NFL Player News

Williams tallied two rushes for nine yards during Monday's 26-13 defeat versus the Chiefs.

Williams logged five or fewer touches for the third game in a row. The 29-year-old running back has not seen significant playing time since the Week 2 blowout versus Dallas, as Alvin Kamara has shouldered most of the workload even while Taysom Hill has been injured over the last three weeks. Williams saw more usage as a kickoff returner over the past two weeks, but there's no signal that he'll start to get more opportunities on offense moving forward. His best odds of seeing the field will come in either blowout wins or losses.

Charbonnet rushed twice for 11 yards and caught three of five targets for 19 yards in Sunday's 29-20 loss to the Giants.

Kenneth Walker recorded five carries and seven receptions for a combined 76 yards, as the Seahawks committed to the passing game with 40 pass attempts. Charbonnet hasn't played more than 41 percent of the offensive snaps in any of the three games in which Kenneth Walker started, so his reps will likely be limited again Thursday versus the 49ers.

The Vikings signed Gaskin off their practice squad Tuesday.

Gaskin had appeared in each of Minnesota's first five games, seeing most of his snaps on special teams while carrying three times for minus-1 yard to go with an 11-yard reception. With Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell labeled lead back Aaron Jones (hip) as week-to-week heading into the team's Week 6 bye, Gaskin will be on hand to provide depth behind top backup Ty Chandler if Jones is unable to play in Minnesota's next game Oct. 20 versus the Lions.

The Texans placed Brooks (knee) on injured reserve Tuesday.

Brooks suffered a knee injury in the Texans' Week 5 win over the Bills this past Sunday. He'll now miss a minimum of four games on the IR list. Brooks appeared in all five games for Houston to open the season, logging nine offensive snaps and another 79 on special teams.

The Panthers released Boone on Tuesday.

Boone had appeared in just two of the Panthers' first five games, logging five offensive snaps and another 34 on special teams. He rushed four times for seven scoreless yards. Boone had been serving as Carolina's RB4 behind Chuba Hubbard, Miles Sanders and Raheem Blackshear. Boone is now 29 years old and will look for work elsewhere, though he's also a candidate to go to Carolina's practice squad.

The Browns released Freeman from their practice squad Tuesday.

Freeman spent three-plus weeks on Cleveland's practice squad, but with Nick Chubb (knee, PUP) and Nyheim Hines (knee, NFI) practicing and nearing a return coupled with Pierre Strong's return to health made Freeman expendable. The 28-year-old Freeman will look for an opportunity elsewhere.

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said Tuesday that Jones (hip) "continues to be evaluated" and is considered week-to-week, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Jones suffered a right hip injury in Sunday's 23-17 win over the Jets in London and missed the final three quarters of the contest. The Vikings' Week 6 bye arrives at an ideal time for Jones, but even though O'Connell said that initial indications are that the running back has avoided a long-term injury, he still could be at risk of sitting out a Week 7 matchup with the Lions on Oct. 20. After Jones left Sunday's game, Ty Chandler took on a near-every down role en route to a season-high 14 carries for 30 yards while adding two catches for nine yards. Myles Gaskin briefly mixed in, handling two carries for two yards and one catch for 11 yards.

Perine did not receive a carry but gathered in one of his two targets for 24 yards during Monday's 26-13 victory versus the Saints.

Perine played the second-most snaps (21) among the Chiefs' backs in Monday's contest, but that was still less than half of Kareem Hunt's 53 snaps and just five more than Carson Steele, who tallied four more touches. Perine sees some work on passing downs, but that could be short-lived, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire potentially returning after the bye week.

Steele had five rushes for 12 yards during Monday's 26-13 win against the Saints.

Steele finished the day a distant second in backfield carries, logging just five to Kareem Hunt's 27. Samaje Perine also logged more snaps but finished with just one touch (a catch for 24 yards on two targets). It appears Hunt is primed to recapture the lead-back role for Kansas City, and the impending return of Clyde Edwards-Helaire could shift Steele further out of the spotlight.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Warren (knee) is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Raiders, Missi Matthews of the Steelers' official site reports.

Tomlin has already ruled out Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) for a second straight game, and though the coach is still leaving the door open for Warren to play, the 25-year-old will in all likelihood sit out a third consecutive contest. With Warren and Patterson sidelined for Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Cowboys, Najee Harris (14 carries, two receptions, 74 percent snap share) took on the majority of playing time out of the backfield, while Aaron Shampklin (four carries, no receptions, 19 percent snap share) and Jonathan Ward (two carries, no receptions, five percent snap share) saw limited work behind him. Expect a similar division of labor in Week 6, while Warren turns his focus toward a return to the lineup in Week 7 versus the Jets.