NFL Player News

Barkley (ankle) was spotted taking part in positional and all individual drills during Monday's practice, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports.

According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, Monday marked the first time in more than a month than Barkley had taken part in drills with his healthy teammates, after previously being limited to taking part in rehab work off to the side or not attending practice at all. Per Dunleavy, Barkley looked "explosive and comfortable" while cutting and running, a good early sign for his chances of putting an end to his four-game absence in the Giants' next contest Monday in Tampa Bay. Assuming he's ultimately cleared for the Week 11 game, Barkley should displace Devontae Booker as the Giants' lead back, though he may not immediately reclaim the 80-plus-percent snap shares he handled in three straight contests prior to suffering a left low-ankle sprain.

Harris (concussion) was listed as a non-participant on Monday's estimated practice report.

New England didn't hold a practice one day after its 45-7 trouncing of the Browns, but even if the team had, Harris looks like he wouldn't have taken a meaningful step forward in his recovery from the head injury. Even if he's able to upgrade to limited or full activity by the Patriots' final Week 11 practice Wednesday, he'll still need to gain clearance from an independent neurologist in order to play Thursday in Atlanta. While Harris was sidelined for the Week 10 victory, Rhamondre Stevenson stepped into a featured role out of the backfield and diced up the Browns for 114 total yards and two touchdowns on 24 touches (20 carries, four receptions).

The Patriots listed Bolden as a limited participant on Monday's estimated practice report with a hip issue.

If Bolden is able to upgrade to being listed as a full participant by Wednesday, he could approach Thursday's game against the Falcons minus an injury designation. The absence of lead back Damien Harris (concussion) -- who was listed as 'DNP' on Monday -- didn't result in a major spike in workload for Bolden in the Patriots' Week 10 win over the Browns. Bolden played 18 of 67 offensive snaps (27 percent) and finished with three carries for 32 yards and three receptions for 38 yards on three targets. Rookie Rhamondre Stevenson (20 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns and four catches for 14 yards on 37 snaps) was instead the main beneficiary as New England followed a more run-heavy game plan in the 45-7 victory.

Atlanta listed Patterson (ankle) as a limited participant on Monday's estimated practice report, Scott Bair of the Falcons' official site reports.

Patterson is tending to a sprained ankle in the aftermath of Sunday's 43-3 loss to the Cowboys. Though Patterson officially wasn't ruled out at any point, he played a season-low 28 percent of the Falcons' offensive snaps in the loss, an indication that the team was holding him back due to the injury. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, sources familiar with Patterson's ankle sprain aren't optimistic he'll be ready to go for a Thursday night matchup with the Patriots in Week 11, but the running back's appearance on the injury report as a limited participant rather than a non-participant is somewhat encouraging. If Patterson ultimately can't go against New England, the Falcons likely would rely on a combination of Mike Davis and Wayne Gallman out of the backfield.

Bargas (undisclosed) was placed on the practice squad COVID-19 list Monday.

Bargas will need to be removed from the list before he can return to Minnesota's practice squad, where he presumably will remain barring an injury to fullback C.J. Ham.

Brightwell was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic confirms that Brightwell actually tested positive for COVID-19, but the rookie running back has evidently recovered. If any lingering effects of the virus don't prevent Brightwell from suiting up Monday in Tampa Bay, his role will depend on the health of Saquon Barkley (ankle) and Devontae Booker (hip), who are both well above Brightwell in New York's backfield pecking order when healthy.

Patterson was diagnosed with a sprained ankle coming out of the Falcons' Week 10 loss to the Cowboys and appears unlikely to be ready to play Thursday against the Patriots, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

According to Pelissero, Patterson still is receiving further evaluation of the ankle injury, but the early news surrounding the running back's availability for a quick turnaround Week 11 doesn't appear promising. Though Atlanta never officially ruled Patterson out of their game against Dallas, Patterson's ankle injury likely explains why he handled only five touches (four carries, one reception) and played just 28 percent of the offensive snaps in the 43-3 loss. Unless Patterson makes a speedier recovery than anticipated, the Falcons likely will rely on the tandem of Wayne Gallman and Mike Davis to lead their ground attack against New England.

Coach Dan Campbell said Monday that Jefferson (ankle) could miss time due to his injury, Benjamin Raven of MLive.com reports.

Jefferson had to be carted off the field in the first half of Sunday's game against Pittsburgh after he sustained his injury. While Campbell indicated that the running back's injury isn't as serious as the team initially believed, he still could be forced to miss time. If Jefferson and Jamaal Williams (thigh) are sidelined Sunday against Cleveland, Godwin Igwebuike likely will operate as the No. 2 running back behind D'Andre Swift.

Dillon is expected to serve as the Packers' lead back in Sunday's game against the Vikings after starter Aaron Jones (knee) was diagnosed Monday with a mild MCL sprain that will likely sideline him for 1-to-2 weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Green Bay has yet to provide an official update on Jones' condition, but the fifth-year back appears on track to miss his first game of the season after suffering the injury in question in the Packers' 17-0 win over the Seahawks this past weekend. Following Jones' departure, Dillon dominated the work out of the backfield and finished with 128 yards from scrimmage and two TDs on 23 touches (21 carries, two receptions). While he's a less accomplished receiver than Jones and may not hold as sizable of a role on obvious passing downs, Dillon's combination of size (6-foot, 247 pounds) and burst makes him one of the NFL's better No. 2 options. Moreover, the lack of established depth behind him should leave Dillon primed to handle a heavy workload against the Vikings, making him an excellent starting option in just about any weekly league. In Dillon's lone other opportunity in a leading role back in Week 16 of last season against the Titans while Jones was limited with a toe injury and No. 2 option Jamaal Williams was sidelined with a quad injury, the Boston College product amassed 129 total yards and two scores on 22 touches.

Hines had two carries for 12 yards and two receptions for 17 yards on four targets in Sunday's 23-17 win over Jacksonville.

After a big game last week against the Jets (a TD and 108 total yards), Hines was back to his more modest role in the offense. He played on just 18 of the offense's 64 snaps as Jonathan Taylor had a season-high 21 carries. Hines is capable of big games when Indy needs to throw the ball, which wasn't the case Sunday when playing from a large lead.