NFL Player News

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said the team's running back situation will continue to be a "week-to-week thing," adding Zac Stacy's lack of playing time Sunday wasn't an indicator of things to come. Stacy played one snap and got zero carries in the win over the Seahawks.

"We’ve got three outstanding runners," Fisher said, referring to Stacy, Benny Cunningham and rookie Tre Mason. "And as I mentioned, we think Trey Watts can also help us, so we’re going to use them all. It’ll be a week-to-week thing. Zac could get 25 carries this week. We had some things in early this week. It was working so we decided to stay with ‘Mase.' It’s nothing that Zac has done or hasn’t done. He’s been a little banged up the last couple of weeks, but obviously he’s an outstanding runner as well. We clearly have significant depth there at the position."

Fisher noted Stacy missed practice time the past couple weeks due to calf and ankle injuries.

"The good thing about this is he’ll come back and should be 100 percent this week and just see where it goes," Fisher said.

The Rams visit the Chiefs in Week 8.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano told reporters during Monday's news conference that running back Trent Richardson will undergo an MRI on his injured hamstring, per the team's official website.

Richardson suffered the injury in the second half of Sunday's win over the Bengals. He's cureently 16th in the league in rushing with 358 yards on the ground through seven games. According to the Indianapolis Star, Richardson is expected to be "fine" moving forward.

When the Browns made running back Terrance West inactive for Week 6 against Pittsburgh, they seemed to commit to fellow rookie Isaiah Crowell as the backup to Ben Tate. And Crowell's performance in a change-of-pace role seemed to validate their decision. He ran 11 times for 77 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers.

The problem is the Browns then made West active for Week 7 at Jacksonville and gave him nearly as many touches. He had five carries for 8 yards and one catch for no gain while Crowell had seven carries for 18 yards and one catch for 5 yards.

Because both running backs struggled in relief of Tate (who himself wasn't so great), it's not like Crowell lost any ground in the competition, but apparently, it's back to being a competition. So the question remains: If you own Tate, who has had his share of injuries over the years, who should you handcuff to him?

My guess is still Crowell, but because I wouldn't feel confident I had the Browns backfield cornered unless I owned both him and West, I might just opt for neither. Or if dropping Crowell would be too painful, maybe I'd see what he (or maybe both he and Tate) could fetch me on the trade market.

A week after being a healthy scratch, Browns rookie running back Terrance West totaled just 8 rushing yards on five carries in a 24-6 loss Week 7 at Jacksonville. West was disappointed with his performance after he failed to convert on a pair of short-yardage situations in the second quarter.

"I should've got the first down. I was trying to go for the big play," West said, per the Akron Beacon Journal. "I know I got limited reps. So I know when I'm in the game, I'm trying to get that big play."

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Monday running back Andre Ellington has sore ribs following Sunday's win at Oakland. However, he is not dealing with any structural damage.

Ellington rushed for 88 yards on 24 carries and added 72 receiving yards on six catches during a 24-13 win Week 7. Ellington has 393 rushing yards and is averaging 3.7 yards per carry through six games. He also has 260 receiving yards and two touchdowns (one rushing).

Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor told reporters on Monday that he liked what he saw from running back Daniel Thomas in Week 7 and indicated that he could be the clear cut backup to Lamar Miller moving forward, per the Palm Beach Post.

Although the team listed Damien Williams No. 2 on last week's depth chart, Thomas rushed for 25 yards on seven attempts. Williams only had one carry in a win over Chicago on Sunday.

In his first game replacing injured Broncos running back Montee Ball, Ronnie Hillman went up against a Jets defense that at the time ranked in the top five against the run ... and turned in the best individual rushing performance for any Bronco this season, picking up 100 yards on 24 carries. In his second game replacing the injured Ball Week 7 against the 49ers, Hillman went up against a defense that ranked seventh against the run ... and ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

If you're like me, you didn't start him for either game because you didn't trust someone so unproven with a matchup so difficult. And if you're like me, you don't need to be convinced anymore.

Going against a Chargers defense in Week 8 that ranks in the middle of the pack against the run, Hillman looks like a must-start in Fantasy provided that Ball isn't ready to return from his groin injury. And even if he is, it may not be a deal-breaker. None of Ball's four games were better than the two Hillman has had.

The Browns announced Monday they signed fullback Kiero Small to the active roster. To clear a roster spot, the team waived fullback Ray Agnew.

Fantasy owners don't have much cause to complain about Cardinals running back Andre Ellington, not after the all-around performance he had Week 7 at Oakland, leading the team not only in rushing with 88 yards on 24 carries but also receiving with 72 yards on six catches.

But of course, many will complain because he didn't meet the gold standard of Fantasy greatness: He didn't score a touchdown. Even worse, he could have scored a touchdown (and maybe two) if not for the presence of Stepfan Taylor, who scored one on a 2-yard catch in the first quarter and another on a 4-yard run in the third.

It's an unfortunate development, to be sure. The Cardinals ran four plays from inside the 5-yard line on two separate drives, and Taylor got the ball on all of them. But it's not entirely unexpected either. Ellington has always been seen as a big-play guy, not a grinder.

The good news is that Ellington's touches continue to rise. He went from 20 in Week 5 to 25 in Week 6 to 30 here in Week 7, so the Cardinals are using him as much as they promised coming into the year. And with his big-play ability, enough of those touches will end in the end zone to keep you satisfied.

And hey, now you know who to handcuff to him. You'll want to add Taylor if only for that purpose.

Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman rushed for 74 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns while adding 29 yards on four receptions in his team's 42-17 blowout win over the 49ers in Week 7.

Hillman scored both of his touchdowns in the third quarter, avoiding would-be tacklers on a 37-yard score up the middle on his first score. He ran with authority on the second touchdown, plowing through a linebacker on a one-yard burst into the end zone. Hillman has strung together three impressive performances in October, and he's done enough to remain in the game plan once Montee Ball heals up, potentially even as the team's No. 1 back. The Broncos will square off with the Chargers on Thursday in Week 8.