NFL Player News

Colts coach Chuck Pagano said Monday running back Trent Richardson was inactive for Sunday's game against the Broncos because he is not a special teams player and has never asked to be one, according to Colts.com.

Backup running back Michael Hill plays on special teams, taking Richardson's spot. Richardson ran for 519 yards on 159 carries in 2014, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. New starting running back Dan Herron had 31 touches in Sunday's game, totaling 95 yards for the Colts.

Indianapolis is currently a 7-point underdog against the Patriots in New England.

Broncos running back C.J. Anderson had 19 carries for 91 yards in Denver's 24-13 loss to the Colts in Sunday's divisional round of the playoffs.

Anderson also had six catches for 29 yards. It was Anderson's third straight game with over 100 total yards. In seven games as the starting running back for Denver, Anderson rushed for 739 yards on 159 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and scoring nine touchdowns.

Colts running back Dan Herron ran 23 times for 63 yards and a touchdown and caught all eight of his targets for 32 yards in Sunday's 24-13 win at Denver. Herron has 18 catches and a pair of touchdowns in his first two playoff games.

While Herron averaged 2.7 yards per carry, he turned in a surehanded workhorse effort after fumbling twice last week. Herron ran around left end for a 6-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

Herron visits the Patriots in next Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

The Broncos have declared the following players as inactive for Sunday's game against the Colts: Cody Latimer, Tony Carter, Juwan Thompson, Paul Cornick, Michael Schofield, Dominique Jones and Mitch Unrein.

Thompson played in 15 games for Denver this season, averaging 5.0 yards per carry with three touchdowns. He was considered probable on the team's final injury report of the week with hip and knee injuries.

The Broncos are currently 9 1/2-point favorites against the Colts Sunday.

The Colts made a surprising move Sunday by listing running back Trent Richardson as inactive for the team's divisional playoff game at Denver. Richardson was not on the team's injury report.

There was plenty of speculation heading into Sunday's game about Richardson's role on offense after he appeared for just one snap during a wild-card win over Bengals last week. Richardson had started 12 games at running back for Indianapolis during the regular season.

Zurlon Tipton and Michael Hill, who was signed Tuesday, will be the Colts' backup running backs behind Daniel Herron on Sunday.

Packers running back DuJuan Harris, cornerback Demetri Goodson, linebacker Carl Bradford, center Garth Gerhart, tight end Justin Perillo, wide receiver Jeff Janis and defensive tackle Bruce Gaston were ruled inactive for Sunday's divisional playoff game vs. Dallas.

Patriots running backs Brandon Bolden, Shane Vereen and LeGarrette Blount were unable to get going in New England's 35-31 win over the Ravens Saturday.

Between the three, they total seven carries for 14 yards. Quarterback Tom Brady had the only rushing touchdown for the Patriots.

New England did not give a handoff to a running back in the second half.

Vereen had four catches for 39 yards and Bolden one catch for 11.

The Patriots have deemed the following players as inactive for Saturday's divisional round game against the Ravens: Josh Boyce, Jordan Devey, Zach Moore, Steve Maneri, Cameron Fleming, James White and Jonas Gray.

Gray, who 89 carries for 412 yards and five touchdowns in the regular season, is dealing with an ankle injury. Gray was listed as probable throughout the week.

The Patriots are 7-point favorites against Baltimore Saturday.

Jets running back Chris Johnson was arrested Friday night in his hometown of Orlando for open carrying of a firearm, a second degree misdemeanor, per Pro Football Talk.

Johnson has a license to carry in the state of Florida, but the Sunshine State along with five other states (California, New York, Illinois, South Carolina and Texas) have banned open carry of handguns. At this point, neither details about the incident, nor an immediate court date have been made available.

Johnson signed a two-year, $4 million contract last year. He rushed for a career-low 663 yards and one touchdown in his first season for Gang Green. Johnson is due approximately $2 million next season, but with a new front office expected to take over in New York, his future remains uncertain.

The Patriots should have both Tom Brady and Julian Edelman against the Ravens on Saturday. 

Brady is listed with an ankle injury, but should play. He's been listed on the injury report every week this season, but always plays. Edelman is getting over a concussion, but will attempt to play through it.

The team will also have Jonas Gray and Brandon LaFell for the contest. Both players were also listed as probable. Gray is coming back from an ankle issue. LaFell has a shoulder and toe injury.