NFL Player News

Coach Nick Sirianni said Friday that the Eagles will need to see how the next two days go before making a decision on Sanders (ankle) potentially returning for Sunday's game against New Orleans, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Sanders returned to practice Wednesday, opening his 21-day window to be activated from IR after he sat out the minimum of three games. Zach Berman of The Athletic suggests Sanders is more likely to play than not this week, with the Eagles having until Saturday afternoon to place him back on the active roster for Sunday's game. It is possible they could activate him without playing him, or simply bring him back in a minor role, though Sirianni did say earlier this week that he still views Sanders as his starting running back. Granted, Sirianni also suggested other backs may be more involved compared to earlier in the season, after Jordan Howard and Boston Scott helped revive the Philadelphia running game in Sanders' absence. Sanders played around 70 percent of Philly's offensive snaps through the first six weeks of the season, yet averaged only 9.5 carries and 3.8 targets per game. It remains to be seen how things shake out now that the Eagles are more committed to running the ball but also have more options in their backfield. But first, Sanders will simply need to prove he's healthy enough to play.

Gibson (shin) was removed from Washington's injury report for Sunday's game at Carolina, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Gibson continues to play through a stress fracture in his shin, and it appears a Week 9 bye may have done him some good, as he managed 26 touches and 63 percent snap share in his team's Week 10 win over Tampa Bay following three straight games with 16 of fewer touches on 42 percent or less of snaps. Game script/context was also a big factor, with J.D. McKissic getting more playing time throughout an ugly October where Washington repeatedly faced deficits. While Gibson's playing time and the total team rushing volume may vary week to week, his dominance of Washington's ground workload has been consistent.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Chubb (illness) looked good in his return to practice Friday and is good to go for Sunday's game against the Lions, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

After testing positive for the coronavirus Nov. 9, Chubb was sidelined for the Browns' Week 10 loss to the Patriots, but he cleared all protocols and was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday. With Stefanski confirming that Chubb checked out fine from a conditioning standpoint during Friday's practice, the 25-year-old looks like he'll be ready to lead the Cleveland ground game Week 11. Because of Chubb's lack of recent practice reps along with the fact that the Browns will be heavily favored against the 0-8-1 Lions, Cleveland could be inclined to ease up on his workload a bit in his return to action while keeping No. 2 option D'Ernest Johnson involved in the game plan on the heels of a promising Week 10 start. Regardless, fantasy managers shouldn't have any reservations about including Chubb in lineups this week.

Johnson is expected to move into the No. 2 role out of the Cleveland backfield Sunday against the Lions after Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that Nick Chubb (illness) is good to go after practicing Friday in his return from the reserve/COVID-19 list, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

After Chubb was placed on the list Nov. 9 following a positive test of the virus, Johnson stepped in to pick up his second start of the season Week 10 against New England. Though the Browns weren't competitive in a 45-7 loss, Johnson was productive with his opportunities, carrying 19 times for 99 yards and catching seven passes for 58 yards on eight targets. While Johnson has been a revelation in both of his starts, a healthy Chubb remains the Browns' unquestioned lead back, though Cleveland could be inclined to ease him back from a one-game absence with a slightly lighter workload than normal against an inferior Lions team. If that's the case, Johnson could still have some value this week as a low-end flex play in deeper leagues while Kareem Hunt (calf) remains on injured reserve.

Bolden was on the field for 17 of a possible 64 snaps in the Patriots' 25-0 win over the Falcons on Thursday night, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

While working in a change-of-pace role versus Atlanta, Bolden was out-snapped by both Damien Harris (25) and Rhamondre Stevenson (22). In the process, Bolden gained one yard on his only carry and caught both of his targets for 15 yards. Looking ahead, there will be some weeks where game script/flow leads to more targets for him, but as long as both Harris and Stevenson are available, Bolden will remain a hit-or-miss option in PPR formats.

Coach Joe Judge said Barkley (ankle) is trending in the right direction as Monday's game against the Buccaneers approaches, Zack Rosenblatt of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Barkley was able to return to practice as a limited participant Thursday and apparently came out of the session with no issues. It was the 24-year-old's first official practice participation since he suffered the ankle sprain Oct. 10, and he appears poised to return from the four-game absence Monday at Tampa Bay.

The Browns activated Felton (illness) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, Anthony Poisal of the team's official site reports.

Felton and top running back Nick Chubb (illness) both officially came off the COVID-19 list Friday morning, giving the Browns' backfield two notable additions ahead of a Week 11 matchup against Detroit. Though Felton only has three carries this season he is a key contributor on special teams, as he leads the NFL with 26 punt returns and is averaging 8.4 yards per punt return. Additionally, Felton has caught 13 of 14 targets for 147 yards and a score through nine appearances.

The Browns activated Chubb (illness) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday.

Chubb missed one game after testing positive for COVID-19, but he's been reinstated to the active roster ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Lions. The Browns will presumably evaluate the 25-year-old in practice Friday to ensure he's good to go from a conditioning standpoint before deciding whether or not to give him a designation this weekend. Assuming Chubb checks out fine in his first practice back with the team, he's expected to lead the Cleveland backfield this weekend after D'Ernest Johnson was forced to carry the load in the Week 10 loss to New England.

Chubb (illness) is set to be activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Chubb and Demetric Felton (illness) will be reinstated to the active roster Friday after missing one game due to positive tests for COVID-19. Assuming his bout with the virus didn't hinder him too much from a conditioning standpoint, Chubb should lead Cleveland's backfield Sunday against the Lions, while Felton could help out in the aerial attack with wideouts Jarvis Landry (knee), Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin) and Anthony Schwartz (concussion) banged up.

Harris (concussion) rushed 10 times for 56 yards and secured his only target for nine yards in the Patriots' 25-0 win over the Falcons on Thursday night.

Harris made his return from a one-game absence and logged two fewer carries and 13 fewer yards than rookie backfield mate Rhamondre Stevenson. The third-year pro's carry total was his lowest since Week 4, and given Stevenson turned in a second consecutive impressive effort Thursday by averaging 5.8 yards per carry on his 12 attempts, it's certainly possible the duo splits work very evenly once again in a key Week 12 home clash with the Titans a week from Sunday.