NFL Player News

Edwards-Helaire was held out of practice Sunday due to an illness, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

Edwards-Helaire had been placed on the active/non-football illness earlier in camp before being cleared to return to practice last Sunday. It's not clear if the running back's current ailment is related to the earlier issue. Edwards-Helaire is slated to compete for backup running back duties behind Isiah Pacheco during training camp.

Cook is absent from Bills practice Sunday for personal reasons, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports.

The nature of the personal matter Cook is dealing with hasn't been clarified, nor is it known how long the issue will keep the running back out of practice. At this point, there's no reason to believe he is in danger of missing substantial time. After compiling 1,567 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns last season, Cook is primed to lead the Buffalo backfield again in 2024.

White stands to be the beneficiary of the revamped running scheme in new offensive coordinator Liam Coen's offense, Brianna Dix of the team's official site reports.

White already had a fine season in 2023 -- his first as the No. 1 back -- reaching 1,539 yards from scrimmage and recording nine total touchdowns across 17 regular-season games. He added another 166 total yards and a receiving score in two postseason contests, but this coming season, he'll be deployed in a system that will include a healthy mix of mid-zone, wide-zone, tight-zone, duo and gap runs. The mid-zone concept is one White particularly has familiarity with, having operated within it successfully during his college days at Arizona State. "Mid-zone, outside zone -- all that -- it creates a bigger palette, and it forces the defense to guard not just a certain perimeter, but it makes them guard the whole field because the defense doesn't know what we are going to do," White said.

Brown took a majority of first-team reps during the first three practices of training camp, Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati reports.

Free-agent signee Zack Moss is healthy and also getting some first-team work, but apparently not quite as much as Brown, a 2023 fifth-round pick who averaged 8.8 touches for 53.7 yards over the final six weeks of last season. It was a promising finish to his rookie year, with the stipulation that Brown's production came from a few big plays rather than snap-to-snap consistency (he also played only eight snaps on offense before Week 13). There are some other positives in his profile, including a 4.43 40-yard dash (at 5-foot-10, 209 pounds) and a senior season at Illinois with 355 touches for 1,883 yards and 13 TDs. The question now is whether Brown shows enough skill development to earn a starting job over the steady-but-boring Moss.

Ford (personal) remained away from the team and missed Friday's practice, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Ford was out for a second consecutive practice, but Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski reiterated that Ford would be back "shortly." The coach also hinted that the running back will have "great news" to share once he returns to camp. The 24-year-old Ford is projected to be the Browns' lead back as long as Nick Chubb is recovering from his knee injury.

Chubb (knee) had a post-practice workout Friday, running sprints of 40 yards, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

This was the first activity that any outsiders have seen of Chubb, who has worked on the side with trainers over the first two days of camp doing non-football exercises -- as Jackson described it, "keep-the-blood flowing kind of stuff." Chubb was not wearing a brace or wrap during the sprints, and Jackson reports it's hard to tell if he was running full speed or if he's dealing with any restrictions. Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski said the running back is right where he should be in his recovery. Chubb opened camp on the active/physically unable to perform list and could be activated at any point during camp.

Patterson got a lot of first-team snaps during practice Thursday, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

With Gus Edwards (undisclosed) limited to individual drills and sixth-round pick Kimani Vidal working with the backups, J.K. Dobbins and Patterson seem to be getting most of the first-team RB snaps early in training camp. Patterson nonetheless seems more likely to find himself on the roster bubble than competing for a significant Week 1 role, considering he went undrafted back in 2021 and didn't make a regular-season appearance last year. He spent most of 2022 on the Commanders' practice squad and most of 2023 on the Chargers' practice squad.

Ford missed Thursday's practice due to a personal matter, Patrick Warren of the Browns' official site reports.

Ford is expected to return to camp Friday. With Nick Chubb (knee) on the active/physically unable to perform list and Nyheim Hines (knee) on the active/non-football injury list, Ford will be first in the running back line for drills once he's back.

Knight (shoulder) has been cleared to practice at the start of training camp, Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News reports.

Knight suffered a torn labrum last season and spent the final three months on injured reserve. He's competing for a roster spot behind David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds this summer.

The Falcons placed Burns (undisclosed) on the active/PUP list Thursday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Burns signed a reserve/future deal with the Falcons back in January after spending the 2023 season on the Bears' practice squad. He went undrafted out of UConn in 2023.