NFL Player News

With the Colts bringing Ahmad Bradshaw back, there was going to be an odd man out in the backfield, and that turned out to be Donald Brown. Brown has agreed to join the Chargers, according to NFL.com, though terms of the deal are not yet known. 

Brown emerged as the team's primary back in the second half of last season, finishing with a career-best 5.3 yards per carry and six rushing touchdowns. Brown rushed for 537 yards on 102 carries and added 214 yards on 27 catches, the latter of which are both career-highs.

Brown will have to fight for playing time yet again, joining a crowded backfield that already features Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead. 

The Raiders and running back Darren McFadden have agreed on a one-year deal, reports Comcast Sports Net. McFadden was set to become an unrestricted free agent.

McFadden, 26, has struggled since entering the league with injuries and inconsistency. He has missed 29 games in six seasons and played in only 10 games in 2013 when he had 114 carries for 379 yards and five touchdowns and 17 catches for 108 yards.

He has averaged 3.3 yards per carry in consecutive years.

Free agent running back Darren McFadden is attracting "significant interest" on the open market, reports ESPN's Adam Schefter. McFadden is expected to leave Oakland after spending his first six seasons with the Raiders.

The Cardinals plan to give running back Ryan Williams an opportunity to be part of their backfield rotation with Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor, reports Fox Sports. Williams was a healthy scratch in every game last season.

The Titans will begin shopping star running back Chris Johnson around to other teams in the league, Pro Football Talk reports on Sunday. If the Titans can't find any takers, they will cut the 28-year-old.

Johnson has cracked the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first six seasons. He 1,077 of his 7,965 career yards came in 2013. He also had six rushing touchdowns while averaging 3.9 yards per carry -- the lowest YPC in his career.

The Buccaneers re-signed running back Bobby Rainey to a one-year contract. He was scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent.

Rainey ran for 566 yards and five touchdowns and added a receiving score last season.

The Vikings re-signed running back Matt Asiata, an exclusive rights free agent, to a one-year, $570,000 contract. Asiata could back up Adrian Peterson if Toby Gerhart leaves via free agency.

Titans running back Chris Johnson underwent January surgery to fix a torn meniscus, the first surgery of his career. He told the Tennessean he's doing rehab in the pool to strengthen the muscles around his left knee because he's not yet cleared to run.

However, he said he'd already be running if he'd had the procedure during the season.

“I have never been a guy to sit out when something was hurt," Johnson told paper about his Week 3 injury against the Chargers. "The only way I would sit out is if there was no way possible I could play. If I can work through it, I want to play. I want to be out there to help my team win, and that’s the way it’s always been.

"I am not going to make excuses, but you can talk to anybody who’s had a torn meniscus and they know how it affects you. I’m not going to sit here and tell you if I wouldn’t have had a torn meniscus I would have had 1,600-1,700 rushing yards last year, but my teammates know what I was going through.”

As he waits for the Titans to decide if they'll release him, Johnson called his 2013 season an aberration. He averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry.

“I have a whole lot left. I have only played six years in this league. And that is what my focus is on,” he told the paper. “My focus is not on whether the Titans are going to let me go and if they’re going to do this or that, my focus is on getting back healthy so I can start working out. And wherever I am this year I’ll be ready to play and ready to help a team win.”

Titans running back Chris Johnson said his agent spoke to team brass Tuesday and everything remains at a standstill, reports the Tennessean. Tennessee is deciding whether to release Johnson, who's owed $8 million each of the next two seasons and $9 million in 2016.

Johnson has said he won't take a pay cut.

The Broncos plan to let Knowshon Moreno leave as a free agent this offseason and go with their young running backs in Montee Ball and C.J. Anderson, reports the Denver Post.

The report says about Moreno "the Broncos appear willing to let him go in exchange for pushing second-year backs Ball and Anderson up a notch." And Ronnie Hillman will get a chance to help out as well.

The main benefactor is Ball, and the report says the "Broncos want to give Ball the first chance at becoming their No. 1 running back in 2014."

Anderson will be No. 2, and Hillman will work into the rotation as well. The Broncos will also look to bring in a veteran, and the report says free agent options include Darren McFadden, Donald Brown and James Starks.