NFL Player News

Chiefs running back Knile Davis is making a good impression on his coaches this offseason.

Running back coach Eric Bieniemy likes what he sees so far from Jamaal Charles' backup.

"First and foremost, Knile has taken a tremendous jump mentally," Bieniemy said. "The beauty of it is last year was his first time going through it. Now he's been through it. Now we're just rehearsing everything, and we're going over the things we made mistakes on. He has a better awareness of what's going on with the game. Obviously he comes out here every day and he works his tail off. The beauty of it is he's learning how to become a professional. He's gaining a better understanding of awareness, of what it takes to be a professional, what it takes to see a blitz coming, how to apply the proper technique when pressure is coming. So he's doing a great job so far."

Speaking during a team Town Hall event, Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said Wednesday that he intends to not lean on one running back like Marshawn Lynch but rather utilize a number of them in 2014. Carroll added that the team wants to remain focused on the run. 

"We are going to be running back by committee," Bevell said according to ESPN. "We really like what Christine Michael is doing right now."

Michael is the Seahawks' second-year running back who averaged 4.4 yards per carry in very minimal play last season but came into the league with high accolades (and an injury) from his days at Texas A&M. He's been impressive in OTA workouts while Lynch has skipped the voluntary practices.

"We want to run the football whenever we want to," Carroll said per the Seattle Times. "We are an absolutely committed running football team."

The Broncos are going with Montee Ball as the starting running back this season, but the No. 2 job behind him is wide open.

The battle will likely come down to C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman, and Anderson is pushing Hillman for the job, reports the Denver Post.

The report says "Anderson is a serious threat" to be No. 2 behind Ball even though Hillman still has the inside track.

Seahawks running back Christine Michael is making a strong impression during OTA workouts, reports ESPN.

The report says Michael is getting plenty of reps since Marshawn Lynch has elected to skip OTAs so far, and Michael is making the most of it. Coach Pete Carroll has walked up to Michael a few times after his runs to give him high fives and let him know how much he appreciates what Michael is doing in practice.

Michael is expected to be No. 2 on the depth chart behind Lynch this season. 

Jaguars rookie running back Storm Johnson is focusing more on special teams than worrying about his role on the depth chart behind Toby Gerhart, reports the Florida Times-Union.

Johnson is expected to be No. 4 behind Gerhart, Jordan Todman and Denard Robinson, but he's OK with that.

"I'm happy to help my team any way I can – kickoff return, punt coverage, punt return, whatever," said Johnson, a University of Central Florida product, who was drafted in the seventh round. "I'm just trying to get my foot in the door."

Johnson ran for 1,139 yards and 14 touchdowns last season for UCF.

Colts running back Trent Richardson continues to make strides in his progress of getting the offense down pat, a problem he had last season after he was traded to Indy from Cleveland. The official team website reports Richardson is feeling more comfortable. 

"I feel way more fluid, even with the timing," said Richardson on Wednesday. "I didn't know the snap count last year until the fourth week. ... I didn't have the chance to learn 'Why are we doing this? What am I looking at this linebacker, or that linebacker on the backside?' I just had to know where I was running. I didn't know the full reasons. With the timing, it's way easier now. ... I needed this from the beginning."

Teammate Matt Hasselbeck, who saw Marshawn Lynch struggle to adapt to the Seahawks during a midseason trade years ago, said he "would definitely expect his numbers to look better this year."

Buccaneers running back Doug Martin might not be a workhorse for Tampa Bay this season under new offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Tedford said he believes in alternating running backs, and behind Martin is rookie Charles Sim, Mike James and Bobby Rainey.

"I think you have to alternate," Tedford said Tuesday. "I don’t believe that one back can carry the load. It’s just too physical. I think you probably need to have two to three guys to bring different things to the table. But I think you at least need to have two to be able to spell them here and there and keep them healthy and tat type of thing. That's the goal to try and create some depth right there where there's not a dropoff when one guy comes in and another guy goes out. There's no dropoff. We just keep going."

Martin played in only six games last season before suffering a shoulder injury against Atlanta that eventually landed him on injured reserve. James and Rainey were both productive as replacement backs. Sims, at 6-foot, 214-pounds, is a bigger back who caught more than 200 passes in college.

The Falcons' official team website reports that there will be "no sweeping changes" to the team's run game after finishing 32nd in the league in rush yards in 2013. Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said there wouldn't be an uptick or a downswing in the number of run plays he calls. Instead, he's expecting new players on the O-line and in the backfield to mesh with the old strategy. 

"We're going to be a better running football team, starting with the offensive line and progressing throughout the team," Koetter said. "We'll be more committed to it."

Steven Jackson is expected to be the starter with rookie Devonta Freeman and vet Jacquizz Rodgers behind him. After having a down year that included missing time with an injury, he says he'll be ready. 

"I've always prided myself on being able to go stronger through the game," he said. "With having favorable boxes, which I anticipate, I think we'll be quite OK."

Colts running back Trent Richardson wore a red jersey during the team's OTA practice on Thursday, a precaution after having shoulder surgery this offseason. Richardson also said he weighed as much as 230 pounds last offseason and gained even more before dropping 15 pounds to get to 225 pounds. He worked with the first-team offense in practice. 

"I'm feeling pretty good, it's just up to the coach on whenever I should take the jersey off," Richardson said per ESPN.

Packers running backs DuJuan Harris and Johnathan Franklin were going in different directions on Thursday. Harris was practicing again according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel while Franklin was sidelined.