NFL Player News

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that he didn't have updates on either Chubb or Demetric Felton, who were both placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Both backs tested positive for COVID-19 and their statuses for Sunday's game against the Patriots remains unclear at this point. With Kareem Hunt (calf) still on injured reserve, D'Ernest Johnson would be in line to start at running back this weekend for the Browns if Chubb isn't activated from the list.

Phillips (ankle) has a chance to retake the field this season, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

Phillips is reportedly dealing with a high-ankle sprain. The Texans officially listed the running back with a leg injury when placing him on IR on Tuesday. Across three appearances with the Texans this season, Phillips has handled just six carries and drawn three targets.

Perine carried five times for 20 yards and caught two of three targets for 17 yards Sunday in the Bengals' 41-16 loss to the Browns.

After Joe Mixon handled all the running-back carries in the Week 8 loss to the Jets, Perine reentered the picture Week 9, though three of his totes came with fewer than five minutes remaining while the Browns sat on a 25-point lead. With that in mind, Perine's usage on the ground looks like it could take a hit or disappear entirely in more competitive contests, though the 26-year-old still may have an edge on Mixon for work on obvious passing downs. Perine was on the field for 11 of the Bengals' 13 third-down snaps against Cleveland, after playing eight of 10 in Week 8.

Evans (hamstring) played three of the Bengals' 70 offensive snaps and hauled in his lone target for an 11-yard gain in Sunday's 41-16 loss to the Browns.

While he battled a hamstring injury, Evans was limited strictly to special-teams duty Week 7 against the Ravens before the Bengals opted to keep him inactive Week 8 against the Jets. Evans was listed as questionable heading into Sunday's contest, but the coaching staff felt comfortable enough with his health to keep him active and give him a role on offense, albeit a minor one. The rookie sixth-round pick appeared to make a push for more passing-down work in mid-October, but his hamstring injury coupled with Samaje Perine's return from the reserve/COVID-19 list and Joe Mixon's improved health, has Evans trending down heading into the Bengals' Week 10 bye.

Benjamin is poised for a bigger role in the Cardinals backfield after Chase Edmonds was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

When Edmonds made an early departure Sunday in San Francisco, James Conner took on the lion's share of the running back reps, turning 21 carries into 96 yards and two touchdowns and gathering in all five of his targets for 77 yards and another score. Meanwhile, Benjamin stepped in as the No. 2 RB en route to nine carries for 39 yards and one TD. On the aforementioned score, he trucked a 49ers defender on his 21-yard scamper to the end zone. It should be noted the 2020 seventh-round pick only had four offensive snaps and two rushes in two career appearances prior to Week 9, but the Cardinals haven't been shy about keeping two backs involved each week, meaning Benjamin should have some type of role behind Conner during Edmonds' likely multi-week absence.

The Texans placed Phillips (leg) on injured reserve Tuesday.

Phillips had seen his role out of the Houston backfield increase over the past two weeks following the trade of Mark Ingram to the Saints. After he was active just once over the first seven weeks of the season, Phillips logged 19 snaps on offense between Weeks 8 and 9 and carried six times for 13 yards. He picked up the leg injury in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins, and the Texans determined it was serious enough to keep him sidelined for at least their next three games. Phillips won't be eligible to return to the 53-man roster until the Texans' Week 14 matchup with the Seahawks on Dec. 12.

Freeman was claimed off waivers by the Texans on Tuesday.

The six-foot, 238-pound back will move on to his third team this year, having joined the Panthers prior to Week 1 after being cut by Denver. Freeman was buried on the depth chart in Carolina and was unable to find much work even while top back Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) was sidelined for multiple weeks, managing 21 carries for 77 yards and three catches for 15 yards in eight appearances for the team. He'll likely start out fourth on the depth chart with the Texans, but Freeman should have a better opportunity to push for playing time in Houston in light of how poorly the three other running backs on the roster have performed this season. Rex Burkhead paces the group with an average of 4.1 yards per carry, while David Johnson (3.6 YPC) and Phillip Lindsay (2.7 YPC) lag further behind.

Felton (illness) was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday.

As expected, Felton lands on the COVID-19 list after testing positive for the virus Tuesday. In addition to Felton, Nick Chubb and John Kelly both also tested positive for the virus, leaving D'Ernest Johnson as the only remaining running back on the Browns' active roster who isn't in the NFL's COVID-19 protocols. Both Felton and Chubb are fully vaccinated, so they haven't been ruled out for Cleveland's Week 10 matchup with the Patriots yet, but they will need to submit two negative test results at least 24 hours apart if they are going to be active.

The Browns placed Chubb on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday.

The transaction was fully expected after Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Chubb tested positive for the virus earlier Tuesday. Because he's vaccinated, Chubb is eligible to rejoin the Browns as soon as he turns in two straight negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart, so he'll still have a chance to be available for the team's Week 10 game in New England on Sunday. If Chubb can't gain clearance, D'Ernest Johnson would likely step in as Cleveland's lead back against the Patriots, assuming Kareem Hunt (calf) isn't activated from injured reserve this week.

Kelly did test positive for COVID before being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Kelly joins Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton as Browns running backs who have tested positive for COVID, leaving D'Ernest Johnson as the only healthy running back on the current roster. Kelly's absence wouldn't normally be much of an issue, as he's only played three offensive snaps all season, but with the void the Browns now have in the backfield every body counts.