NFL Player News

Ravens RB Bernard Pierce is active Week 11 against the Bears.

Pierce is dealing with a toe/knee injury, but is expected to play against Chicago. The weather is supposed to be terrible during the game, which could lead the Ravens to rely on the ground game more than usual.

Cardinals running back Ryan Williams, linebacker Dontay Moch (illness), wide receiver Brittan Golden (hamstring), quarterback Ryan Lindley, tight end Kory Sperry, defensive end Ronald Talley and guard Earl Watford were among the team's inactives for Week 11 at Jacksonville.

As of Saturday night the Patriots had not activated running back Shane Vereen from the short-term injured reserve list, but according to a long-time Patriots beat reporter, it's coming soon. 

ESPN's Mike Reiss, who has been covering the Patriots for a while, posted on Twitter that he expects Vereen to play Monday at Carolina. The team travels to Charlotte on Sunday and could activate Vereen then. They would also have to activate him to the roster 90 minutes prior to game time on Monday for him to be officially active. 

Patriots running back Brandon Bolden (knee) was removed from the injury report for Week 11 against the Panthers, a sign that he is not going to be limited in Monday's game. Bolden had been limited in practice Friday, but had no issues Saturday.

Chuck Pagano insisted Friday that he has no buyer's remorse for the trade that landed disappointing running back Trent Richardson on the Colts and sent a 2014 first-round pick to Cleveland.

Pagano called Richardson a "damn good player and a damn good back," per the Indianapolis Star. But Richardson is averaging 3.0 YPC this season and has just 44 yards in his last 21 carries.

A hamstring tweak limited Chargers featured back Ryan Mathews in practice Thursday, but he was a full-go on Friday and has been deemed probable to play Sunday in Miami.

As expected, Raiders running back Darren McFadden has been ruled out for the game Sunday against the Texans with a knee injury. Rashad Jennings will serve as the featured back.

The Ravens have three offensive players on their Friday injury report. The most important are wide receiver Marlon Brown (knee), who is questionable, and running back Bernard Pierce, who is probable with toe and knee ailments. Wideout Brandon Stokley (thigh) is also probable.

Vikings running back Matt Asiata is doubtful Week 11 against the Seahawks.

Asiata has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and was limited in practice all week. Asiata has missed the past three games due to the injury.

We've done a lot of analysis on Shane Vereen and how involved he could be against the Panthers in Week 11, but as of Friday morning he was still on short-term injured reserve.

That could change. The Patriots official team website speculates that the open roster spot created by the release of receiver LaQuan Williams "will likely be filled" by Vereen. The rusher has been practicing this week. 

It would be great if we got the word on Vereen before Sunday morning but if not Fantasy owners counting on him need to find an emergency replacement in case he is either not activated off of IR or not activated to play on Monday. Potential options owned in less than 50 percent of CBSSports.com leagues include running backs Brandon Bolden and Jonathan Stewart and receivers Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn and Julian Edelman.