NFL Player News

Patterson is expected to be elevated to the active roster with Commanders' No. 2 running back Antonio Gibson (knee/foot) ruled out for Sunday's game against the Browns, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Patterson was previously bumped up from the practice squad for the Commanders' Week 4 win over the Eagles. However, the second-year running ultimately played just four special-teams snaps in that contest, so he'll likely slot into a similar role behind Brian Robinson and Jonathan Williams.

White (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest against the 49ers, Rachel Gossen of the Raiders' official site reports.

White has been limited in each practice over the past two weeks due to an ankle injury, which caused him to miss his second game of the season during the loss to Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve. The rookie running back will be considered questionable to play for the second game in a row, so it will be worth monitoring his status on the final inactives list released 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 4:05 pm E.T. kickoff. If White remains out, then Ameer Abdullah, Brandon Bolden and Brittain Brown will serve as the three available running backs behind starter Josh Jacobs.

Coach Pete Carroll said Friday that Walker (ankle) is expected to play and should have "fresh legs" for Sunday's game against the Jets, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.

The rookie officially is listed as questionable after not practicing Wednesday and being limited Thursday and Friday. It sounds like his availability won't actually come down to the 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff, though cautious fantasy managers may want to keep a distant eye on the situation anyway given some of the injury shenanigans that have come out of Seattle the past few years. Walker played through the same ankle injury last week and took 28 touches for 105 yards in a loss to the Chiefs after being listed as questionable on the final injury report.

Robinson should have expanded usage Sunday with Antonio Gibson (knee) unavailable against the Browns, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Gibson was ruled out Friday after missing practice throughout the week. He'd taken a backseat to Robinson in recent weeks anyway, but this could open the door for the rookie to play more snaps and draw more targets. He's averaged 18.1 carries for 76.4 yards over the past seven games, starting each week, but with only 1.0 catch for 6.7 yards on 1.3 targets per game. Touchdowns also have been an issue with Robinson scoring only two from 582 total yards during that seven-game stretch, though that part is less about Gibson, who has only one TD (and 379 total yards) in the same span. Jonathan Williams and Jaret Patterson are the depth options behind Robinson for Week 17.

Homer (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Jets, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.

Starter Kenneth Walker (ankle) is also listed as questionable but expected to play, while DeeJay Dallas (ankle) has been removed from the final injury report. Homer could take the passing-down-job back from Dallas if he's able to play this Sunday after spraining his ankle in the first quarter of a loss to the Chiefs last week. Dallas ended up catching six passes, while Homer tends to do more blocking when he handles the third-down work.

Coach Kyle Shanahan relayed that Mitchell (knee) didn't practice Friday due to an illness, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Shanahan hinted Monday that a return to practice for Mitchell was possible before week's end, which would have opened his 21-day window to return from injured reserve. Instead, Mitchell has caught the bug that's impacted a few 49ers this week, thus delaying his first on-field work since spraining his MCL on Nov. 27. Assuming he's designated for return from IR next week, he'll have a chance to play Week 18 against the Cardinals, but more realistically the team is aiming to have him available for the postseason as a backfield option behind Christian McCaffrey.

Ekeler (knee) doesn't carry an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Rams after practicing fully Friday.

Ekeler logged limited sessions Wednesday and Thursday, but the running back's return to a full session Friday paves the way for him to face the Rams on Sunday. Assuming no in-game setbacks, Ekeler -- who has logged a total of 16 TDs in 15 games to date -- should see enough carries and targets Week 17 to continue to maintain fantasy relevance as the Chargers' clear-cut top backfield option.

Dallas (ankle) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Jets, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.

Dallas returned from a two-game absence last week and caught six passes for 32 yards in a 24-10 loss to the Chiefs. He's unlikely to see that many targets even if he handles passing downs again, though there is a degree of opportunity with fellow Seattle running backs Kenneth Walker (ankle) and Travis Homer (ankle) listed as questionable. Walker, at least, is expected to play, and he figures to dominate carries again so long as he avoids setbacks with his ankle.

Mason (hamstring) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Raiders, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Mason suited up with the hamstring injury last week against Washington but only played special teams while Tyrion Davis-Price operated as the No. 2 running back behind Christian McCaffrey. With Mason now off the injury report, a return to the No. 2 role is possible.

Ogunbowale (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest against the Jaguars.

Ogunbowale showed up on the Texans' injury report Thursday as limited by a knee issue and maintained that activity level and listing to wrap up Week 17 prep. If he avoids inactive status Sunday, he'll continue to work behind Royce Freeman as the team's No. 2 running back with Dameon Pierce (ankle) out for the season, which so far has resulted in 16 carries for 42yards and no targets over the last two games.