NFL Player News

Mitchell is one of three running backs active Sunday for San Francisco's season opener in Detroit, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

The fact that Mitchell, a rookie sixth-round pick, is dressing for Week 1 is probably less of a surprise than the fact that third-round rookie Trey Sermon is in street clothes, considering that Sermon had been operating as the No. 2 back for most of training camp and the preseason. It's unclear if Sermon's healthy scratch is specific to the 49ers' Week 1 game plan or something that will carry over to future contests, but regardless, Mitchell and JaMycal Hasty will be on hand as the reserve options behind Raheem Mostert in the opener. While Mostert is expected to dominate the snaps and touches among the San Francisco backs, Mitchell and Hasty are both expected to see some involvement on offense, especially if the game turns non-competitive in the second half.

Jefferson (coach's decision) is inactive for the Lions' season opener Sunday versus the 49ers, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The rookie seventh-round pick will have to wait at least one week to make his NFL debut after the Lions elected to keep D'Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams and Godwin Igwebuike as their active running backs for Week 1. While Jefferson is more likely than Igwebuike to see snaps and touches on offense if one of Swift or Williams misses time this season, Igwebuike -- who contributes on special teams -- may end up dressing more frequently than Jefferson when all four backs are available.

Perine (foot) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Panthers, Randy Lange of the Jets' official site reports.

Even though Perine finished the week as a full practice participant, the Jets opted to make him one of the two running backs inactive for the contest, with Josh Adams (coach's decision) joining him in street clothes. Perine is listed behind all of Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson and Michael Carter on the Jets' unofficial depth chart, so even if he hadn't been nursing the foot injury, it's unclear if Perine would have suited up Sunday. With that in mind, Perine's status will be worth tracking heading into the Week 2 matchup with the Patriots, assuming he approaches that game without an injury designation.

Benjamin (coach's decision) is listed as inactive Sunday in Tennessee.

A 2020 seventh-round pick, Benjamin will replicate his standing from his rookie season, when he was a healthy scratch on a weekly basis. With Benjamin in street clothes, Jonathan Ward is the third running back for the Cardinals, but he'll be relegated to special-teams work behind the team's top two RBs, Chase Edmonds and James Conner.

Ekeler (hamstring) is listed as active for Sunday's game against Washington.

After missing practice Wednesday and Thursday, Ekeler looked good upon his return to the field Friday and he'll give it a go Sunday, with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network indicating that the running back should be full-go versus Washington. In the process, Ekeler is in line to head to the Chargers' ground game in Week 1, with Justin Jackson and Larry Rountree on hand to work in complementary/change-of-pace roles.

Singletary is in line to serve as the No. 1 back in Buffalo against the Steelers in Week 1, as presumed backup Zack Moss is listed as inactive for the contest.

Singletary has received nothing but praise throughout training camp, but most fantasy circles presumed some type of timeshare with Moss would be in play for much of the 2021 campaign. With Moss a healthy scratch in Week 1, Matt Breida is now the presumed backup with Singletary potentially in line for a lion's share of the backfield work. He and the Bills will take on a Pittsburgh defense that ranked 11th against the run in the 2020 season.

Sermon (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Lions, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

After the 49ers invested a third-round selection into him during this year's draft, Sermon not only looked on track to be a regular member of the team's weekly backfield mix, but perhaps a threat to displace Raheem Mostert as the No. 1 option. Even after a strong preseason, however, Sermon will surprisingly find himself in street clothes for Week 1. Behind Mostert, the 49ers will have JaMycal Hasty and Elijah Mitchell active in reserve.

Breida is set to serve as the No. 2 running back behind Devin Singletary with Zack Moss listed as inactive for the Week 1 matchup against Pittsburgh.

In one of the bigger surprises of Week 1, Moss looks to be a healthy scratch in Buffalo, leaving Breida open for a potentially larger role than most expected headed into the season. Breida logged 254 rushing yards on 59 attempts in an injury-shortened 2020 season with Miami and is well accustomed to serving as a change-of-pace back, as that was his role through his first three seasons in the league with San Francisco.

Moss will be inactive for Sunday's opener against the Steelers,

This will be one of the bigger surprises for Week 1. Moss did have offseason ankle surgery, but he was well up to speed early in training camp and played in the preseason. Either he had some kind of injury crop up very late in the week, he broke some kind of team rule, or coach Sean McDermott simply feels he's not fully all the way back and Matt Breida would be a more reliable short-term backup for starter Devin Singletary. This will be an interesting story to follow for those trying to guess which Bills RB will get the most opportunities stemming from the high-flying Buffalo passing game. The current listing for Moss is "healthy scratch," though we're sure there's more to follow on his situation.

Barkley (knee) is on track to play Sunday against the Broncos despite being listed as questionable for the contest, but the running back is expected to be "eased in and used sparingly" in his 2021 debut, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

After sustaining a torn ACL, mild MCL tear and partial meniscus tear to his right knee Week 2 of last season and subsequently undergoing surgery, Barkley has received full medical clearance just over 11 months later, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. While Barkley is thus on track to avoid the inactive list in the 2021 season opener, the Giants seemingly aren't planning on him handling his usual bell-cow role for at least his first game back. How extensively Barkley is used may ultimately come down to game flow and how he looks in his initial snaps early in the contest, but the wide range for his projected Week 1 workload makes him less of a slam-dunk lineup option than usual in season-long leagues, particularly in shallower formats where fantasy managers may have more appealing alternatives on hand.