NFL Player News

Ahmed (heel) is listed as questionable for Sunday's season opener against the Patriots, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

With Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Myles Gaskin also in Miami's backfield mix, Ahmed doesn't have a clear path to steady volume out of the gate this season. With that in mind, his Week 1 status is of more import to his team's early-season RB depth than it is for fantasy managers.

The Texans have released Freeman.

With Freeman no longer in the mix, heading into Sunday's season opener against the Colts, Dameon Pierce, Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale are in line to handle the Texans' backfield duties, along with fullback Troy Hairston.

Washington (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's season opener against the Falcons, Rod Walker of NOLA.com reports.

Washington wasn't expected to garner a major offensive role in the season opener, but he has been a major special-teams contributor over his past four seasons in New Orleans. The extent of his current hamstring injury remains unclear, but he didn't practice at all this week, so it's possible he'll be sidelined beyond Week 1.

Dobbins (knee) remained limited at practice Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Jets.

It's hard to know if the Ravens truly are unsure about his availability or are hoping to benefit from gamesmanship. Either way, a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff is good news for fantasy managers, leaving no shortage of alternatives if Dobbins lands on the inactive list. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson seemed to hint at that outcome earlier in the week, while coach John Harbaugh was more optimistic, describing Dobbins as "ascending quickly" after Friday's practice. It isn't only Dobbins' status for Sunday that's a question mark; there's also uncertainty about how snaps and touches will be divided if he doesn't play. Mike Davis was first through the RB rotation throughout the preseason, followed by Justice Hill, but recent signee Kenyan Drake also could have a role.

Mattison (personal) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game against the Packers.

Mattison was absent from practice Thursday due to a personal matter, but coach Kevin O'Connell told Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday that the Vikings expect the running back to be available for Week 1 action. With Dalvin Cook taking up the vast majority of RB reps for the team, Mattison can't expect more than a handful of touches in the season opener, barring an injury to the former.

McCaffrey was a full practice participant Friday and doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against Cleveland, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

McCaffrey managed full practices throughout the week, unburdened by the cut to his shin he suffered during practice Thursday morning. He'll start his season against the Browns, facing a defense that looks weakest right up the middle, with two projected starters at DT (Jordan Elliott, Taven Bryan) that mostly have been backups to this point in their respective careers. Behind those two, the Browns have 2021 third-round pick Tommy Togiai and 2022 fourth-rounder Perrion Winfrey, both seemingly drafted for pass-rush potential more so than run-stuffing. Each of the team's four DTs is listed at 303 pounds or lighter, though the Panthers don't exactly have a dominant offensive line to best take advantage of the potential mismatch. Regardless, McCaffrey should stay busy, be it on the ground, through the air or both.

Funk played exclusively on special teams and recorded no stats during Thursday's 31-10 loss to the Bills.

Even with Kyren Williams (ankle) leaving the game early, Funk never took an offensive snap while the majority of the rushing load fell to Darrell Henderson. Cam Akers also sits in front of Funk on the depth chart, meaning Funk's path to playing time and fantasy relevance may still be difficult even with Williams likely to miss a chunk of time with a high-ankle sprain.

Carter will open the season on a Jets offense led by backup quarterback Joe Flacco against the Ravens on Sunday, Randy Lange of the team's official site reports.

Zach Wilson (knee) is expected to miss the first three weeks of the season, leaving Flacco as the Jets' top option under center. Carter's role won't be impacted significantly by the change under center, as he's still expected to form a platoon with rookie second-round pick Breece Hall. Wilson struggled with accuracy on checkdowns at times as a rookie, so having Flacco back there may actually help Carter's efficiency as a pass catcher out of the backfield.

With Zach Wilson (knee) expected to miss the first three weeks of the season, Hall will open the campaign on a Jets offense led by backup quarterback Joe Flacco against the Ravens on Sunday, Randy Lange of the team's official site reports.

The Jets trade athleticism for experience under center with Flacco starting rather than Wilson, but they're likely to run a similar scheme either way. That game plan revolves around establishing the run, as offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree in San Francisco. New York's unofficial depth chart lists second-year running back Michael Carter ahead of Hall, but the two will likely receive a near-even split in terms of playing time, with Hall favored to get touches by the goal line based on his short-yardage success at Iowa State.

Williams suffered a high-ankle sprain during Thursday night's 31-10 loss to the Bills that could sideline him up to six weeks, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

The Rams haven't yet officially confirmed the severity of Williams' injury, but if he's indeed suffered a high-ankle sprain, the rookie fifth-round pick could end up on IR for at least four games. Jake Funk likely will slot into the No. 3 backfield spot behind Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers as long as Williams is sidelined.