NFL Player News

Arizona placed Benson (ankle) on injured reserve Tuesday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Benson will end up missing the final three games of his rookie season due to the ankle injury he sustained in a Dec. 15 win over the Patriots. Before getting hurt, the third-round pick out of Florida State had solidified his spot as the top backup to James Conner. Over 13 appearances, Benson gained 291 yards and a touchdown on 63 carries (4.6 average) while reeling in all six of his targets for 59 yards.

The Cowboys will waive Elliott on Tuesday, Josina Anderson of BovadaHub.com reports.

According to Anderson, Elliott asked for his release ahead of the Cowboys' season finale Sunday versus the Commanders, and Dallas honored his request. His second stint in Dallas left much to be desired, as Elliott scored three touchdowns and averaged a career-low 3.1 yards on 74 carries to go with 12 receptions for 69 yards over his 15 appearances. He was also a healthy inactive for a Week 9 loss to the Falcons, after a slew of missed meetings prompted Dallas to hold him out for that contest. While Elliott will be eligible to catch on with a contending team ahead of the playoffs once he clears waivers, he could struggle to find an opportunity after averaging fewer than 4.0 yards per carry in three straight seasons and offering no value on special teams.

The Eagles cut Nichols from their practice squad Tuesday.

Nichols had just signed to Philadelphia's practice squad last Thursday, but he didn't stick around long. The second-year running back hasn't yet made his NFL debut after being selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft by Green Bay. Nichols is likely to seek an opportunity with a different organization.

Warren was a limited participant in practice Tuesday due to an injury to his ribs, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Even though the Steelers have a longer turnaround for the regular-season finale after playing on Christmas Day in Week 17, Warren is a bit banged up after he took on 16 touches (11 carries, five catches) in Pittsburgh's 29-10 loss to Kansas City. Provided Warren is able to advance to full participation in practice by Thursday, he should head into Saturday's contest without a designation. While Najee Harris should continue to start Saturday, Warren has out-touched him in the last two contests by 17-9 and 16-15 margins, though negative game scripts were a factor on both occasions.

Hill (concussion/illness) didn't participate in practice Tuesday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Monday that Hill is trending toward being available for Saturday's regular-season finale against the Browns, after the running back sat out the team's Week 17 win over the Texans with a concussion. Though Hill is seemingly on the cusp of exiting the NFL's five-step concussion protocol, an unrelated illness has kept him off the field for practice. Hill will likely need to log some practice activity Wednesday and/or Thursday in order for Harbaugh's prediction to come to fruition.

Corum appears primed to handle an expanded role in Sunday's game against the Seahawks, after head coach Sean McVay acknowledged Monday that the Rams are planning to rest key players such as Kyren Williams in the regular-season finale, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports. "There's a handful of guys that could come to mind immediately, but I'm excited about seeing Blake Corum get a heavy workload," McVay said, when speaking about the Rams' approach for Week 18. "I'm excited to see what Cody Schrader is about. I've loved what I've seen from him in some of these practice settings. I think Blake has flashed in some of the opportunities that he's gotten."

Though they can secure the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs with a win Sunday, the Rams are assured a home game in the wild-card round regardless of how Week 18 action shakes out. McVay suggested that the Rams are content to prioritize rest and injury avoidance to key players rather than going all in on moving up a spot in the standings, so Williams is an obvious candidate to be a healthy inactive for the contest or play only limited snaps. While Williams has handled a three-down workhorse role for each of the Rams' first 16 games, Corum has seen few opportunities, as the third-round rookie will head into Sunday's contest with a 56-197-0 rushing line and 6-46-0 receiving line for the season. The Rams are likely to sprinkle in Schrader and Ronnie Rivers into Sunday's game plan, but Corum appears most likely to lead the Los Angeles backfield in touches and could make for a useful lineup option in fantasy leagues that are still active in Week 18.

Williams appears likely to sit out or handle a limited role in Sunday's game against the Seahawks, after head coach Sean McVay acknowledged Monday that the Rams are planning to rest key players in the regular-season finale, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports. "There's a handful of guys that could come to mind immediately, but I'm excited about seeing Blake Corum get a heavy workload," McVay said, when speaking about the Rams' approach for Week 18. "I'm excited to see what Cody Schrader is about. I've loved what I've seen from him in some of these practice settings. I think Blake has flashed in some of the opportunities that he's gotten."

The Rams are assured at least the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs and can clinch the No. 3 seed with a win over Seattle, but McVay suggested that the team's main priority in Week 18 will be avoiding injuries to top contributors heading into the postseason. Though McVay didn't explicitly say that Williams will be held out Sunday, the coach's comments about Corum and Schrader imply that Williams will see only light snaps, if he's not a healthy inactive for the contest. With 316 carries and 34 receptions through 16 games, Williams' touch count this season ranks second to only Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley (345 carries, 33 catches) among all running backs, so it makes sense for the Rams to build in some maintenance for the 24-year-old ahead of the playoffs. Expect Williams to reclaim his normal three-down workhorse role during the Rams' wild-card game.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday that Strong is in the NFL's concussion protocol after he exited in the final two minutes of Sunday's 20-3 loss to the Dolphins to be evaluated for a head injury, Ashley Bastock of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Strong won't practice Tuesday and could face an uphill battle to clear the five-step protocol on a short week, as the Browns will close their season with a Saturday game in Baltimore. After starting running back Jerome Ford left this past Sunday's game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, Strong was tasked with his biggest workload of the season, finishing the day with five carries for 33 yards and three catches for 15 yards on five targets. With both Ford and Strong banged up, D'Onta Foreman and John Kelly are the only healthy running backs on the Browns' 53-man roster at this stage of the week.

Abdullah emerged from Sunday's 25-10 win over the Saints with a foot injury, Luke Straub of USA Today reports.

Abdullah handled a season-high 23 touches and accounted for 147 yards, but he didn't take a handoff or draw a target after the first play of the fourth quarter. Though the Raiders listed Abdullah as questionable to return due to the foot injury at one point later in the quarter, he ultimately never checked back in while Chris Collier served as the primary back on Las Vegas' last drive. Given how well he fared against the Saints, the 31-year-old Abdullah would likely be in store for the lead RB role if he's able to play through the foot issue.

The Browns signed Kelly to the 53-man roster Tuesday.

Kelly was cut from the Chargers' practice squad Dec. 23 without playing on the Bolts' active roster. He spent time on the Ravens' practice squad earlier in the season and played 11 special teams snaps across two games. Kelly could see meaningful snaps out of the backfield behind D'Onta Foreman for Cleveland's regular-season finale against Baltimore on Saturday if either or both of Jerome Ford (ankle) and Pierre Strong (concussion) are unable to play.