NFL Player News

Jacobs (ribs) rushed 26 times for 132 yards and a touchdown while catching both of his targets for 12 more yards in Sunday's 35-32 overtime win over the Chargers.

Jacobs suited up for this game despite carrying a questionable tag into the weekend, but the rib injury did not appear to hamper Las Vegas' top rushing option. The 28 touches tied the 23-year-old's previous season high, while the 132 rushing yards set a new highwater mark heading into the postseason. As for the regular season, Jacobs had a down year (872 rushing yards, 348 receiving yards and nine touchdowns over 15 games) and finished below 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his three seasons with the Raiders. Las Vegas has seen its offense experience major coaching and scheme changes throughout the year, but Jacobs figures to be heavily involved if the Raiders stand a chance to upset the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the playoffs.

Singletary carried the ball 19 times for 88 yards and a touchdown and caught both his targets for 24 yards and a second TD in Sunday's 27-10 win over the Jets.

The third-year running back continued his impressive finish to the regular season, scoring both his TDs in the fourth quarter as the Bills finally pulled away from the Jets and locked up their second straight AFC East title. Singletary racked up an impressive 485 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns (five rushing, one receiving) over the final five games of the regular season, giving him massive momentum heading into Saturday's wild-card round clash with the Patriots.

Carter carried the ball nine times for 19 yards and failed to catch any of his three targets in Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Bills.

The Jets' offense couldn't get much going on the ground or through the air in their season finale, and Zach Wilson ended up being the team's leading rusher with 24 yards. Carter showed flashes of upside in his first NFL campaign, finishing with 964 scrimmage yards through 14 games, and barring a significant offseason addition, he should be the primary option in the Jets' backfield in 2022.

Patterson rushed six times for 21 yards and brought in both targets for 14 yards in Washington's 22-7 win over the Giants on Sunday.

Patterson was back in a complementary role a week after posting 98 total yards against the Eagles with Antonio Gibson available Sunday. The rookie showed some promise in limited action in 2021 by rushing for 266 yards and adding another 73 through the air on 11 receptions, and he appears set to compete for a potentially larger role behind Gibson in training camp this summer.

Vaughn rushed 10 times for 29 yards and a touchdown and brought in both targets for 12 yards in the Buccaneers' 41-17 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

Vaughn took on lead-back duties with Ronald Jones (ankle) sidelined and logged double-digit carries, but he wasn't able to do much on a yards-per-carry basis. However, his two-yard scoring run early in the third quarter salvaged his day somewhat from a fantasy perspective, and he finished the season with two scores over the last three games. The health of both Jones and Leonard Fournette (IR-hamstring) will certainly be the subject of plenty of scrutiny this coming week leading up to Sunday's wild-card matchup against the Eagles, and if at least one of the two remains on the shelf, Vaughn would presumably be in line for at least a complementary role in the contest.

Akers (Achilles) rushed five times for three yards and caught all three targets for 10 yards in Sunday's 27-24 overtime loss to the 49ers.

Akers made his 2021 debut in Week 18 after missing practically the entirety of the regular season with an Achilles injury. The 21-year-old was eased back into action with just eight total touches while Sony Michel (21-43-0) retained his lead-back role. Akers is more versatile of an asset and provides more upside than the current veteran starter, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Akers carve out a larger role -- assuming good health -- in a showdown between the Rams and Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs.

Evans rushed seven times for 35 yards and brought in four of five targets for 24 yards in the Bengals' 21-16 loss to the Browns on Sunday.

The rookie checked in second in carries to Trayveon Williams with Joe Mixon (reserve/COVID-19) unavailable and Samaje Perine active but not logging any touches. Evans was able to record his second NFL touchdown in the same manner -- through the air -- as his first back in Week 6 when he recorded a four-yard scoring grab with 2:26 remaining in the contest. Despite the uptick in activity Sunday, Evans will almost certainly revert back to a healthy scratch or special-teams work when the postseason begins for the Bengals with a wild-card matchup against a to-be-determined opponent Saturday afternoon.

Mitchell rushed 21 times for 85 yards and did not receive a target as a receiver in Sunday's 27-24 overtime win over the Rams.

Mitchell did not carry an injury designation heading into this matchup, which has been a rare occurrence during an injury-filled rookie campaign. The 2021 sixth-round pick finishes the regular season way ahead of expectations with 1,100 combined yards and six total touchdowns in 11 games. It will be very interesting to see how the 49ers treat Mitchell's role next season when the team's running-back corps heals up, as he has clearly established that he can produce as the lead rushing option in a complex offensive scheme. Assuming Mitchell doesn't land on the injury report during practice this week, the rookie will lead San Francisco's backfield in a playoff matchup against the Cowboys next week.

Benjamin ran for 31 yards on seven carries and caught four passes for 25 yards on four targets against Seattle on Sunday.

Benjamin had to step up more than usual because lead runner James Conner (ribs) had to leave the game in the fourth quarter and Chase Edmonds (ribs) didn't suit up for the contest. Not just that, but running back Jonathan Ward suffered a knee injury. It's not clear what the immediate status of any of the three injured runners might be, but if two or more of them miss any time then Benjamin might need to step up as the primary runner for Arizona in next week's wild-card round.

Kamara rushed the ball 30 times for 146 yards in Sunday's 30-20 win over Atlanta. He added two receptions for 16 yards.

Kamara was the centerpiece of the Saints' offense, particularly after Taysom Hill suffered a foot injury that pushed Trevor Siemian into action. The end result was a career-high 30 rushing attempts for Kamara and his highest yardage total on the ground for the campaign. Kamara relied primarily on volume to produce, though he highlighted his effort with gains of 27 and 13 yards to turn in an efficient effort. The primary thing missing from Kamara's performance was a trip to the end zone, a common theme for the season as he tallied only nine total touchdowns -- 12 fewer than his mark in 2020. The Saints will presumably look to upgrade their offense during the offseason, which could benefit Kamara's fantasy outlook from an efficiency perspective.