NFL Player News

Browns rookie running back Terrance West must prove he can pass protect at the NFL level to make an early splash, reports CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora. If West can show well during preseason games, "he just might be able to make an impact early. He is an explosive runner and he has great hands as well," La Canfora wrote.

After Monday's practice, West said his pass protection is coming along. "Today I had some good feedback from the coaches and picked up some big blocks in pass protection," he told La Canfora.

"And I want to be an every down back in this league, so I have to show them I can run, and catch and pass protect, and today was a great day. I feel like I started really picking it up in OTAs and during the break I stayed in my playbook and that helped me get caught up to speed."

Alfred Morris can't do it all -- that's the message sent by new Redskins coach Jay Gruden when he said "[w]e need another back to emerge as that third-down back."

ESPN took a look at the candidates to work as that third-down guy and concluded that Roy Helu is the best option. Helu not only has the size and experience to work as a third-down back but is "more than just a third-down guy" because he can handle every-down work if need be. Working in a third-down type of role last season, Helu had 62 carries for 274 yards and four touchdowns with 31 grabs for 251 yards -- an 8.1 yard average. 

The Colts are counting on a big year from 2013 bust Trent Richardson. But the running back was unable to practice Monday as he continues to deal with a sore hamstring, reports the Indianapolis Star.

Richardson has not practiced since Thursday.

Browns running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery said rookie Terrance West's running style reminds him of former Eagles star Brian Westbrook. Then Montgomery went further.

"It’s funny because Terrence West has some shades of Brian Westbrook," Montgomery said. "He can break you down with his right leg; he can break you down with his left. He has that Ricky Watters or Walter Payton lure-you-to-sleep-on-the-sidelines move that I can accelerate or I can play like I’m going to accelerate and cut back inside. Those are some of the traits that I haven’t seen in a while by Walter Payton and Ricky Watters."

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said Monday that receiver Cordarrelle Patterson will do some individual drills at the team's night practice. He didn't participate in the team's morning walkthrough according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Patterson is dealing with a foot injury that's kept him sidelined but coaches insist he won't be out long. 

The dislocated elbow 49ers running back LaMichael James sustained Sunday is the third of his career, reports ESPN.com. He suffered the same injury in 2011 and in high school.

James, who is out a month, got hurt on a blitz pickup drill when he was blown backward by inside linebacker Michael Wilhoite, according to the Sacramento Bee. James has gotten injured before the regular season in each of his three NFL seasons. He hurt his ankle in the 2012 preseason and sprained a knee ligament in last year's preseason.

Running back Bernard Pierce, expected to start while Ray Rice is suspended, has been the Ravens' most impressive back in camp so far, reports ESPN.com. Pierce's weight ballooned to 248 pounds following offseason shoulder surgery, but he's down to 222 pounds now.

"The weight loss is most evident in Pierce's elusiveness in between the tackles," the report said. "He can make better lateral cuts because he doesn't feel the weight as much on his knees." 

Coach John Harbaugh said Pierce has "seized the opportunity."

Pierce averaged 4.9 yards per carry as a rookie in 2012, just 2.9 yards per carry last season. "It definitely is motivating and also was humbling coming from the year before," Pierce said. "I think everybody's intention this year is to climb back up the chart and show everybody that we can get this run game started and we're still the Ravens from 2012."

49ers running back LaMichael James is expected to miss nearly a month of work because of a dislocated elbow sustained in a pass-blocking drill, the Sacramento Bee reports.

James was carted off the field with the injury on Sunday, just two days after Kendall Hunter suffered a torn ACL. Rookie Carlos Hyde and Jewel Hampton are the only two healthy backup running backs left for San Francisco.

49ers running back LaMichael James was carted off the field during Sunday's practice after sustaining an apparent left arm injury in a pass-blocking drill, the Bay Area News Group reports.

Along with rookie running back Carlos Hyde, James could see an increased role as the backup running back after Kendall Hunter went down with a torn ACL. James carried the ball just 12 times in 2013.

The 49ers will open their preseason Aug. 7 at Baltimore.

Ravens running back Bernard Pierce returned to practice Sunday after leaving Saturday's practice with an illness, reports the Baltimore Sun.