NFL Player News

Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon is still dealing with a lower back injury, according to coach Mike Zimmer. McKinnon missed Week 13 against the Panthers due to the injury and Zimmer said Monday "We're still evaluating where he's at.''

McKinnon is averaging 4.8 yards per carry this year. 

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington is expected to miss practice on Wednesday with a hip pointer, coach Bruce Arians said Monday. 

There is still no time table on Ellington's return to action. He has rushed for 660 yards and three touchdowns this year. 

If you grabbed C.J. Anderson when fellow Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman went down in Week 10, joining Montee Ball on the sidelines, congratulations. You're the winner of this season's waiver wire lottery.

It took a while for him to make an impact, but after his second straight game with 160-plus rushing yards Week 13 at Kansas City, it's pretty clear now he's the most impactful of the players who went undrafted this year.

Apologies to Justin Forsett, who has been relevant longer but hasn't been the one-man wrecking crew Anderson has become. And it didn't just begin in Week 12, mind you. Anderson had 163 total yards, 90 rushing and 73 receiving, the week Hillman went down and 115 more, 29 rushing and 86 receiving, the following week. The most Hillman ever had was 138, and he was considered a fine waiver claim himself.

Most likely, the matchup had a little something to do with Anderson getting 32 carries in Week 13. The Chiefs rank first against the pass and 30th against the run. But even on those days he's not running so often, he's already proven he's a dynamic receiving option out of the backfield.

He's like the Broncos' version of Le'Veon Bell. And you'd never sit him, right?

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington may have suffered a hip pointer injury in Sunday's loss to the Falcons, according to Fox Sports 910's Mike Jurecki. It is unclear how long this injury will keep Ellington out of action, but it could be 1-2 weeks. 

Coach Bruce Arians will likely reveal the extent of the injury in his Monday press conference. 

Ellington is averaging 3.3 yards per carry so far this season. 

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a longstanding tradition of zigging when Fantasy owners expect him to stay in a nice, predictable zag, and he did it again in Week 13 with his running backs.

Shane Vereen still played the majority of the team's snaps Sunday against the Packers, but was largely a nonfactor in the loss. He had just three carries and one reception, and was only targeted twice in the passing game overall.

LeGarrette Blount led the team in rushing for the second week in a row since signing as a free agent, however this time he didn't get the goal-line work. Blount, who scored twice the previous week, ceded a goal-line carry to little-used reserve Brandon Bolden, who scored his first touchdown of the season, while finishing with three carries for 17 yards overall.

Jonas Gray , the star of the team's Week 11 win, was back on the field after failing to touch the ball in Week 12, but had just one carry for 4 yards.

Belichick knows he can wring value out of any back he chooses, which is what makes this situation so perpetually frustrating for Fantasy owners. Any back could get work in any situation any week, but it still looks like Blount and Vereen are going to be the team's top options moving forward. Relying on anyone here on a weekly basis is frustrating, but Blount and Vereen are the only ones that are must-own players down the stretch. 

Broncos running back C.J. Anderson rumbled for 168 yards on 32 carries while adding another 17 yards and a touchdown on two receptions in his team's 29-16 win over the Chiefs in Week 13.

Anderson played heavily into the gameplan Sunday as the Broncos leaned on the ground attack, but after the lead runner scored the second touchdown of the first quarter on a pass from Peyton Manning, the offense wasn't able to reach the end zone for the remainder of the game, settling for five field goals. Anderson still showed what he could do as the bell-cow back for the second straight week, and he's managed an incredible 335 rushing yards, 45 receiving yards and two total touchdowns in his last two games. His next test will come against the Bills in Week 14.

Though he also led the team in rushing in his return from an ankle injury Week 12 at Chicago, gaining 27 yards on 11 carries isn't any sort of statement. So Doug Martin made sure to leave no room for doubt Week 13 against Cincinnati. He had 18 carries to Charles Sims' five and Bobby Rainey's one and wasn't all that terrible with them, picking up 58 yards and a touchdown.

His numbers would have looked better if he didn't have just 3 yards on six carries in the second half. He got off to a great start, even showing the burst that made him a Fantasy stud two years ago on his 7-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, but faded from there.

Ultimately, his claim to the starting role is bad news in Fantasy. He hasn't offered anything close to stud production in the two years since his rookie season, and the Buccaneers' insistence on sticking with him only blocks two potentially more useful options in Sims and Rainey.

If you're going to start a Buccaneers running back Week 14 at Detroit, it should be Martin, but you're better off not starting any of them.

The Browns' headache at running back isn't going away, not even with Ben Tate out of the picture. One week after Isaiah Crowell outperformed Terrance West on fewer carries, their roles were reversed Week 13 at Buffalo. But while both generally performed well in Week 12, neither did the Browns proud in this one.

Crowell gained 29 yards on his 17 carries. West at least had a respectable yard-per-carry average, but he still had just 32 on seven. He also lost a crucial fumble for the Browns midway through the third quarter.

What makes it especially frustrating is that Crowell and West have both shown flashes of greatness this year. Crowell looked like he might be on the verge of must-start status in Week 12, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Now, with the bye weeks over, you have to wonder if you'll ever be able to trust either enough to start him. Chances are one will be startable more weeks than not, but which one? It's just a guessing game at this point. You wouldn't want to let either fall into someone else's hands -- their potential is too great for that -- so you might just have to plant them on your bench for now.

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington believes he'll be fine, the team announced.

Ellington said the hip injury he's dealing with is different than the one he's struggled with earlier in the year. He had to leave Week 13 after just five carries due to the injury. The Cardinals will take on the Chiefs Week 14. Ellington's status will likely be determined by how much he's able to practice throughout the week. 

With Jerick McKinnon out with a back injury, Matt Asiata got the start and bulk of the work in Week 13 against the Panthers.

Asiata continued to show he is a perfectly average option at the running back position for the Vikings, as he totaled 57 all-purpose yards on 18 touches. He was a bit better as a runner than a pass-catcher, finishing with 52 yards on 14 carries, but was held in check overall, finishing with a long run of just 8 yards.

Asiata has held down the fort for the Vikings in a difficult season, but has done little to show he is a long-term option. If McKinnon can get back soon, Asiata will likely return to his role as a third down back, but either way, is unlikely to be worth much as a Fantasy option down the stretch.