NFL Player News

Rams running back Isaiah Pead was helped off the field and later carted to the locker room with an apparent left knee injury Saturday against the Packers in preseason action.

Pead ran back a kickoff for 33 yards in the opening quarter. He made a cut up field and his leg buckled, which appeared to have caused the non-contact injury. Pead has been relegated to the No. 4 running back on the team and is fighting to earn meaningful snaps in the preseason. He will have an MRI on Sunday to determine the extent of the injury, NFL Network reports.

49ers running back LaMichael James ditched the elbow brace, according to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area on Saturday. James has been limited in practice in the last two games and is still waiting to be medically cleared for contact.

"I'm good," James said. "I can definitely play. I don’t have a brace on. I got rid of it. It shows weakness."

With Ryan Mathews sidelined, Chargers running backs Donald Brown and Danny Woodhead each saw a healthy share of work Friday night against Seattle in exhibition play.

Brown got the start and ripped runs for 4 and 5 yards before Woodhead got his first touch of the night on the opening drive. Brown finished with four carries for 16 yards and two catches for 13 yards and three targets. Woodhead rushed for a 24 yards on six carries. He also caught one pass from Kellen Clemens for a gain of 5 yards. Both players were lifted after one half of work.

According to U-T San Diego, the following players were held out for the Chargers against the Seahawks in exhibition play on Friday: Running back Ryan Mathews (healthy scratch), wide receiver Vincent Brown (calf), defensive end Lawrence Guy (shoulder), defensive end Damik Scafe (undisclosed) and outside linebacker Dwight Freeney (healthy scratch).

Raiders running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden shared reps with the first-team offense Friday night at home against the Lions in exhibition play. Both players were lifted after logging four series of work.

On the opening snap of the game, Jones-Drew took a handoff for a gain of 4 yards, but failed to make much of an impact the rest of the way. He finished with six carries for 12 yards. His lone catch of the night was a short screen pass from Matt Schaub, which he took for a gain of 22 yards in the second quarter.

McFadden punched it in the end zone from 1-yard out in the second quarter, scoring his first touchdown of the preseason. He finished the game with eight carries for 27 yards and a touchdown, averaging 3.4 yards per attempt. He was not targeted in the passing game.

Patriots running back Shane Vereen was limited to only two catches during Friday's preseason game against the Eagles.

Vereen caught a short pass for a gain of 12 yards and on the next play, he caught a screen pass for a gain of 9 yards. He was targeted twice and finished with 21 receiving yards. He did not receive a carry.

The following players will not suit up for the Eagles Friday night against New England: wide receiver Riley Cooper (foot), wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (hamstring), cornerback Nolan Carroll (hamstring), running back Chris Polk (hamstring), running back Matthew Tucker (hamstring), running back David Fluellen (calf), cornerback Jaylen Watkins (hamstring), linebacker Jake Knott (hamstring) and center Julian Vandervelde (back).

The Buccaneers have said all offseason that the envision more than one running back doing most of the damage against opposing defenses, but those plans took a hit when rookie Charles Sims suffered an ankle injury that will cost him at least the first nine weeks of the NFL season. 

The injury should open the door for Mike James and Bobby Rainey to compete for a spot in the rotation with starter Doug Martin in Tampa Bay. Through one preseason game Rainey has 25 yards on six carries and James has 12 yards on three carries. James has a 20-yard catch while Rainey hasn't caught a ball yet. Both backs had experience running the ball last season with the Bucs and each caught a few passes, but James got the chance first and played well until getting hurt. Then Rainey came in and did well to close out the season. 

It's too soon to pick one of these guys as a handcuff to Martin for Fantasy but because Rainey saw playing time before James in their first preseason game we'd give him the nod for now. 

The loss for at least half the season of promising Buccaneers rookie running back Charles Sims will likely result in more carries for Doug Martin. Sims had been considered a threat to take attempts away from Martin, who is coming off a disappointing, injury-plagued 2013 season.

Martin was deemed the featured back by Lovie Smith in June. The Sims injury could cement his status, though it could also result in increased work for fellow backs Bobby Rainey and Mike James. Both flashed last year in the absence of Martin. Rainey achieved two 100-yard performances before tailing off late while James rushed for 158 yards against Seattle, no less, and averaged a team-best 4.9 YPC on the season.

The biggest strike against Doug Martin headed into the season was that a running back the Bucs new coaching staff drafted, one with the same skill set as Martin, would cut into his playing time. That was Charles Sims, and he had the look of being at least a passing downs back for Tampa Bay.

But now that Sims is out until at least Week 10 because of an ankle injury, Martin is back in the saddle as the guy the Buccaneers have to lean on. Mike James and Bobby Rainey will probably spend the rest of the preseason competing for the spot vacated by Sims, but the team has to be more comfortable leaning on Martin. The threat of someone cutting into his carries is gone. Martin will start to pick up steam as a borderline No. 1/No. 2 Fantasy rusher in the coming days.