NFL Player News

Sermon (hamstring) didn't play in Thursday's 27-14 preseason win over the Bengals.

James Boyd of The Athletic expects Sermon to have a spot on the initial 53-man roster despite missing the final two preseason games and the past couple weeks of practice. The running back was injured during the first quarter of the Colts' preseason opener, after reports out of training camp pegged him as a favorite for the second spot on the depth chart. It's a role that doesn't figure to entail many touches when Jonathan Taylor is healthy, and there's some chance Sermon's absence will lead the Colts to turn to Evan Hull and/or Tyler Goodson instead. The team may even put Sermon on injured reserve if he won't be ready for Week 1, in which case he'd be ruled out for the first four games of the season.

Wheeler suffered a knee injury in Thursday night's preseason win over the Chiefs, Scott Bair of the Bears' official site reports.

Coach Matt Eberflus said after the game that Wheeler would need further evaluation. Prior to leaving versus Kansas City, Wheeler recorded five carries for five yards, wrapping up the 2024 preseason with 12 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns.

Hull had nine carries for 30 yards but lost three yards on one reception in Thursday's preseason win over the Bengals.

Hull was the third running back to enter the game after Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Goodson, but also got time with the first-string offense. Goodson rushed 13 times for 57 yards and caught two of three targets for 10 yards, so the two backs competing for the No. 3 running back job had another similar preseason outing. Trey Sermon hurt his hamstring in the preseason opener, and if he still isn't ready to play by the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Texans, Goodson and Hull would likely split change-of-pace duties behind Taylor.

Prince rushed three times for minus-1 yard and brought in his only target for three yards in the Chiefs' 34-21 preseason loss to the Bears on Thursday night.

Prince saw both Carson Steele and Keaontay Ingram -- the latter his primary competition for a reserve running back spot -- fill larger roles in the preseason finale. Prince appeared in two regular-season games as an undrafted rookie in 2023, but it remains to be seen where he'll slot in on the depth chart come Week 1, with Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire also in the team's backfield mix.

Steele rushed four times for 50 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs' 34-21 preseason loss to the Bears on Thursday night. He also returned one kickoff for 29 yards.

The undrafted UCLA product got a nice chunk of his team-high rushing yardage total on a 31-yard scamper, but he was impressively efficient overall with his few opportunities. Steele is listed as a fullback on the Chiefs' unofficial preseason depth chart, but he's looked good with the ball in his hands and has arguably made a case for a 53-man roster spot, especially with no other player listed at his position. Nevertheless, Kansas City's ground game will naturally be dominated by Isiah Pacheco come the regular season, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness) and Deneric Prince likely also in the mix for complementary snaps.

Swift didn't log any action in the Bears' 34-21 preseason win over the Chiefs on Thursday night.

Swift unsurprisingly was held out of action along with the other Bears front-line players as well as some key reserves such as backfield mates Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson. Swift enjoyed his healthiest season yet in 2023 with the Eagles and parlayed it into his first 1,000-yard campaign, and he's expected to be a key asset to rookie first overall pick Caleb Williams as both an effective runner that will command opposing defenses' respect and as a trusted target out of the backfield.

Goodson rushed 13 times for 57 yards and caught two of three targets for 10 yards in Thursday's 27-14 preseason win over the Bengals.

Jonathan Taylor started the game, but Goodson was the second running back to mix into the game alongside the rest of the first-team offense, though Evan Hull (nine carries for 30 yards) also got some opportunities with the starters. Goodson continued to play with the backups, as the Colts wanted to get a long look at both him and Hull. Trey Sermon hurt his hamstring in the preseason opener, and if Sermon still isn't ready to play by the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Texans, Goodson and Hull would likely split change-of-pace duties behind Taylor.

Taylor rushed four times for 15 yards and caught his only target for eight yards in Thursday's 27-14 preseason win over the Bengals.

Taylor started the game but exited a few drives earlier than most of the other starters, allowing Tyler Goodson and Evan Hull to get some first-team reps. None of the other running backs in the organization are likely to do much besides spell Taylor when he needs a breather as long as the workhorse remains healthy. Even with more than two weeks to recover before the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Texans, the Colts understandably limited Taylor's workload in the preseason finale, as he's expected to regularly see 20-plus touches after averaging 19.8 combined rushing attempts and receptions per game over his previous four NFL regular seasons.

Head coach Sean McVay told reporters Thursday that Scott is dealing with a "little bit of a leg contusion," Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports.

The injury doesn't appear to be serious, with McVay relaying that Scott is set to receive "a big workload" in Saturday's preseason finale against Houston. Scott signed a one-year contract with the Rams in April after spending the first six years of his NFL career with the Eagles. The 2018 sixth-round pick is currently pencilled in as the Rams' fourth running back on the depth chart behind Kyren Williams, rookie Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers.

Wilson is considered likely to make Green Bay's 53-man roster, Zach Kruse of USA Today reports.

Rookie MarShawn Lloyd is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, and AJ Dillon is dealing with a neck stinger, which could provide a path for Wilson to make the Packers' Week 1 roster. The 25-year-old rushed 14 times for 85 scoreless yards and caught four passes for 23 yards last season with Green Bay. There's an outside shot Wilson has a role in the season opener behind Josh Jacobs if both Lloyd and Dillon remain on the shelf.