NFL Player News

Colts coach Chuck Pagano told reporters in his Monday news conference that running back Trent Richardson should be back this week against the Giants, according to TheIndyChannel.com.

Richardson was active Week 7 at Pittsburgh, but was viewed as the team's emergency third string running back, behind Ahmad Bradshaw and Dan Herron. Richardson has rushed for 358 yards and two touchdowns on 101 attempts, averaging 3.5 yards per carry this season.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson is no longer in a walking boot Monday after wearing one on his right foot/leg following Sunday's game against the Buccaneers. Zimmer said Patterson has just a bruise and he is OK.

Patterson, who apparently suffered the injury on a kickoff return, said Sunday that he was "fine." Patterson had one of his best games of the season Week 8, totaling six catches for 86 yards in the 19-13 overtime win.

Vikings rookie running back Jerick McKinnon continued to distance himself from Matt Asiata Week 8 at Tampa Bay, getting more than three times as many carries as his predecessor for a third straight game. And he once again did fine with those carries, all 16 of them, picking up 83 yards.

But his Fantasy owners were once again left wanting for more. Why? He didn't get in the end zone and in fact hasn't as either a rusher or receiver all season.

Week 8 seemed like the perfect time to end that drought. The Buccaneers entered the day ranked 25th against the run and have a poor defense in general. And yet they limited the Vikings to 19 points, six of which the defense provided in overtime.

That's sort of the problem for McKinnon. The Vikings, with their other shortcomings on offense, don't put him in position to score all that often, and whenever they do, they may opt for the more powerful Asiata instead. We don't really know because they haven't had many chances to tip their hand since McKinnon took over.

Certainly, McKinnon's performance the last few weeks has been encouraging enough for you to start him in Fantasy, but he's a better fit as a flex option than a second running back.

Chiefs backup running back Knile Davis didn't play much of the first three quarters Week 8 against St. Louis, but after starter Jamaal Charles left early in the fourth quarter with his team up big, Davis reminded everyone he's a serviceable fill-in should the need for one arise. He ran 16 times for 49 yards and scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

Though he didn't have many yards per carry, 13 of his carries came with Charles out of the game in an obvious run-out-the-clock scenario. He showed his big-play ability with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown earlier in the contest.

Again, Davis normally won't get so much playing time unless Charles goes down with another injury, but between this performance and what he did in Weeks 2-4, he deserves to be owned in all Fantasy leagues just for that possibility.

After rookie Tre Mason appeared to take a leading role Week 7 against Seattle, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, the Rams went running back by committee again Week 8 at Kansas City. Mason led the team in carries, but he had only seven. Meanwhile, Zac Stacy got five, and Benny Cunningham got four.

Stacy was once again the weak link, gaining just 17 yards. Though he's been the Rams' leading ball carrier this season, his longest run is only 16 yards. In this game alone, Mason had a run of 14 yards, and Cunningham had a run of 18 yards.

Coach Jeff Fisher said prior to Week 8 that Stacy could get 25 carries against the Chiefs, but clearly, he wasn't effective enough to justify so many. Frankly, he hasn't been effective enough to justify any at this stage of the game, but the Rams need more convincing. Because Mason was again their most effective rusher in Week 8, it's probably just a matter of time.

Of the three, Mason is the one to own right now even if you can't start him just yet. Cunningham has some appeal in deeper PPR leagues. Stacy is probably just a waste of a roster spot.

After a stretch of four games in which he caught no more than two passes for no more than 38 yards, Cordarrelle Patterson suddenly became the Vikings' go-to wide receiver Week 8 at Tampa Bay, making six grabs for 86 yards, both season-highs. His 12 targets were twice as many as any other Viking.

It was the role he was expected to play coming into the season, but with the change from Matt Cassel to Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback and the struggle to replace Adrian Peterson in the backfield, he kind of got lost in the shuffle. Neither Greg Jennings nor Jarius Wright has stood out enough in the receiving corps for him remain just a third wheel, though.

The Vikings offense is still a work in progress, and the catching staff may have come to realize it's better off giving Patterson a chance to make plays. It's too early to say how relevant he'll be the rest of the way, especially since his ankle seems to be at less than 100 percent, but if somebody cut him in your league, you may want to make a play for him.

Granted, Doug Martin didn't play at all in the fourth quarter because of an ankle injury, but even before his departure, fellow Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey was the more effective of the two. In terms of running the ball, their numbers were similar -- Martin had 10 carries for 27 yards and Rainey had eight for 25 -- but Rainey played a much bigger role in the passing game, catching six passes for 41 yards.

True, the Buccaneers prefer Rainey on passing downs, and he's remained a relevant contributor in that phase of the game since filling in for an injured Martin in Weeks 2 and 3. But as a runner, he's been at least on par with Martin and probably even better. For the season, he has averaged 4.6 yards per carry to Martin's 2.9.

Rookie Charles Sims' eventual return from an ankle injury could complicate the situation, but if I own Martin, I'm handcuffing Rainey to him. And if I'm desperate for running back help, I might add Rainey even if I didn't own Martin. Injury or not, changes are coming.

When the Ravens listed a perfectly healthy Bernard Pierce among their inactives for Week 8 at Cincinnati, it probably seemed like good news for Justin Forsett owners. Pierce had been a thorn in their sides, short-changing Forsett with a short touchdown run each of the last two weeks.

But Forsett wasn't the one to benefit from Pierce's absence. Lorenzo Taliaferro was, scoring not just one touchdown but two -- and both on runs of more than 5 yards.

Forsett was still the primary rusher, getting 17 carries to Taliaferro's seven, and he got a chance from the Bengals' 2-yard line in the first quarter. But when he failed with it, the Ravens seemed all the more inclined to go with Taliaferro inside the 10-yard line.

Taliaferro may be even more of a danger to Forsett than Pierce was. The Ravens trusted Pierce in short-yardage situations, but with an average of just 3.6 yards per carry, he wasn't a threat to break a long one. With Sunday's performance, Taliaferro is averaging 4.4 yards per carry, and again, neither of his touchdowns came at the goal line.

It doesn't mean you sit Forsett in Fantasy. He's been pretty reliable no matter who the Ravens have paired with him. But he's not as safe as he appeared to be at this time last week. And Taliaferro is worth adding on his own merit.

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer found eight different receivers Sunday against Oakland and six of them caught two or fewer passes.

That group included wideouts Taylor Gabriel, who raced 48 yards with a screen pass midway through the first quarter and finished with two catches for 60 yards, and Miles Austin (2-34), tight end Jim Dray (2-27) and running backs Terrance West (1-10) and Isaiah Crowell (1-8). West also rushed for 11 yards on seven carries while Crowell added a carry for one yard.

Colts wideout Hakeen Nicks gained a starting spot for Sunday in Pittsburgh due to the absence of Reggie Wayne and did little with it.

Nicks managed just one catch for 27 yards as one of several small offensive contributors. Also in that group was wideout Griff Whalen, who caught one pass for 23 yards, and running back Dan Herron, who chipped in with a reception for five yards while adding two yards on one carry. Tight end Coby Fleener also caught one for four yards.