NFL Player News

Montgomery (shoulder) is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Bears.

Montgomery missed the fourth quarter of Sunday's win over the Colts but said afterward he would be ready by Thursday. It's not entirely clear his optimistic assessment was accurate, but the fact that the Lions listed him as a full practice participant Wednesday is a positive sign. However, the Lions held only walk-through practices on a short week, which means Montgomery didn't really get to test his injured shoulder in drills against teammates. Fantasy managers will want to check back for the final call on Montgomery's active status 90 minutes before the 12:30 p.m. ET kickoff Thursday.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday that Dobbins is "working through something with his knee," while adding that he expects the running back to "miss some time," Eric Smith of the Chargers' official site reports.

Per Kris Rhim of ESPN.com Dobbins suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee during Monday's loss to the Ravens, and as a result, the running back is expected to be out Sunday against the Falcons before being considered week-to-week beyond that. If Dobbins is indeed unavailable this weekend, Rhim indicates that Gus Edwards will likely get the bulk of the carries versus Atlanta. Meanwhile, reserve backs Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins would be on hand for change-of-pace work behind Edwards.

Haskins took one carry for three yards during Monday's 30-23 loss versus the Ravens.

After regular starter J.K. Dobbins suffered an MCL sprain, Haskins was able to pace Chargers running backs in terms of snaps in Week 12. With that said, his one carry lagged far behind Gus Edwards' nine. He projects to rotate with rookie sixth-rounder Kimani Vidal behind Edwards when the Chargers travel to Atlanta in Week 13.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed Wednesday that Pacheco (ankle) will play Friday against the Raiders unless he suffers a setback this week, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.

Listed as a limited participant in each practice the past two weeks, Pacheco upgraded to full participation Tuesday and now is expected to get activated from injured reserve and play for the first time since Week 2. Reid hasn't said if Pacheco is likely to get his usual workload Friday or if he'll yield touches to Kareem Hunt, who served as the Chiefs' lead back during Pacheco's absence.

Robinson (ankle) took part in Wednesday's practice, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reports.

The Commanders lost their top two running backs to injury this past Sunday against the Cowboys. First, Robinson was deemed questionable to return on two occasions due to an ankle injury and was contained to 12 snaps and six touches. And in the final minutes, Austin Ekeler took a big hit on a kickoff return and was diagnosed with a concussion. Ekeler isn't practicing Wednesday as he makes his way through the five-step concussion protocol, but Robinson's ability to handle at least some drills bodes well for his status for this Sunday's game versus the Titans. Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez are the healthy backs on Washington's active roster.

Ekeler (concussion) won't practice Wednesday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Head coach Dan Quinn confirmed that Ekeler remains in concussion protocol after he suffered a brain injury on a hard tackle during a kickoff return in the final minute of Sunday's 34-26 loss to the Cowboys. While he'll still have two more chances this week to potentially take part in practice, Ekeler doesn't appear to be trending toward playing this Sunday against the Titans. An Ekeler absence this weekend would open more snaps for back running backs Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez, who could see their roles grow even larger if lead back Brian Robinson (ankle) is also sidelined against the Titans.

Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said that Hall will sit out Wednesday's practice due to knee soreness, Eric Allen of the Jets' official site reports.

According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Ulbrich said he's "still hopeful" that Hall will play Sunday against the Seahawks, but the Jets plan to take a wait-and-see approach with the star tailback. Hall tweaked his knee at one point during the Jets' Week 11 loss to the Colts, but he was able to check back into the contest. The 23-year-old seemingly developed soreness in the knee after the game, and even with a Week 12 bye to heal, Hall apparently isn't yet back to 100 percent. If Hall fails to progress in his recovery as hoped and ends up sitting out against Seattle, rookie Braelon Allen would be primed for a lead role out of the New York backfield.

Dobbins is tending to an MCL sprain in his left knee and is expected to sit out Sunday's game against the Falcons, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. He'll be viewed as week-to-week following Sunday's contest.

Dobbins was forced out of Monday's 30-23 loss to the Ravens in the second quarter due to the knee issue and now looks set to miss his first game of the season. Before injuring his knee, Dobbins had staged a successful comeback from the torn Achilles' tendon that cut short his 2023 season, as he had played in each of the Chargers' first 11 games while accounting for 900 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns. In Dobbins' expected absence, Gus Edwards is poised to take over as the Chargers' lead runner, while rookie Kimani Vidal could emerge as the preferred option on passing downs. Hassan Haskins is also on hand and could also provide some relief for Edwards out of the backfield.

Luepke played 15 of the Cowboys' 66 snaps on offense and hauled in his lone target for a 10-yard reception in Sunday's 34-26 win over the Commanders.

After sitting out the Cowboys' Week 11 loss to the Texans due to a calf injury, Luepke was cleared to return to action Week 12. The fullback continued to handle a limited role on offense, but he still came away with his 10th reception of the season. Luepke has yet to find the end zone across his 16 touches through the Cowboys' first 11 games of the campaign.

Edwards is expected to step in as the Chargers' starting running back in Sunday's game against the Falcons with J.K. Dobbins considered unlikely to play after spraining his left knee in Monday's 30-23 loss to the Ravens, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Edwards has technically started in two of his seven appearances on the season, but Dobbins has been the clear lead option out of the Los Angeles backfield, besting Edwards in both rushing volume (766 yards and eight touchdowns to Edwards' 206 and one) and efficiency (4.8 yards per carry to 3.3 YPC). With Rapoport relaying that Dobbins' availability beyond the Week 13 contest in Atlanta is up in the air, Edwards could be in store for a multi-game run as Los Angeles' primary ball carrier. However, Dobbins' expected absence is unlikely to open up more work on passing downs for Edwards, with those reps instead likely to go to rookie Kimani Vidal, whose 5-foot-8, 215-pound frame and superior speed makes him a strong candidate to fill a change-of-pace role. The Chargers also have Hassan Haskins on hand, but like Edwards, the 6-foot-2, 228-pound Haskins is better suited for early down or short-yardage work.