NFL Player News

The nature of Cincinnati's backfield split between Brown and Zack Moss remains somewhat unclear ahead of Sunday's game against New England, Paul Dehner of The Athletic reports.

Both running backs are expected to be heavily involved, and the good news for fantasy purposes is that there may even be room for both to thrive Week 1 with the team opening its season at home as a heavy favorite. The Bengals won't always be favored by more than a touchdown, of course, and there will be plenty of weeks in which wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins comfortably outproduce the running backs. With that in mind, it will be important to keep close tabs on how the Bengals deploy Moss and Brown in various situations, although there's some chance it's more of a hot-hand approach than anything else. Brown is much faster and more dangerous in the open field, but Moss is viewed as a superior blocker and could thus take on more playing time in pass situations even if he's less threatening on screens and dumpoffs. And while Moss is a logical favorite for goal-line carries, it's possible even those opportunities are split between the two backs to some degree.

Gibbs (hamstring) wasn't listed on the Lions' injury report Wednesday.

Although the Lions didn't hold a session Wednesday, Gibbs wouldn't have been inhibited in his on-field work if the team had done so. As a result, he's good to go for Sunday's contest against the Rams after sustaining a hamstring injury in an Aug. 12 practice. Gibbs again will split Detroit's backfield with David Montgomery in 2024, which amounted to 1,261 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns on 232 touches in 15 games in 2023.

Warren (hamstring) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Warren missed a couple weeks of practice after injuring his hamstring Aug. 17 during a preseason game. He said Aug. 26 that he anticipated playing Week 1, and he reiterated as much Monday after returning to practice. His consistent optimism is a good sign, but fantasy managers will feel even better if Warren progresses to full practice participation Thursday and/or Friday.

Hall described himself as "better than ever" heading into his third NFL season, the Jets' official site reports.

Hall has been simulating star 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey in practice to help the Jets defense prepare for Monday's season opener in San Francisco. He's one of the few running backs with comparable versatility and explosiveness to McCaffrey, as Hall's 1,585 scrimmage yards in the 2023 season were second among NFL running backs behind McCaffrey's 2,023. Hall's impressive production came despite his workload being managed to begin the season as he worked his way back from a torn ACL suffered in October 2022, but he has no such physical limitations heading into the 2024 campaign.

Moss and Chase Brown are expected to split snaps this Sunday against New England, but they won't necessarily have predetermined roles based on situations, Paul Dehner of The Athletic reports.

In other words, it may not be a traditional early/late-down split with one running back getting most of the carries and the other dominating targets. The Bengals may instead use both backs in a variety of situations, perhaps preferring Brown's speed for some passing downs and Moss' superior blocking for others. Moss seems to be the favorite to handle short-yardage work and a majority of the other carries between the tackles, but that doesn't mean he'll dominate early down snaps in a pass-first Cincinnati offense directed by head coach Zac Taylor and quarterback Joe Burrow. A slightly better idea about the backfield roles should emerge after Week 1, even if fluidity throughout the season is a strong possibility.

Edwards is listed as a co-starter with J.K. Dobbins on the Chargers' unofficial Week 1 depth chart heading into Sunday's game against the Raiders.

Edwards and Dobbins are both familiar with the rushing scheme of Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, as both running backs previously played under Roman in Baltimore. Dobbins is faster and has better hands, but Edwards should get a steady diet of inside runs and valuable goal-line work after racking up 13 rushing touchdowns with the Ravens in 2023. Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins are listed as the backups at running back.

Sanders is listed as a limited participant on Wednesday's practice report with a finger injury.

Sanders will have two more opportunities to upgrade to full practice participation before receiving an injury designation for Sunday's regular-season opener against New Orleans. The veteran running back looks in line to handle a depth role behind Chuba Hubbard to begin the season, as long as injuries don't impact his ability to contribute. However, Sanders could slide further down the depth chart once rookie Jonathon Brooks (knee) is ready to come off the reserve/non-football injury list and make his NFL debut.

Dobbins looked healthy in training camp and the preseason and shouldn't face any restrictions heading into Sunday's season opener against the Raiders, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

While he was with the Ravens in 2023, Dobbins tore his Achilles in Week 1 and missed the rest of the season, but he has healed up and has looked spry thus far during his time with the Chargers. Popper believes Dobbins will contribute regularly as a pass catcher, and the running back still has the speed to beat defenders to the edge. Dobbins is expected to begin his Chargers tenure in a timeshare with Gus Edwards. Both running backs previously played under Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman in Baltimore.

Mixon is fully healthy heading into Sunday's season opener against the Colts after being held out of preseason action due to a quadricep injury, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Mixon didn't have any limitations in joint practices near the end of training camp and won't have a cap on his workload in his Texans debut Week 1. The 28-year-old running back exceeded 1,000 rushing yards in four of his seven seasons with the Bengals, and Mixon is projected to lead a Houston backfield that also includes Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, Cam Akers and British Brooks.

Steele could see significant playing time early in the season, starting with Thursday's game against the Ravens, as teammate Clyde Edwards-Helaire will miss at least four weeks after being placed on the non-football illness list Monday, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.

Steele profiles as the third option in Kansas City's backfield behind Isiah Pacheco and Samaje Perine, though Perine has been with the team for only two weeks and thus may not be available in all situations. Steele made the 53-man roster after a strong training camp and preseason.