NFL Player News

Coach Matt Eberflus indicated Thursday that healthy starters (a group that would include Swift) are slated to play in Saturday's preseason contest against the Bills, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Swift was among the team's key players who didn't see action in last week's Hall of Fame Game, but the 25-year-old, who spent last season with Philadelphia, is poised to make his game debut in a Chicago uniform Saturday. In his lone campaign with the Eagles, Swift logged a team (and career) high 1,049 yards to go along with five TDs on 229 carries, while adding a career-low 39 catches (on 49 targets) for 214 yards and another score in 16 regular-season contests. Per Kevin Fishbainof The Athletic, Swift has demonstrated his ability as a receiver over the past few weeks in practice, and it's plausible that the 2020 second-rounder could see an uptick in catches this coming season, while leading a backfield that also includes Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer.

Foreman (neck) is participating in Thursday's practice, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Foreman is back on the practice field for the first time since suffering a scary neck injury Aug. 1, for which he had to be transported to a hospital via helicopter for evaluation. X-rays and CT scans showed no major damage, however, and after roughly a week of recovery time the veteran running back has been cleared to resume practicing. He'll resume competing for backfield snaps with Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong, while Nick Chubb (knee) and Nyheim Hines (knee) continue to work back from their respective ACL tears.

Dowdle is on track for a roster spot and could even be considered the favorite to lead Dallas in rushing this year, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.

Dowdle was the team's No. 2 RB last year but didn't get much work outside of garbage time with Tony Pollard staying healthy all season. Pollard is gone, replaced by the man he once replaced, Ezekiel Elliott, who reportedly has taken fewer carries than Dowdle with the first-team offense this summer. Machota says Dowdle "has to be the favorite" to lead Dallas in rushing, but fantasy managers should also consider the possibility that Elliott is getting fewer reps because he already has so much experience, including three seasons as the starting RB (2020-22) under current Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

Mason is getting regular first-team reps while Christian McCaffrey (calf) and Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) recover from injuries, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The opportunity is particularly interesting because there were reports of Mason challenging Mitchell for the second spot on the depth chart even before Mitchell and McCaffrey suffered their respective injuries. Mitchell's speed and running ability are proven commodities, but Mason may have advantages in terms of pass blocking and receiving skills, and nearly any player has the edge over Mitchell when it comes to durability. Maiocco notes that Mason has "greatly improved" his route-running and hands, making a case to be more involved on offense after taking nearly three-fourths of his snaps on special teams the past two years. That said, the injuries to McCaffrey and Mitchell aren't considered serious, so it's still possible Mason enters Week 1 mostly playing special teams. The San Francisco backfield also has rookie fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo, who has missed all of training camp with a hamstring injury.

White and other veteran starters aren't scheduled to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Bengals, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

The Bucs will play backups and rookies, with Kyle Trask starting at quarterback. White is entering his second year as the team's top running back, this time under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who spent the past few years bouncing between the Rams and the University of Kentucky. Backfield competition behind White again looks less than stellar, featuring rookie fourth-round pick Bucky Irving, 28-year-old Chase Edmonds (undisclosed) and 2023 UDFA Sean Tucker. With White and Edmonds presumably not playing Saturday, we could see a lot of Irving and Tucker -- both seemingly candidates for the No. 2 RB job.

Cook and other starters likely will play about a quarter in Saturday's preseason game against Chicago, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

Coach Sean McDermott didn't mention Cook by name, but the running back will likely be out there if Josh Allen is. McDermott confirmed that Allen is scheduled to start, leading an offense in which the top skill-position weapons figure to be Cook, TE Dalton Kincaid and WRs Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman. A relative lack of experience in the pass-catching corps could lead to the running backs being more emphasized, but there's some chance that benefits rookie Ray Davis and/or Ty Johnson rather than giving Cook a big uptick from last year's regular-season totals of 634 snaps (54.5 percent), 237 carries and 44 receptions.

Demercado was spotted donning a brace on his right shoulder after Wednesday's practice, Howard Balzer of GoPHNX.com reports.

So far during training camp, Demercado has been getting regular reps with the Cardinals' first-team offense, subbing in for No. 1 back James Conner in such situations. Behind those two, Michael Carter has handled most of the work with the second team, followed by rookie third-rounder Trey Benson. There's still plenty of time for the pecking order to change ahead of Week 1, and perhaps Demercado's current health concern causes him to tumble down the depth chart. It's unclear if he'll be able to suit up for Saturday's preseason game against the Saints, and if Demercado doesn't, Carter, Benson and the rest of Arizona's reserve running backs should have elevated opportunities to contribute.

Henry isn't slated to see any preseason action, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.

The Ravens have nothing to gain by exposing their lead back to injury during exhibition play, so he won't be back on the field for a game until Week 1 against the Chiefs. In the meantime, Rasheen Ali, Owen Wright and Chris Collier should have opportunities to make cases for depth slotting behind Henry and Justice Hill.

Jackson signed a contract with the Jets on Wednesday.

Jackson bounced between the Colts, Browns and Giants last season, seeing action in four regular-season games. The Duke product managed to net only 16 yards on 14 carries, but he did have a little better success in 2022, when he averaged 3.5 YPC on 68 attempts. The 25-year-old will compete with rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, as well as with second-year pro Israel Abanikanda, for a spot behind Breece Hall at running back.

Head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Pacheco and the starting offense will play during Saturday's preseason opener against the Jaguars, J.P. Shadrick of the Jaguars' official site reports.

Reid indicated that the starters will play roughly a quarter Saturday, though Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com notes that in the past, star players such as Pacheco, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have been limited to a single series, while other starters have stayed in the exhibition opener for longer stretches. Pacheco is the clear No. 1 option in Kansas City's backfield, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Deneric Prince backing him up, so the Chiefs are unlikely to expose Pacheco to a heavy workload this early in the preseason. Expectations are high for Pacheco as he looks to build upon his career-best 2023 campaign, which included 205 carries for 935 yards (4.6 YPC) and seven scores in 14 regular-season appearances, plus a 44-244-2 receiving line.