NFL Player News

Perine will cede starting running back duties to Joe Mixon in Sunday's game against the Browns after the latter practiced fully Wednesday and cleared the NFL's concussion protocol, but Perine may have earned a larger role than he previously held after excelling as a replacement for Mixon over the past two games, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

According to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, head coach Zac Taylor already confirmed Wednesday that Mixon would reclaim the starting role, even though Perine amassed 248 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on 48 touches (38 carries, 10 catches) over the previous two weeks while helping the Bengals knock off likely playoff teams in the Titans and Chiefs. Before exiting early in the Bengals' Week 11 win over the Steelers, Mixon had played more than two-thirds of the snaps in each of the team's first nine contests, but it's possible a more even timeshare between him and Perine may be in place Sunday. Perine demonstrated over the last two games that he's capable of filling in on both early and passing downs while churning out yardage efficiently, making him a reliable fill-in option if Mixon should need a breather during a given possession. That said, Perine can't be counted on to see enough touches to make him a viable fantasy lineup option outside of deeper leagues now that Mixon is back in the picture.

Foreman (foot) was limited at practice Thursday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

In the wake of Carolina's Week 13 bye, Foreman was held out of drills Wednesday as he tends to a rib injury. He took a step in the right direction with his upgrade in participation Thursday, and Friday's practice report will reveal whether or not he exits the week with a designation for Sunday's game at Seattle. If Foreman ends up limited or out this weekend, Chuba Hubbard would be the biggest beneficiary out of the Panthers backfield.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed Thursday that Mixon cleared the NFL's concussion protocol last week, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports. After practicing fully Wednesday, Mixon is on track to end his two-game absence this Sunday against the Browns.

Mixon was a limited participant in all three of the Bengals' practices last week before being listed as questionable ahead of the team's game against the Chiefs. According to Dehner, Mixon disclosed that he was "barely" experiencing concussion symptoms that were mostly related to his vision by the end of the week, and despite clearing the protocol ahead of kickoff time, the Bengals ultimately chose to make the running back inactive for the second straight week in an eventual 27-24 win over Kansas City. With Mixon having now cleared the protocol and set to turn in a full week of practice, he'll be returning to action as the starter, which Taylor confirmed Wednesday, per Dehner. However, with backup Samaje Perine excelling in a three-down role in Mixon's absence the past two weeks, it's possible the distribution of work between the two backs is tighter than it had been in previous weeks when both were healthy.

Reynolds (ribs) was designated to return from injured reserve Thursday, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Reynolds suffered the injury in Week 9's win over the Packers and was placed on IR on Nov. 9. He now has a 21-day window to either be added back to the active roster or revert to IR for the remainder of the season. Before suffering the injury, Reynolds operated as the team's No. 3 running back, a role that Justin Jackson has since occupied.

Harris (thigh) wasn't participating in practice Thursday, Mark Daniels of Masslive.com reports.

Harris missed last Thursday's loss to the Bills due to a thigh injury, so his absence from practice at this stage makes the running back's status worth monitoring in advance of Monday night's contest against the Cardinals. In Harris' absence versus Buffalo, Rhamondre Stevenson logged a 98 percent snap share, and in the event that Harris isn't able to face Arizona, Stevenson once again would be in line for a big backfield workload Week 14, with Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris in reserve.

Foreman (foot) was in attendance for Thursday's practice and was sporting full pads during the portion of the session that was open to the media, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

After being listed as a non-participant in the Panthers' first official session Wednesday following the team's Week 13 bye, Foreman looks poised to go down as a limited or full participant when Carolina releases its second Week 14 injury report later Thursday. For his part, Foreman told Person on Wednesday that he's 95 percent certain he'll be able to play Sunday against the Seahawks. With that in mind, fantasy managers shouldn't worry too much about Foreman's availability this weekend, even if he goes down as a limited participant at Thursday's practice.

Jacobs (quadriceps/calf), who is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Rams, is expected to play, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

While taking questionable designations into both of the Raiders' past two games, Jacobs has not only avoided the inactive list, but he's come through with two of his best performances of the season while taking on massive workloads. In wins over the Seahawks and Chargers, Jacobs has carried 59 times for 373 yards (6.3 average) to go with eight receptions for 80 yards while finding the end zone three times. Though he's still bothered by the pair of injuries, Jacobs looks on track to be cleared once again when the Raiders release their inactive list 90 minutes before the team's 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff. Given that the Raiders are sizable favorites against the undermanned Rams and are playing on a short week, head coach Josh McDaniels could look to lighten Jacobs' snap count a bit to ensure he's healthy heading into the final four games of the regular season.

Homer (knee) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Homer was capped to one limited session last week due to an illness, and while he went into the weekend listed as questionable for Sunday's game at the Rams, the Seahawks downgraded him to out Saturday. On Monday, head coach Pete Carroll touched on Homer's injury, calling it a knee sprain, according to Boyle. With Kenneth Walker (ankle) and DeeJay Dallas (ankle) unable to mix into drills Wednesday, Homer is the healthiest of the top three running backs on the active roster. Homer thus is in a good spot to get work Sunday against the Panthers if he's deemed healthy enough to play. If some combination of the three can't suit up this weekend, Tony Jones also is on the active roster, while Darwin Thompson, Godwin Igwebuike and Wayne Gallman are the candidates to be elevated from the practice squad.

Gaskin (shoulder) practiced fully Wednesday, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Gaskin was ruled out last weekend against the Raiders after logging a limited session that Friday, but his ability to begin Week 14 prep with full activity levels in practice suggests that he'll be ready to roll for Sunday night's matchup versus the Chargers. If that's indeed the case, it's likely the 25-year-old won't see much action anyway with Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson impressing the coaching staff as of late.

McCaffrey was a limited participant in practice Wednesday due to a knee injury, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

McCaffrey endured practice limitations last week with the same health concern, but he eventually ditched a designation on the final Week 13 injury report. He proceeded to have his second-most touches (25) in a 49ers uniform en route to 146 yards from scrimmage and a receiving touchdown in this past Sunday's win over the Dolphins. Assuming he gets through this week unscathed, McCaffrey will be set to dominate the backfield work Sunday versus the Buccaneers.