing, just as are Justin [and] Lorenzo [Taliaferro] as well."

Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians believes that knowing that his foot injury can't get any worse is important to help running back Andre Ellington play through the pain, azcardinals.com reports.

Ellington is unlikely to practice Wednesday, but he hopes to be on the field Thursday and Friday in advance of suiting up against the Giants Sunday. He gained 53 yards on 13 carries and 27 yards on five receptions in Week 1 while dealing with his foot issue.

Former 49ers running back LaMichael James passed through waivers unclaimed Tuesday, the Sacramento Bee reports.

James was a second-round pick in 2012, but the 49ers chose to part ways with the team's No. 3 running back. He's suffered an injury in each of his three offseasons with San Francisco.

The Colts have waived running back Zurlon Tipton, Colts.com reports. Tipton was inactive in Week 1 and became expendable after the signing of Dion Lewis.

The Cardinals signed running back Chris Rainey and corner Teddy Williams to the practice squad. The team released receiver Kevin Cone from the squad and put running back Dominique Williams (knee) on the squad's injured list.

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington said his foot injury didn't really bother him in Monday's win over the Chargers. "I felt great, I didn't feel the injury too much," Ellington said. "I was jacked up for the game. I had a lot of adrenaline."

Ellington is wearing a protective boot and isn't expected to practice Wednesday. But he appears likely to play Week 2 at the Giants.

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington is wearing a protective boot on his injured left foot Tuesday, and he likely won't practice Wednesday, reports Fox Sports. His status for Week 2 at the Giants won't be clarified until later in the week.

Ellington told the team's website he's trying to get his foot "calmed down" after receiving 18 touches against the Chargers. He said he plans to practice at some point this week.

Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith suggested in a radio interview that he preferred using running back Bobby Rainey in the fourth quarter Week 1 even though Doug Martin was "ready to go" after sustaining a "minor" knee injury.

"Doug did go down with a little minor injury there, so we had to make a change, and from there he was able to come back and he was ready to go," Smith said on WDAE-AM 620. "Bobby had come and had given us a little bit of life, and as I've mentioned we want to play more than one running back throughout. So it was just a perfect time to keep both of them involved."

Martin ran nine times for 9 yards in the loss to Carolina. After the injury he did not get a handoff, though he was targeted once. He said after the game that he needs to "wait and see" how severe his injury is.

Chargers running back Donald Brown, who averaged 5.3 yards per carry with the Colts last year, had a dismal debut with San Diego on Monday night at Arizona. Brown received just two carries and they went for minus-2 yards. He was not targeted in the passing game.

Brown plays the Seahawks in Week 2.