NFL Player News
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Raheem Mostert RB | LV
Dolphins' Raheem Mostert: Opens week with limited listing
Mostert (knee/ankle) was listed as a limited participant on Tuesday's estimated practice report, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
Mostert missed the final two games of the regular season due to his pair of lower-body injuries. Even if he's cleared to play in Saturday's wild-card matchup with Kansas City, Mostert could find himself in a timeshare with rookie De'Von Achane, who has remained efficient as a runner (6.8 yards per carry) and receiver (5.8 yards per target) over the past two weeks while taking on a larger workload.
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Myles Gaskin RB | SEA
Vikings' Myles Gaskin: Staying in Minnesota
The Vikings signed Gaskin to a reserve/future contract Tuesday.
Gaskin spent the majority of the year on Minnesota's practice squad, appearing in three games and failing to record a single stat in just 10 snaps. He'll look to compete for a depth role this offseason in a backfield that's seemingly open for the time being.
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Pierre Strong Jr. RB | GB
Browns' Pierre Strong: Spectator at practice Tuesday
Strong (back) isn't participating in Tuesday's practice, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.
Strong was missing from the Browns' first practice of the week just two days after seeing his largest workload of the season in Cleveland's 31-14 loss to Cincinnati. Since the Browns were already locked in as the AFC's No. 5 seed in the playoffs, the coaching staff held out or limited several key players in the regular-season finale, including Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt (groin). That resulted in Strong taking on his biggest workload of the season. The former Patriot played 27 snaps on offense and carried the ball 14 times for 65 yards before he left the game in the second half due to a back injury, which now threatens his availability for Saturday's wild-card game in Houston.
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Kareem Hunt RB | KC
Browns' Kareem Hunt: Not practicing Tuesday
Hunt (groin) won't participate in Tuesday's practice, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.
Hunt was active for this past Sunday's 31-14 loss to the Bengals, but because the Browns were already locked in as the AFC's No. 5 seed, the coaching staff turned to third-stringer Pierre Strong (back) to handle a lead role in the backfield. Meanwhile, Hunt was limited to just seven snaps and finished with one touch -- a five-yard reception -- on the day, and usual starter Jerome Ford's usage was similarly light (19 snaps, five touches). If Hunt's activity level last week is any indication, he will resume practicing in full by Thursday and approach this Saturday's wild-card matchup with the Texans without an injury designation.
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Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB | KC
Chiefs' Clyde Edwards-Helaire: Minimal involvement in Week 18
Edwards-Helaire notched two rushes for one yard and gathered in one of two targets for nine yards during Sunday's 13-12 win against the Chargers.
While Edwards-Helaire was active for Sunday's regular-season finale, he only took the field for 11 offensive snaps, yielding the vast majority of work to La'Mical Perine, who rushed 21 times for 76 yards. CEH should slot in as a backup for the Chiefs' upcoming playoff run, which begins with a wild-card clash with the Dolphins on Saturday. He could slot into a larger role should Isiah Pacheco miss any postseason action with Jerick McKinnon (groin) already on injured reserve.
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Isiah Pacheco RB | DET
Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Doesn't appear in Week 18
Pacheco didn't take the field during Sunday's regular-season finale versus the Chargers.
Pacheco wasn't listed among the inactives for the regular-season finale, but he may as well have been. He didn't take the field for a snap after both DNPs and limited practice sessions leading up to the contest. He essentially joined many of the starters sitting out Sunday's contest, with the Chiefs having already claimed the No. 3 seed in the AFC, regardless of the outcome of their game. The 24-year-old running back should reclaim the team's top spot on the running back depth chart heading into the wild-card round, where he'll square off against a Dolphins defense yielding just 97.1 rushing yards per game, seventh-fewest in the NFL.
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Derrick Gore RB | WAS
Commanders' Derrick Gore: Gets three touches over six games
Gore played six games for the Commanders in 2023 and took three carries for 23 yards.
Gore spent much of the season on the practice squad and got a few chances to work as Washington's No. 3 RB. He ended up playing 24 snaps on offense and 88 on special teams, and he'll try to find a similar depth role somewhere in the NFL for his age-29/30 season in 2024.
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Antonio Gibson RB | NE
Commanders' Antonio Gibson: Posts career lows in contract year
Gibson finished 2023 with 65 carries for 265 yards and a touchdown and 48 catches for 389 yards and two touchdowns on 59 targets.
The 2020 third-round pick added one target, two catches and 46 receiving yards to his 2022 career highs in those categories and also averaged a new personal best of 8.1 yards per catch, but it didn't work out for fantasy with his rushing numbers falling off a cliff. After averaging 214 carries for 916 yards and nine TDs over his first two seasons, Gibson dropped to 149-546-3 in 2022 before plummeting further in 2023. He didn't get many carries even when Brian Robinson missed time with a hamstring injury in December, instead sticking in the passing-down role while rookie Chris Rodriguez (ankle) took over as the lead runner for a few weeks. Gibson doesn't have the best instincts or vision as a ballcarrier, but it's possible another team could make better use of his rare combination of size and speed (he ran a 4.39 40 in 2020 at 228 pounds), with Jerick McKinnon's career arc perhaps being a best-case scenario. The 25-year-old Gibson will be a free agent in March if he doesn't re-sign with the Commanders before the start of the new league year.
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Eric Gray RB | NYG
Giants' Eric Gray: Gets increased workload in Week 18
Gray rushed three times for 19 yards and hauled in his only target for nine yards in Sunday's 27-10 win against the Eagles.
Though the Giants had nothing to play for in the contest, they nonetheless gave Saquon Barkley a near typical workload, as the workhorse back logged 70 percent of the team's offensive snaps and notched 20 touches. However, for the second straight week, it was Gray rather than veteran Matt Breida who picked up the scraps behind Barkley, with the rookie logging his second-most rush attempts and yards of the campaign. The late-season uptick in opportunity was likely a result of the Giants wanting to get a look at Gray once they were eliminated from playoff contention. It's unclear how the team's running-back room will look next season, as both Barkley and Breida are set to be free agents. New York has many holes to address in the offseason, so if Barkley doesn't return in 2024, the team may opt to give Gray a major role next year rather than prioritize adding a starting running back in the draft or through free agency.
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Joshua Kelley RB | TEN
Chargers' Joshua Kelley: Roster spot uncertain for '24
Kelley tallied two carries for one yard in Sunday's 13-12 loss to the Chiefs. He finished the season with 107 carries for 405 yards and two touchdowns to go along with an additional eight receptions for 32 yards.
Kelley played 18 offensive snaps Sunday, his most playing time since Week 13. It's unclear why he suddenly jumped over Isaiah Spiller, who was a healthy inactive despite three straight weeks of relief play, but neither backup running back really did much when Austin Ekeler was healthy. Kelley finished the 2023 season with a career-high 405 rushing yards in large part due to a four-week stretch to begin the season where he operated as the starter with the aforementioned Ekeler sidelined, but he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry across 57 rush attempts. The 26-year-old enters the offseason an unrestricted free agent and might not be a candidate to return to Los Angeles given the expected coaching and front-office upheaval.