NFL Player News

Demercado took four carries for 59 yards and one touchdown and hauled in both targets for 21 yards during Sunday's 29-9 win versus the Bears.

Aside from a 53-yard TD run late in the first half, Demercado was relatively quiet, gaining 27 yards on his five other touches. He also ranked third among Cardinals running backs in snap share (24 percent) behind starter James Conner (48 percent) and rookie Trey Benson (28 percent). All three players produced, with Conner leading the way with 21 touches for 119 yards from scrimmage, while Benson had nine touches for 55 total yards and a TD on the ground. The preceding won't happen most weeks, though, leaving Demercado on the outside looking in at fantasy relevance without some sort of absence from Conner.

Benson recorded eight carries for 37 yards and one touchdown and caught his only target for 18 yards during Sunday's 29-9 win against the Bears.

Benson's usage was sporadic for the first seven appearances of his career, but in Week 9 he was sprinkled in throughout the contest alongside fellow reserve RB Emari Demercado behind No. 1 option James Conner. It didn't hurt that Conner missed a possession late in the first half to get checked for a concussion, but Benson earned the second-highest snap share (28 percent) to date and matched his second-most touches in a game this season. The rookie third-rounder also scored his first touchdown as a pro on a one-yard run in the second quarter. However, Conner continued to dominate the Cardinals backfield to the tune of 48 percent of snaps and 21 touches for 119 yards from scrimmage, while Demercado was at 24 percent and six touches for 80 total yards and a rushing TD. Considering the breakdown of work, it remains difficult to trust Benson for weekly output without some sort of absence from Conner.

Akers had six carries for 46 yards and two receptions for seven yards in Sunday's win over the Colts.

Akers played on 16 of the offense's 73 snaps as he essentially got two series in place of starter Aaron Jones, the latter of whom had 21 carries for 64 yards and four receptions for 18 yards. Ty Chandler didn't play any snaps on offense as it looks like Akers has overtaken him to be the primary backup running back. It appears Akers will be the running back who gets some work each game to try to keep Jones fresh.

Chandler did not have a carry in Sunday's win over the Colts. He did not play any snaps on offense and played seven snaps on special teams.

Meanwhile Cam Akers had six carries for 46 yards and two receptions for seven yards while playing 16 snaps on offense. It's surprising that Chandler has fallen to third string given how he was used early in the season and without any indications that he was hurt or negative comments from the coaching staff. However, it looks like Chandler will have a minimal role on offense based on Sunday's game with Akers as the backup to Aaron Jones.

Mims tallied five rushes for 13 yards and hauled in his only target for 25 yards during Sunday's 23-22 defeat against the Panthers.

Mims stepped up to serve as the Saints' RB2 with veteran Jamaal Williams (groined) sidelined Week 9. The second-year back still had to contend for carries behind starter Alvin Kamara, as do-it-all tight end Taysom Hill also tallied five rushing attempts for 19 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Kamara handled a full workload with 29 carries and six receptions out of the backfield. With Kendre Miller (hamstring) on IR, Mims could continue to serve as RB2 if Williams remains sidelined for Sunday's game versus Atlanta, though his workload will likely be limited once again.

Rodriguez reverted to the Commanders' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's transaction log.

With Brian Robinson (hamstring) sidelined Sunday at the Giants, Rodriguez came up third in snaps (20 of 62) among Washington running backs behind Austin Ekeler (29) and Jeremy McNichols (24). Having said that, Rodriguez paced the team in rushing yards with 52 on 11 carries, while Ekeler notched 14 touches for 83 yards from scrimmage, and McNichols turned eight rushes into 20 yards and didn't haul in his only target. The Commanders have used their maximum allotment of three elevations on Rodriguez, so he'll need to be signed to the active roster in order to make another appearance with the team.

Gainwell rushed five times for nine yards and added a one-yard reception in Sunday's 28-23 win over the Jaguars.

Gainwell saw his second-most touches of the season but did very little with them, gaining a total of just 10 yards. He's averaging just 19.8 yards on 4.5 touches per game this season. Saquon Barkley dealt with back tightness during the Week 9 win but did not appear to be meaningfully impacted and is expected to be fine for Week 10 against the Cowboys, so expect Gainwell's role to remain limited.

Cook reverted to the Cowboys' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's transaction log.

With Ezekiel Elliott not making the trip to Atlanta for Sunday's game due to disciplinary reasons, Cook had a chance to earn a larger role in Dallas' backfield, but Rico Dowdle (55 of 77 offensive snaps) handled most of the work, and Hunter Luepke (17 snaps) was the next most-utilized RB option. Meanwhile, Cook was on the field for six offensive snaps and turned his two carries into eight yards. As long as Dowdle is healthy, Cook may not hold much sway in the Cowboys offense, even when Elliott isn't available.

Edwards-Helaire (coach's decision) is listed as inactive Monday against the Buccaneers.

Edwards-Helaire thus will be a healthy scratch for a third consecutive contest after spending the early portion of the season on the reserve/non-football illness list. With Isiah Pacheco (fibula) still on injured reserve, the Chiefs will continue to entrust the backfield to Kareem Hunt, while Samaje Perine and Carson Steele also will be on hand for RB reps.

Irving (toe) is listed as active Monday at Kansas City, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

When Irving showed up on the Buccaneers' Week 9 injury report Thursday, coach Todd Bowles told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times that the running back's toe injury was something the team will need to manage for the rest of the season. Irving proceeded to log only one limited session (Saturday) and left the weekend listed as questionable for Monday's game. With his availability now confirmed, he'll join forces with Rachaad White and Sean Tucker out of Tampa Bay's backfield. When all three players were active Weeks 7 and 8, Irving turned 18 carries into 67 yards and one touchdown and hauled in all 10 targets for 94 yards. Meanwhile, White had 27 touches, and Tucker was third with nine.