NFL Player News

Coach Kyle Shanahan said McCaffrey (calf/Achilles) will be a limited participant at Thursday's practice, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The injury that forced McCaffrey to miss the entire preseason slate was termed a strained calf, but Shanahan tacked on Achilles in his session with the media Thursday. There doesn't seem to be much worry about McCaffrey's availability for Monday's Week 1 matchup with the Jets, but his status nonetheless bears watching in the coming days. Behind McCaffrey, Jordan Mason is the likely next man up at running back for the 49ers with Elijah Mitchell (hamstring, IR) out for the season, and Isaac Guerendo (groin) and Patrick Taylor also on the team's active roster.

Sanders (finger) practiced in full Thursday.

Sanders was listed as a limited participant Wednesday, but he's now fully shed his finger injury. The veteran running back looks primed to contribute behind Chuba Hubbard out of the backfield to begin the 2024 regular season, starting with a Week 1 matchup on the road against the Saints on Sunday.

Johnson signed with the Panthers' practice squad Thursday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Johnson joined Carolina in July and was unable to make the 53-man roster out of training camp. However, the Washington product will get a second opportunity with the team, taking the last open spot on their practice squad.

Charbonnet (undisclosed) wasn't listed on the Seattle injury report Wednesday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Charbonnet missed practice Aug. 14 due to undisclosed tightness, and while he returned to drills Aug. 20, he wasn't wearing pads during that session. A little more than two weeks later, he was able to handle every on-field rep, indicating his health is up to par for Sunday's season opener versus the Broncos. Charbonnet again will take a back seat to No. 1 back Kenneth Walker in Seattle's offense in the upcoming campaign, a reality that contained him to 141 touches for 671 yards from scrimmage and one rushing touchdown in 16 games as a second-round rookie in 2023.

Johnson was a limited participant in practice Wednesday due to a toe injury.

The injury might explain why Johnson didn't play in any preseason contests after the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1. It's unclear what his role will be when healthy, but the limited practice participation suggests he at least stands some chance to play this Sunday against the Titans. D'Andre Swift is expected to lead Chicago's backfield, and Khalil Herbert could sub in for some carries, which may leave Johnson as a passing-down specialist or out of the picture entirely.

Henry is set to lead Baltimore's backfield Thursday against the Chiefs, despite not playing in the preseason, Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official site reports.

Henry will be making his Ravens debut Thursday, and Baltimore understandably didn't want to add any unnecessary tread to the 30-year-old running back's tires during the preseason after he handled 1,529 regular-season carries over the past five years with the Titans, leading the NFL in rushing attempts four times in that span. Justice Hill should fill a change-of-pace role behind Henry on Thursday in a Baltimore backfield that may not have any other options with Keaton Mitchell (knee) on the PUP list and Rasheen Ali (neck) listed as doubtful.

Reynolds (leg) was not listed on the Lions' estimated injury report Wednesday.

Reynolds' absence from the report is good news for the Kutztown product. Although it is worth noting that Detroit did not hold a practice Wednesday, so his participation in practice was just an estimate. It should confirm previous reports that he was expected to be ready Week 1. He'll likely compete with Sione Vaki for a limited number of snaps Sunday against the Rams, behind the Lions' backfield duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Tracy (ankle) wasn't listed on the Giants' practice report Wednesday, Dan Salomone of the team's official site reports.

During an Aug. 13 session, Tracy initially suffered what was believed to be a serious injury to his lower right leg, which spurred the Giants to encase it in an air cast, cart him off the field and transport him to the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. Eventually, the 2024 fifth-round selection was diagnosed with a low-ankle sprain, and within a week, he was back on the practice field. Now that he's back to 100 percent, Tracy will serve as the No. 2 back behind Devin Singletary to begin his rookie campaign.

Strong (ribs) wasn't listed on Cleveland's injury report Wednesday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Strong practiced fully heading into Sunday's season opener against the Cowboys. He's likely to play a rotational role alongside D'Onta Foreman in a Browns backfield that will be led by Jerome Ford in the absence of Nick Chubb (knee), who will miss at least the first four games after opening the season on the PUP list. The speedy Strong is also listed as the top kickoff returner on the Browns' unofficial depth chart.

Sermon (hamstring) wasn't listed on the Colts' injury report Wednesday.

Sermon has evidently moved past the hamstring issue that sidelined him last month, and as a result is in line to be available to back up starting running back Jonathan Taylor in Sunday's season opener versus the Texans. Tyler Goodson is also on hand as a reserve option, though neither Sermon or Goodson is likely to garner a high volume of weekly touches as long as Taylor is available.