NFL Player News

Pierce has shown improvement in the first days of training camp, John Harris of the Texans' official site reports.

Pierce struggled to produce last season in a new offensive scheme and eventually lost his starting job to Devin Singletary. The new outside zone scheme required reading the defense to dictate where the back goes, which was different from the power-gap scheme, where backs can predetermine where they want to go. During the first two days of camp, Pierce has shown improved patience and decision-making after getting the ball. With Singletary gone, the Texans added Joe Mixon, who is expected to be the lead back in 2024, but Pierce could make this a 1-2 punch in the backfield.

The Patriots placed Jennings on the active/PUP list Friday with an undisclosed injury, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Jennings landed in New England as an undrafted free agent in May, and it looks like he picked up an injury somewhere along the way. He will be eligible to come off the PUP list once his health allows. Once he does that, the rookie will compete for a depth role in New England's backfield.

The Texans worked out Williams (knee) on Friday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Houston also worked out fellow running back Deon Jackson on Friday. Williams took 49 carries for 158 yards and three touchdowns at Ohio State in 2023 during a senior season that was marred by a knee injury, but he flashed some potential during the two seasons before that.

The Panthers placed Brooks (knee) on the active/non-football injury list Friday, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

Carolina saw rookies report for the start of training camp Friday, and despite early offseason reports that Brooks would be cleared for the start of camp, he will begin on the NFI list while continuing to recover from a torn right ACL suffered last November. Of course, Brooks can be activated at any time this summer, so he could still gain clearance to practice in at least a limited capacity without missing much of camp. The rookie second-round pick has just under three weeks to prepare for the Panthers' preseason opener against New England, and when ready to practice, he figures to compete for first-team reps with Chuba Hubbard, Miles Sanders and Rashaad Penny.

Mixon said Friday that he's spending training camp preparing to handle a large workload, which he expects will go hand in hand with his role in the Texans' offense, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Mixon said he's trained harder this offseason than ever before in his career, per Will Kunkel of Fox 26 Houston, and that he anticipates being near the top of the league in carries this season. While playing all 17 regular-season games for Cincinnati in 2023, Mixon ranked fifth in the league with 257 rush attempts, though his 1,034 rushing yards only ranked No. 8 and he also finished a meager 27th in YPC with a 4.0 average. Mixon did add a 52-376-3 receiving line on 64 targets and boasts a true three-down skill set, but with three star wideouts at the helm of Houston's offense, plus a capable receiving TE in Dalton Schultz, he'll likely have difficulty repeating those target numbers. Unless Mixon can manage to improve his efficiency heading into his age-28 season, he'll indeed likely need to rank close to the top five in carries to truly impress for fantasy purposes. On the plus side, he's well positioned to accomplish that in Houston, as 2022 fourth-rounder Dameon Pierce only profiles as a true backup option, and C.J. Stroud could help this team rank atop the NFL in total scoring opportunities with an improved offense surrounding him in Year 2.

Bawden (undisclosed) was placed on the active/PUP list by the Jets on Thursday, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The fullback can be activated during training camp, per Cimini. Bawden signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets in January after playing in 16 regular-season games with the team last year. The 2018 seventh-round pick carried the ball twice last season and scored a touchdown.

The Dolphins placed Ahmed (foot) on the active/non-football injury list Thursday.

Ahmed, who re-signed with Miami on a one-year contract early this offseason, will begin training camp on the NFI list. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Ahmed's placement on the NFI list is due to a minor medical issue, one unrelated to the season-ending foot injury he sustained last November. He can be activated at any time during training camp or the preseason, once cleared to practice.

The Broncos placed Watson on the active/non-football injury list Wednesday with an undisclosed injury, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Watson appears to have sustained his injury away from Denver's practice facilities. The undrafted rookie out of Memphis will be eligible to return to practice at any point throughout training camp or the preseason, once cleared, but any amount of time missed will negatively impact his chances of earning a depth role in the Broncos backfield.

The Ravens placed Mitchell (knee) on the PUP list Monday, Ryan Mink of the team's official site reports.

Mitchell, who is working his way back from a left ACL tear suffered last December, will unsurprisingly have to begin training camp on the PUP list. He can be moved to the active roster at any time during training camp and the preseason, once he's ready to practice, but if he remains sidelined by the time Week 1 rolls around, Mitchell will need to be moved to the reserve/PUP list and thus miss a minimum of four games to start the season. The undersized speedster is competing for a role behind Derrick Henry out of the backfield.

Chubb (knee) was shown in a video posted Monday to his documentary film's Instagram account handling two squat reps of what appeared to be 558 pounds, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Chubb didn't do any on-field work during OTAs or minicamp and declined to put a timetable on his return back in June, but the four-time Pro Bowler continues to make progress in his recovery with the start of training camp approaching, as veterans report for Cleveland on July 23. The 28-year-old suffered a season-ending ACL, MCL and meniscus injury in Week 2 last year, requiring separate surgeries to repair his MCL on Sept. 29, then his ACL on Nov. 14. When Chubb suffered a similar injury to the same knee at Georgia, he didn't miss a single game in the Bulldogs' following season, but at that time, his ACL wasn't torn. Whether Chubb will be available for the start of training camp as even a limited participant is still unclear, and his status for Week 1 versus Dallas is also in question. In any case, the Browns seem optimistic that he'll be fully healthy and suiting up at some point during the 2024 campaign. Cleveland has depth to lean on if Chubb isn't able to play early in the season, as the team added bruiser D'Onta Foreman and pass-catching specialist Nyheim Hines (knee) to a backfield already housing Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong.