NFL Player News

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland said in a conference call with season-ticket holders Wednesday that he's OK with Reggie Bush moving on to Detroit because he's excited about Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas. The report says Ireland "wants to see both elevate their game" this year. "I have a high degree of excitement [in them]," Ireland said. "I hope Reggie has a great career, but at some point you have to turn over the baton. I like the youth at the position. I like the explosiveness at the position." Ireland did say he might use a draft pick to select another tailback this year.

Trent Richardson told ESPN Radio in Cleveland that he doesn't intend to change his rushing style "at all" in the wake of the new rules about running backs leading with the crown of their helmets outside the tackle box. More importantly, Richardson seemed happy with what he's been told about his role in the Browns new offense. "They told me I better be in the best shape ever. They told me they’re gonna run the shoes off of me," Richardson said. "They’re gonna pass me the ball more. … They’re going to do whatever they can … and they want me to be a leader for this team."

Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said from the NFL Owners Meeting that if Daniel Thomas wants to be a bigger factor on offense, he needs to stay healthy and play well consistently. "It’s hard for players to really make the type of development you’d like them to make if they are not able to stay healthy," Philbin said. "[C]oaches value practice time, so if you’re not making progress and you’re injured, then you’re kind of slipping back. ... [I]f you look at him, we've got to eliminate the fumbling, he had one or two mental errors at critical times and I’m not saying he’s the only player that had a mental error, but he just needs to do some things; display that consistency, stay healthy and kind of keep that gradual climb upward."

Rams coach Jeff Fisher believes that Daryl Richardson will see more playing time in 2013 after seeing his reps diminish toward the second half of last season. Expecting a split with Isaiah Pead, Fisher believes Richardson could make contributions through the air. "We've got to get the ball to him in the passing game more so than we did (in 2012)," Fisher said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We were spreading it around, but we weren't necessarily going to the backs as much as we would've liked. It would be a great situation where that’s an extension of the run game, to get him out in space."

Rams coach Jeff Fisher is certain that Isaiah Pead's weak rookie stats were because he was parked behind Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson on the depth chart. That's going to change with Jackson moving on to Atlanta. "He'll get his opportunity this year," Fisher said per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. ... He's got a chance to make a lot of big plays for us."

Chris Johnson told The Tennessean that he's not a big fan of the Titans signing Shonn Greene this offseason. It's expected that Greene will take around 10 touches per game along with goal-line duties. “I have never been a big fan of the two-back system, so I don’t know how we plan on using him,” Johnson said. "I'm not afraid of competition, but I was thinking we'd maybe get a draft pick for the other back. And you don’t give a guy that kind of money to be just a goal-line guy and in tough-yardage situations. ... I don't mind a guy getting a carry or two. But if I am the main guy and it is supposed to be my team ... it shouldn’t be an issue."

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said in an interview with CBSSports.com that he's excited for running back DuJuan Harris heading into this season. "I wish we would have had DuJuan earlier," McCarthy said. "Once he got ready I felt great about the way DuJuan finished the season. I’m looking forward to having him for an offseason and getting good things from him." McCarthy said Harris has the chance to start in 2013. "He’s going to play for us next season," the coach said. "That’s his responsibility if he wants to be the starter."

Bucs coach Greg Schiano said in an interview with CBSSports.com on Wednesday at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix that he doesn't want to overwork second-year running back Doug Martin, but he also wants to use him more on third downs. "You like to maybe take a little load off him," Schiano said. "But you like to get him more involved in some things that he does well. He wasn’t in the game on third down. Maybe he gets some of those plays because he’s such a good pass receiver and a good blocker. We have some thoughts on how to best utilize him. We just have to figure out how it fits with the rest of the team."

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said in an interview with CBSSports.com that running back Roy Helu, who ended last year on injured reserve with turf toe, is doing well in his recovery. "I’m hoping Helu can come back and be the guy that he was at certain times before the injury," Shanahan said. "It looks like he’s doing quite well with the injury. For a while there it didn’t look like he was making progress, but all of the sudden it just happened and he’s feeling quite better. He can help us out a lot in the third-down package."

Chargers coach Mike McCoy said in an interview with CBSSports.com on Tuesday at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix that he's still counting on running back Ryan Mathews this season to play a prominent role even with the addition of Danny Woodhead. "Ryan’s had some bad luck with collarbones," McCoy said. "That’s all part of the game. You can’t do anything about that. I don’t know how you strengthen your collarbones. He’s had some bad luck the past couple of years. He’s going to be a great fit for this system. Give him the ball as many times as he can carry it in a game. And get him more involved in the passing game in certain areas and certain ways."