NFL Player News

Cohen informed the Jets on Thursday that he's retiring from football, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The 29-year-old last played in a game Week 3 of 2020, when he suffered an ACL tear that cost him the rest of that season and all of the next one. He suffered an Achilles' tear in spring of 2022 and spent most of 2023 with Carolina's practice squad, but reports out of Jets training camp this summer suggested Cohen had regained some of his old explosiveness and was a viable candidate for return work. Xavier Gipson remains the most likely Jet to make an impact there, and Cohen may have sensed that he was unlikely to earn a roster spot as a backup return specialist without much value on offense. Whatever the case, he's retiring after a week of training camp practices.

Nwangwu has taken more reps in training camp than in years past, but he's still the clear No. 3 running back on the Vikings' depth chart, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

The veteran running back appeared in just nine games last season, dealing with a back injury that landed him on injured reserve early in the 2023 campaign. He had just five carries for 13 yards on offense. He's been an excellent kick returner when healthy, however. While he's not likely to get many carries behind Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler, Nwangwu at least looks like he'll be next up should one of the top two backs succumb to an injury.

Mixon is making steady progress in his recovery from a minor quadricep injury, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Mixon has been dealing with a soft-tissue injury early in training camp and he's already been ruled out for the preseason opener Thursday versus the Bears. The running back is on track to resume practicing at some point during the preseason as he ramps up his activity ahead of his first season with the Texans. Mixon should get the lion's share of the workload out of Houston's backfield, setting him up for another productive fantasy campaign in 2024.

Robinson (toe) didn't practice Wednesday, Mia O'Brien of 1010 XL 92.5 FM Jacksonville reports.

The first-year running back out of Texas seems to be dealing with a toe issue that caused him to be sidelined Wednesday. Once Robinson returns to the field, he's expected to compete with Tank Bigsby and D'Ernest Johnson for the Jaguars' top backup RB spot.

The Panthers signed Johnson on Wednesday, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer reports.

The Washington product was dropped by the Titans just two days ago, but he's already found a new home in Carolina. Johnson has a shot to make the Panthers' 53-man roster, as the team's No. 3 running back spot is seemingly open. Once Johnson arrives in Carolina, he's expected to compete with Miles Sanders and Raheem Blackshear for a depth role on the Panthers' offense.

Lloyd (hip) took part in team drills Wednesday, Ryan Wood of USA Today reports.

After missing the early portion of training camp, Lloyd returned to individual drills Tuesday and then progressed to team work Wednesday. He'll start off fairly low on Green Bay's backfield depth chart, but the rookie third-round pick may get a chance to push AJ Dillon for the No. 2 role behind starter Josh Jacobs.

Stevenson said Tuesday that he believes that he will benefit from the outside zone scheme for Patriots running backs that new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is implementing this season, Mark Daniels of MassLive.com reports. "Yeah, it could benefit any running back. It's my favorite scheme, to be honest with you," Stevenson said. "Outside zones, that's what I like and that's what were running."

Stevenson notes that Van Pelt's scheme is the same one he worked in while in college at Oklahoma. As the regular season approaches, Stevenson -- who was slowed by injuries last season -- is healthy and looks rejuvenated, according to Daniels. While working in a scheme that he's comfortable in, and with the Patriots likely to lean heavily on the run with the team transitioning at the quarterback position, Stevenson could be poised for a bounce back in 2024, as the focal point of a backfield that's been bolstered by free-agent addition Antonio Gibson.

Vidal has been working with backups in training camp while J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards have been receiving first-team reps, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

It shouldn't really be a surprise that a rookie sixth-round pick isn't getting first-team reps when the team has two backs with NFL starting experience under the current offensive coordinator (Greg Roman, who held the same job in Baltimore from 2019 to 2022). The good news for Vidal is that he has a few viable paths to playing time, potentially aided by Dobbins' lengthy medical record (43 missed games in four seasons) and Edwards' history of minimal receiving contributions (30 catches in 69 career games). It's also worth noting that Vidal has a strong prospect profile relative to most Day 3 picks, having run a 4.46-second 40-yard dash time at 5-foot-8 and 213 pounds, after amassing 4,010 yards rushing yards and 33 touchdowns in four seasons at Troy. The first step for Vidal is to push ahead of 2022 fourth-round pick Isaiah Spiller and lock down the third spot on the depth chart.

Edward took part in 11-on-11 drills for the first time in training camp Tuesday, splitting reps evenly with J.K. Dobbins, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Dobbins previously got most of the first-team reps while Edwards was eased into camp after undergoing an undisclosed procedure this offseason. Both backs picked up five snaps with the starting offense in full-team drills Tuesday, potentially setting the stage for a timeshare come Week 1. Rookie sixth-round pick Kimani Vidal still has time to make an impression but has been working with the backups so far.

Edwards-Helaire (illness) returned to practice Wednesday, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.

Edwards-Helaire is the only running back behind Isiah Pacheco with considerable NFL starting experience, but reports from the first week of training camp suggested that 2023 undrafted free agent Deneric Prince was repping ahead of Edwards-Helaire during run periods. While it remains to be seen if Prince is truly pushing ahead of Edwards-Helaire on the depth chart, it should at least be taken as a hint that the latter wouldn't take over all of Pacheco's workload in the event Kansas City's starting back missed time with an injury. In any case, missing a couple practices with an illness shouldn't have any impact on the depth-chart slotting.