NFL Player News

Taylor underwent surgery to repair his right ankle this past Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Even though Taylor was shut down for the season after suffering a high-ankle sprain in the Colts' Week 15 loss to the Vikings, the Colts didn't immediately send him in for surgery. Now nearly six weeks removed from sustaining the injury, the Colts subsequently determined that Taylor would require an arthroscopic debridement, which Rapoport describes as "a minimally invasive procedure to clean out the ankle." Fortunately for Taylor, he isn't dealing with any structural damage to the ankle, so the Colts' top running back now has plenty of time to recover before training camp. Taylor plans to be a full participant by the time camp rolls opens in late July.

Edwards-Helaire (ankle) wasn't activated from IR ahead of Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Bengals.

With Edwards-Helaire, who last saw game action Week 11, still unavailable, Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon are in line to continue to pace Kansas City's ground game versus Cincinnati. Edwards-Helaire thus will target a potential return to action if the Chiefs are able to advance to the Super Bowl.

Between seven regular-season starts with the Colts and nine with the Bills, Hines rushed 24 times for 33 yards and one TD while posting a 30-241-1 line in the passing game during the 2022 season.

Hines made a bigger mark in the return game, especially in his time with the Bills following the trade for Zack Moss, finishing with 554 yards on kickoff returns and a 29.0 average to go with 264 punt return yards and a 9.8 average. Hines also returned two kickoffs for scores in a memorable game during the Bills' first contest following the Damar Hamlin incident. The Bills seem to like the speed and versatility Hines brings to the table, though his modest value would go up only if free-agent teammate Devin Singletary departs for greener pastures this offseason.

The Chiefs cut Ealy from their practice squad Saturday.

In a corresponding move, third-year back La'Mical Perine was added to the practice squad. The undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss -- who played running back in college but was listed as a receiver by the Chiefs -- will now need to look for another opportunity elsewhere.

Kansas City signed Perine to its practice squad Saturday.

Perine did not play in any game during the 2022 regular season, but the Chiefs saw fit to bring him onto their practice squad ahead of Sunday's AFC Championship Game. As long as Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon and Ronald Jones remain healthy though, Perine is a long shot to be elevated.

Davis carried the ball 38 times for 161 yards and a touchdown and caught six of seven targets for 63 yards over 12 games in the 2022 regular season.

An undrafted rookie out of Florida, Davis made an impression in camp and began the season on the practice squad before taking over the No. 3 RB spot on the Dallas depth chart after Rico Dowdle (ankle) was lost for the year in October. Davis scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 12 against the Colts, but his best performance came with Tony Pollard (ankle) sidelined in Week 17, when the rookie turned 12 touches into 62 yards against a stingy Titans run defense. Both Pollard, an unrestricted free agent, and Ezekiel Elliott, a declining veteran with a big contract, have somewhat uncertain futures with the Cowboys, so depending on what happens in the offseason it's possible Davis will head into 2023 with a more prominent role.

Elliott carried the ball 231 times for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns while catching 17 of 23 targets for 92 yards over 15 regular-season games in 2022.

The 27-year-old running back failed to reach 1,000 scrimmage yards for the first time in his career, as Elliott ceded usage as a pass catcher to Tony Pollard (ankle) and saw his overall workload shrink as he also fell short of 250 touches for the first time. Elliott remained the Cowboys' primary option at the goal line, however, allowing him to score double-digit TDs for the fourth time in seven NFL campaigns, but that more limited role also contributed to his career-low 3.8 YPC. Pollard is a free agent this offseason while Elliott remains under contract, but with a dead cap hit of a little under $12 million, it's possible the team will elect to cut the veteran loose -- a move that might make more sense if the Cowboys place the franchise tag on Pollard. Per Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News, Elliott is willing to re-negotiate his current deal and take a pay cut to stay in Dallas.

Mitchell (groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday's NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Both Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey (calf) were held out of drills Wednesday and Thursday, but only McCaffrey showed enough Friday to be cleared ahead of Sunday's contest. Coach Kyle Shanahan told Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News that Mitchell did take part in Friday's walkthrough, but the 49ers aren't yet ready to afford him the same luxury as McCaffrey after Mitchell logged a third consecutive DNP. Mitchell's status thus won't be known until about 90 minutes before Sunday's 3:00 p.m. ET kickoff. If Mitchell is limited or sidelined, Deebo Samuel (ankle), Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price and practice-squad member Tevin Coleman are the candidates to get reps at running back behind McCaffrey.

McCaffrey (calf) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

The 49ers took it easy on McCaffrey this week as he tended to a bruised right calf, holding him out of practice Wednesday and Thursday. But he was able to return to the field Friday, after which coach Kyle Shanahan said McCaffrey was "full go," according to Omar Ruiz of NFL Network. While McCaffrey's status for Sunday is clear, Elijah Mitchell's (groin) is not, as he's listed as questionable after getting in some minimal work Friday. Look for McCaffrey to handle his usual workload this weekend, with or without Mitchell, which has amounted to 19.5 touches per game for the former during the 49ers' current 12-game winning streak.

Mitchell (groin) wasn't spotted during the media-access portion of Friday's practice, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

If Mitchell eventually goes down as a non-participant for a third straight session, it'll be interesting to see how the 49ers list him ahead of Sunday's NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia. On a positive note for San Francisco, though, Christian McCaffrey (calf) was taking part in drills Friday, one day removed from telling Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area that there's "zero" chance he doesn't play this weekend. Assuming McCaffrey eventually is cleared for the contest and some or all of Mitchell's reps are available, Deebo Samuel (ankle), Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price and practice-squad member Tevin Coleman are the candidates to mix in at running back behind McCaffrey.