NFL Player News

A rather lengthy Jets injury report for their Thursday game against the Patriots is dominated by probables. The lone exceptions are wide receiver Greg Salas (wrist/ankle) and linebacker Trevor Reilly (knee), both of whom have been ruled out.

The probables are tight end Jace Amaro (knee), guard Willie Colon (knee), wideouts David Nelson (ankle) and Eric Decker (hamstring), tackle Breno Giacomini (back), defensive lineman Damon Harrison (ankle), running back Chris Johnson (ankle), center Nick Mangold (shoulder) and cornerback Darrin Walls (knee).

Browns running back Terrance West said Wednesday he expects to be active Week 7 against the Jaguars after being a healthy scratch Week 6, per the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. West said being inactive will "most definitely" make him a better player down the road.

West said the coaches want him to do a better job of carrying out fakes. He added he is supposed to continue running down the field on play-action.

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington did not practice Wednesday, reports the Arizona Republic. The team is trying to manage Ellington's foot injury and get him through the season, the report said.

Arizona visits Oakland on Sunday.

Chargers running back Donald Brown, who sat out Week 6 due to a concussion, did not practice Wednesday. Though, he was on the field watching drills, according to U-T San Diego.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said running back Joseph Randle, arrested on a shoplifting charge Monday, apologized to the team and will be fined significantly for the incident, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Randle will play Sunday against the Giants, Garrett added.

Randle is accused of shoplifting cologne and underwear from a Dillard's in Frisco, Tex. He was charged with Class B misdemeanor theft.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told reporters he'd like to get running back Matt Asiata more touches and running back Jerick McKinnon fewer touches than last week, reports WGR in Buffalo. Asiata got three touches to McKinnon's 17 in the home loss to Detroit.

Minnesota visits the Bills on Sunday.

Jets running back Chris Johnson has had a pretty quiet October. He has totaled just 10 carries for 33 yards and two receptions for no gain in two games.

Though, it's not like Johnson has been a workhorse back all season. He has just 51 carries through six games. Despite Johnson's limited touches, the Jets still rank 12th in rushing offense (121.2 rushing yards per game) and Johnson hopes offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg will stick with the running game despite a 1-5 start.

"We’ve got to run the ball to put something out there," Johnson said, per NJ.com. "We haven’t been able to run the ball. It starts with opportunities. We’ve just got to stick with it. We can’t go away from it. We’ve just got to stick with it and it’ll come around.

"It’s frustrating, but I can only take advantage of the opportunities that I get. And there haven’t been many. That’s a battle that I can’t fight. I can only take advantage of the opportunities that I’m getting. I’ve just got to deal with it in that sense of mind."

Rams coach Jeff Fisher indicated he's leaning toward using all three of his running backs moving forward. Asked about a committee approach featuring Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham and rookie Tre Mason, Fisher told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "I have no problem with that. Nope."

In Monday's loss to the 49ers, Fisher added, "we were rolling all three of them."

Mason's 24-yard burst up the middle was the team's first run of at least 20 yards this season. "I liked the way he handled his first opportunity and made some explosive plays," Fisher said of the third-round pick, who was active for the first time this season.

The Cowboys will not suspend running back Joseph Randle after he was arrested on a shoplifting charge Monday, ESPNDallas.com reports.

Randle will receive a fine, but the team has decided not to further punish the running back. The charge, which is a Class B misdemeanor, is for shoplifting cologne and underwear from a Dillard's in Frisco, Tex.

The Patriots' Shane Vereen may seem like a strong candidate for a midseason breakout now that Stevan Ridley is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL, but it's not like he suddenly has all the carries to himself.

As I point out in my latest post to the Fantasy Football Today blog highlighting some of the biggest takeaways from Week 6, Brandon Bolden didn't touch the ball against the Bills until the fourth quarter, after Ridley left, and yet he still finished with more carries than Vereen. That's a pretty strong tell, I think. Vereen has his role in the Patriots offense, catching passes out of the backfield and getting the occasional change-of-pace carry, but the Patriots still want a grinder back there.

Though Bolden lacks experience, he's had success when he's gotten extensive playing time in the past. In the three games in which he's gotten double-digit carries in his career, he's averaged 5.8 yards per carry. He had 137 yards on a career-high 16 carries back in 2012.

Of course, he's no Ridley, and Vereen will probably get a larger share of the carries just because of that. But I'm guessing he won't get the majority, which makes me hesitant to start him Week 7 against the Jets.