NFL Player News

Evans remains behind Samaje Perine in the battle to be Joe Mixon's backup, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports. Speaking of Perine, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said: "He's certainly got a leg up right now in that battle, but that's what training camp is for. Plenty of times, guys step up and have huge growth. We'll see where it goes."

This tracks with how Perine was used ahead of Evans last season. Evans still has pass-catching upside, but he needs to impress the coaching staff more in all phases of the game to be next in line behind Mixon.

Coach John Harbaugh relayed Thursday that Dobbins (knee) remains in a hurry to resume practicing, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Dobbins remains on the PUP list after more than a week of training camp, though he said at the very beginning that he felt he was ready for practice. The Ravens are holding him back, albeit with Harbaugh acknowledging multiple times that Dobbins is ahead of Gus Edwards in the rehab process. Both suffered ACL tears, and while Dobbins' reportedly was accompanied by other damage in his knee, it's Edwards who seems to be a bit behind rehab expectations. Dobbins still profiles as the lead back once he's ready, as the healthy options at Baltimore training camp right now are Mike Davis, Justice Hill, Corey Clement and Nate McCrary -- not the most inspiring bunch unless you're prioritizing coverage and blocking on special teams units.

Coach John Harbaugh said Thursday that Edwards (knee) is a little behind the Ravens' other rehabbing players, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The list includes J.K. Dobbins, who also is coming back from an ACL injury and remains on the PUP list despite reportedly being antsy to practice. Reports at one point suggested Dobbins would have a tougher rehab due to additional ligament damage in his knee, but it seems to have gone the other way around, with Edwards now in more danger of missing the start of the season. Mike Davis, Justice Hill, Corey Clement and Nate McCrary have been getting RB reps at Baltimore training camp.

Gibson (hamstring) followed his ramp-up plan for the first week of training camp and now has resumed practicing with teammates, Sam Fortier of The Washington Post reports.

It sounds like Gibson has avoided any setbacks with the hamstring injury that limited his participation in spring practices. He also mentioned dropping a few pounds, going from the mid-230s to low 230s, though the Commanders listed him at 220 both last season and this year. Gibson reportedly wants to get down to 220-225 before Week 1, which especially makes sense if rumors of rookie Brian Robinson stealing short-yardage work are to be believed. Gibson was the team's grinder last year, and it might actually work in his favor if he trades some inside runs for outside runs and/or receptions. On the other hand, losing goal-line work would be an obvious problem for fantasy, and the receiving ceiling is probably around three catches per game unless passing-down back J.D. McKissic is eventually injured or phased out.

Shampklin is sidelined from training camp practices for several days after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Shampklin joins fellow running back Rico Dowdle as unavailable to practice due to COVID-19. The rookie joined the Cowboys in May as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard and is currently at the bottom of Dallas' running back depth chart.

Strong, who had been limited in training camp by an undisclosed injury, practiced fully Thursday, Zack Cox of NESN.com reports.

The 2022 fourth-rounder's return to a full session is notable, with veteran change-of-pace back James White still bouncing back from hip surgery and no lock to be full strength by Week 1. If White ends up out or limited early on this season, Strong presumably would be a candidate to earn a portion of the Patriots' third-down back responsibilities out of the gate in 2022.

Swift got the day off Wednesday, seemingly as part of Detroit's plan to keep him healthy throughout the season, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Between his four missed games with a shoulder injury late last season and the presence of two experienced backups (Jamaal Williams, Justin Jackson) on Detroit's roster, there's been talk of Swift's workload being scaled back. Reduced reps in camp may feed into that discussion, but it mostly just seems to be a matter of keeping Swift healthy and fresh. He's unquestioned as Detroit's lead back, though it is fair to question how much work he'll cede to his backups. Last year he played 67 percent of snaps in his 13 active games and averaged 11.6 carries and 4.8 receptions per contest, totaling 1,069 yards and seven TDs. In terms of per-game production, he was RB20 for standard leagues and RB10 for full PPR. The split shouldn't be as wide this year, though it won't be surprising if he continues to be spelled on early downs rather than late downs for the most part. Swift said he's feeling good and expects to return to practice in short order.

Dowdle will miss the remainder of this week's training camp practices after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Dowdle is going through a rough stretch, having missed the 2021 season with a hip fracture and then getting his knee scoped in May, which led to his absence from OTAs. He'll now have to remain away from the team until he receives medical clearance. Dowdle joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 2020 and saw the field for 15 contests in his rookie season, but he mostly just contributed on special teams. Dowdle is currently No. 3 on Dallas' running back positional depth chart, firmly behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.

Pollard could be used as more than just a receiving option out of the backfield, Patrik Walker of the Cowboys' official website reports. "He's not going to run just the RB route tree. He can go vertically and put defenders in tough spots as to how they wanna cover him," offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said Wednesday.

The fact that Moore suggested Pollard would be used "vertically" is a strong sign he'll be running something more than typical RB routes. Dallas' wide receiver depth will be tested early in the season with Michael Gallup (knee) and James Washington (foot) both sidelined, but signs continue to build that Pollard will be one of the players relied upon to take on some of those targets. The 25-year-old set career highs with 39 catches on 46 targets for 337 receiving yards last season, but he could blow those numbers out of the water if he sees consistent snaps in the slot and split out wide.

Borghi signed with the Broncos on Wednesday, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

Borghi participated in rookie minicamp with the Broncos in June. While he didn't receive a contract at the time, the team opted to bring Borghi in as a depth option after Damarea Crockett (knee) tore his ACL on Tuesday. Borghi rushed for 880 yards with 12 touchdowns in his senior season at Washington State in 2021.