NFL Player News

Croskey-Merritt (undisclosed) is dressed for practice Wednesday but is not participating in team drills, Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C. reports.

Croskey-Merritt may simply be dealing with a minor injury, leading the Commanders to take a cautious approach to his activity level at voluntary OTAs. His next opportunity to take part in team drills will arrive during mandatory minicamp June 16-18, and then during training camp in July. The 2025 seventh-round pick suited up for all 17 regular-season games as a rookie, totaling 175 carries for 805 yards and eight touchdowns (4.6 YPC). He also had nine catches for 68 yards on 13 targets. Rachaad White inked with Washington on a one-year deal in free agency and will provide Croskey-Merritt with competition for touches, especially in the receiving game. The Commanders also inked Jerome Ford (shoulder) and re-signed Jeremy McNichols, both to one-year deals, and selected rookie sixth-rounder Kaytron Allen in April's draft.

Charbonnet (knee) is realistically looking at a midseason return, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in the Seahawks' divisional-round win over the 49ers a little over four months ago and is fully expected to miss the start of the 2026 campaign. Starting the season on the reserve/PUP list would seem to make the most sense, and that would at least cost Charbonnet the first four games of the regular season. Rookie Jadarian Price, free-agent pickup Emanuel Wilson and George Holani will likely all see snaps out of the Seattle backfield while Charbonnet is sidelined.

Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley said Wednesday that Achane (shoulder) is recovering from a clean-up procedure and will not be a full participant at OTAs, C. Isaiah Smalls II of the Miami Herald reports.

Achane missed the final game of the 2025 season due to a shoulder injury, but he still finished with a career-high 1,350 rushing yards and eight touchdowns across 16 regular-season appearances while averaging a league-best 5.8 yards per carry on 238 attempts. There have been no indications that the shoulder procedure he's rehabbing is anything beyond routine offseason maintenance, a notion reinforced by the four-year, $68 million extension Miami signed him to earlier in May. Achane's next opportunity to return to the field following OTAs will come during mandatory minicamp June 2-4, though the Dolphins could choose to remain cautious and hold him out until training camp in July. He projects as a top-12 fantasy selection not only due to his standing as the centerpiece of Miami's rushing attack alongside dual-threat quarterback Malik Willis, but also because of his pass-catching upside. Achane has compiled more catches (145) and receiving yards (1,080) over the past two seasons than any other player currently on the Dolphins' roster.

Jacobs was arrested Tuesday and booked into Brown County Jail on five charges, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Jacobs' arrest and subsequent charges, which include felony strangulation and misdemeanor counts of assault, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and intimidation of a victim, per NFL.com, stem from an incident that reportedly occurred last Saturday morning, according to a release from the Hobart-Lawrence (Wisconsin) Police Department. A Packers spokesperson said only, "we are aware of the matter involving Josh Jacobs. As it is an ongoing legal situation, we will withhold further comment." Additionally, the NFL released a statement that it was "aware of the report" and has "been in contact with the club." Jacobs is coming off a 2025 regular season in which he rushed for 929 yards and logged 282 receiving yards while scoring 14 total touchdowns in 15 games.

Irving is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, and while he isn't expected to take part in mandatory minicamp June 16-18, he'll likely be healthy during training camp, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Irving was present for the Buccaneers' first OTA on Tuesday but was merely a spectator, and afterward coach Todd Bowles said that the third-year running back is in line to return in "summer or fall," according to River Wells of Bucs Gameday. Last season, Irving sat out Weeks 5-12 due to a shoulder subluxation and sprained foot, but after getting back in the fold in Week 13, he took on a normal workload down the stretch (113 touches for 435 yards from scrimmage and two total TDs over the final six games). Tampa Bay let Rachaad White move on in free agency and replaced him with Kenneth Gainwell. Along with holdover Sean Tucker, Gainwell will handle most of the first-team reps during the offseason program and into training camp until Irving is good to go.

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday that Irving (shoulder) is expected back in "summer or fall," River Wells of Bucs Gameday.

This is less optimistic than the team's stance just a few weeks ago, when it was reported that Irving could be limited during the offseason program. He watched from the sideline Tuesday at the first on-field session of OTAs, and Bowles' comments suggest the running back potentially won't be ready for practice until training camp. Irving missed a chunk of last season with a dislocated shoulder, eventually undergoing surgery this offseason, and it seems like the Bucs want to be cautious with him. While Rachaad White left in free agency, the team also signed Kenneth Gainwell and re-signed Sean Tucker to handle some of the backfield load in 2026, and both figure to see plenty of first-team reps while Irving finishes up his rehab this summer.

Irving (shoulder) is present at OTAs but isn't participating in on-field work yet, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Irving watched Tuesday's practice from the sideline before heading inside with a member of the training staff. He's recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, temporarily leaving Tampa's first-team backfield reps in the capable hands of Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker. Reports from earlier in May suggested that Irving was unlikely to do much during the offseason program, with training camp being the real target. For now, he'll focus on finishing up his rehab and mastering schematic changes under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

James "seems the most likely" of San Francisco's running backs behind Christian McCaffrey to earn the No. 2 role for the upcoming campaign, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Brian Robinson served as San Francisco's No. 2 back last season, but he's since joined Atlanta. That leaves James, Isaac Guerendo, rookie Kaelon Black, Patrick Taylor and Sincere McCormick to battle for position behind McCaffrey, who led the NFL with 413 regular-season touches last year. The 49ers may want to reduce McCaffrey's workload in 2026, but that could hinge on whether a reliable No. 2 back emerges from the above-mentioned group. Wagoner suggests that James has an inside track on the job based partly on his strong play during garbage time in the 49ers' blowout loss to Seattle in the NFC divisional round, when he rushed six times for 28 yards and caught his lone target for seven yards. That's a very small sample size and is far from a guarantee that James -- who didn't play until Week 16 last year -- will take hold of top backup role, though it's worth noting that Guerendo, who may be James' biggest competition for the job, appeared in 14 regular-season games in 2025 but didn't log a single snap on offense.

Washington signed with the Dolphins on Thursday.

Washington played exactly one game in each of the last two seasons with the Falcons, and he stuck to special teams in both instances. The Southeastern Louisiana product is likely vying for the No. 4 running back role behind De'Von Achane, Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon.

The Bears waived Hankins (shoulder/quadriceps) on Thursday.

Hankins wasn't let go with an injury designation, so he'll be ready to go at his next landing spot. The 25-year-old running back spent his rookie 2025 season on the Bears' injured reserve. He's an interesting player at 5-foot-11, 225 pounds, but he finished with just 4.4 YPC and two touchdowns in his sixth college season in 2024.