NFL Player News

The official website of the Buccaneers lays out a scenario where rookie Charles Sims will take "a handful of carries in [Doug Martin's] place and perhaps also (serve) as the third-down back."

This gels with what coach Lovie Smith said about Sims earlier this month, complimenting his hands and saying he "gives us a little more in the passing game than what we've had." 

Sims caught 45 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns at West Virginia last season. 

Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase made it clear that running back Montee Ball is the starter, but everyone behind him on the depth chart is competing to be the No. 2 guy. 

"I would say everybody behind Montee right now is competing for the second spot. It's wide open," Gase said via a Denver Post video. "Whoever wants to step up and take that spot, that's what we're looking for."

C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman are the primary candidates for the job, though Jerodis Williams , Brennan Clay , Juwan Thompson and Kapri Bibbs are also on the roster. 

Jets running back Chris Johnson, who had January surgery to fix a torn meniscus, will miss all of OTAs but has not been ruled out of the mandatory minicamp June 17-19, reports The Star-Ledger.

"We’ll let it play out," Ryan said. "I know he’s been rehabbing and our trainers have been extremely impressed. (Head trainer John) Mellody had a couple things. One comment was: ‘Oh my goodness, is he fast.’ That’s a good sign. But yeah, I kind of figured that out when he had the fastest time ever (in the 40-yard dash) at the combine. So I knew we’ve got that one checked off."

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians described Andre Ellington as a No. 1 back and said he expects Ellington to receive 25-30 touches per game, reports Fox Sports. While those numbers are surely hyperbole, they're an indication Arians believes Ellington can handle a major workload.

Ellington got 157 touches as a rookie, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 9.5 yards per catch.

Ravens rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro, a fourth-round pick, was arrested Saturday and charged with public drunkenness and destruction of property, reports the Baltimore Sun. Both charges are misdemeanors.

The Jets have to figure out who will get the majority of carries this season out of Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, Daryl Richardson, Alex Green and Mike Goodson, reports ESPN.

The report says two of them likely won't make the team, but figuring out the carries could be tough. Johnson averaged 18 rushes per game in his six seasons with the Titans. Ivory averaged 12 per game last season as the Jets' leading rusher. Powell averaged 11 last season. That's a total of 41 rushes for their top three backs.

"Everybody’s goal is to put wins on the board," said Johnson. "We’re not really worried about the carries, who's going to play this down and that down. We’ve all just got one focus and that’s winning."

Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton says they'll be a "score-first team" instead of a run-first or pass-first team. Typical coachspeak, but Hamilton even would admit that as much as he wanted to run the ball last season, passing was far more effective. 

"When you have Andrew Luck, that really gives you an ability to adapt to whatever the circumstances are and have a chance to be successful," Hamilton said per ESPN, who believes the Colts will still aim to run the ball and not have Luck pass over and over again. Indianapolis ran the ball 409 times last year and threw it 582 times. The acquisition of Trent Richardson didn't pay off last season, but it doesn't mean wholesale changes this season. 

"Our mentality has not changed; we have to be physical at the point of attack. We have to try and knock people off the ball and wear them down physically," Hamilton said. "We have to have a sense of balance and still have a physical mentality, make up going into games so we can wear our opponents down how we see fit."

Stevan Ridley led all Patriots running backs in snaps played the last two seasons, but ESPN believes that nothing will be handed to him and he'll have to earn his keep this year. Additionally, ESPN thinks Ridley would not have led the backs in snaps had Shane Vereen stayed healthy for a full season. Vereen played nearly as many snaps as Ridley as it were. 

The belief from ESPN's Mike Reiss is that there will be a tandem situation "if everyone is healthy, with the numbers trending heavier toward Vereen."

Behind Ridley and Vereen are Brandon Bolden and rookie James White. Either one of them could earn decent playing time with a strong training camp and/or turnover issues from Ridley or Vereen. 

The announced Friday they have signed rookie offensive guard Brandon Thomas to a four-year deal.

Thomas was the third of three, third-round draft picks (100th overall) by the 49ers in this year’s draft out of Clemson. 

The subject of trade talks this offseason, running back LaMichael James was in attendance for the 49ers ' offseason workouts this week according to the Sacramento Bee.

James didn't show up for voluntary workouts earlier this spring and forfeited a $50,000 bonus. The team said they don't intend to trade him. He's expected to compete for kick- and punt-return duties this summer.