NFL Player News

Taylor (quadriceps) will play in Sunday's game against the Dolphins.

Taylor will make his first appearance since Week 3, as he's dealt with injury and illness this season. With Damien Harris (ankle) ruled out of the game, Taylor is expected to handle a clear No. 3 role at running back for the game behind Sony Michel and James White.

Pollard is in line to lead the Cowboys backfield after Ezekiel Elliott was ruled inactive Sunday against the 49ers, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

A 2019 fourth-round pick, Pollard has earned double-digit touches in seven of his 28 career contests. In those appearances, he's averaged 13.3 touches for 72.3 yards from scrimmage per game while scoring three touchdowns. Aside from Pollard, the other candidates for touches at running back are Rico Dowdle and Sewo Olonilua.

Ahmed (shoulder) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Patriots.

Ahmed is back, but it remains to be seen how heavily he'll be used in his return, even with Myles Gaskin (illness) still on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Also on hand are DeAndre Washington, Matt Breida and Patrick Laird, which could lead to a committee/hot hand backfield approach in Week 15.

Jones (finger) remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list and will not be active for Sunday's matchup against the Falcons, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Jones underwent surgery to repair his fractured pinkie finger Tuesday, but there seemed a chance he could face Atlanta if capable of shouldering late-week practice reps. A subsequent Wednesday shift to the reserve/COVID-19 list promptly changed the outlook, and it's now confirmed the 23-year-old will miss his first game of 2020. With Tampa Bay proceeding devoid of the NFL's fourth-leading rusher for Sunday's NFC South clash, Leonard Fournette is expected to step into the primary running back role, per Greg Auman of The Athletic.

Gibson (toe) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Seahawks, Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic reports.

Gibson was able to avoid being ruled out Friday after he returned to practice in a limited fashion, but with Washington still listing him as "doubtful" for the contest, he never seemed to have much of a shot to suit up Week 15. With the rookie set to miss his second straight game, Washington will lean on a combination of J.D. McKissic and Peyton Barber out of the backfield. McKissic will handle most of the passing-down work and will mix in as a change-of-pace option, while Barber likely garners usage as an early-down and short-yardage back.

Mattison (illness) is active Week 15 against the Bears.

Mattison has been sidelined back-to-back weeks, but a brief return to Thursday's session opened the door for the second-year back to jump back into action Week 15. There will remain legitimate questions about his usage, however, as Dalvin Cook is the unquestioned No. 1 back, and both Ameer Abdullah and Mike Boone are active for the contest as well.

Elliott (calf) is inactive for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The Cowboys managed Elliott's reps the last two weeks due to a bruised calf, but during the most recent one coach Mike McCarthy suggested the running back was "a little further away" than one week prior. The assessment comes as no surprise after Elliott was unable to practice at all this week, instead focusing on resistance work with the training staff. There was an expectation that he would gut out the injury, but Dallas has changed course and will give Elliott the week off. With Elliott sidelined, Tony Pollard is on pace for a large workload Week 15.

Dillon had one carry for 18 yards in Saturday's victory over the Panthers.

It appeared Dillon would get a few carries after Jamaal Williams left the game with a quad injury, but with Green Bay's offense sputtering in the second half and the Panthers closing the gap on the scoreboard, the Packers instead leaned on Aaron Jones the rest of the way. Dillon would step into the backup role in Week 16 if Williams is unable to go, but in a game that will have major seeding implications, Jones would likely get the bulk of the work in that scenario.

Vaughn is likely to see an increased role to some degree behind expected starter Leonard Fournette in Sunday's game against the Falcons with Ronald Jones (finger/reserve/COVID-19) expected to sit out the contest.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports coach Bruce Arians had kind words for the rookie this week, noting he's "come on like gangbusters." However, Fournette and veteran LeSean McCoy certainly have the experience edge on Vaughn, who's logged just nine carries all season and played only four snaps Week 14 despite garnering active status for the first time in five contests. Along with handling some special-teams duties, Vaughn will most likely spell Fournette occasionally on early downs against Atlanta, considering Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reported earlier in the week McCoy would serve as the third-down back if Jones were unable to suit up.

Gibson (toe), who is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Seahawks, won't suit up for the contest, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Gibson only managed one limited practice this week before receiving the "doubtful" designation for Sunday's contest, so the fact that he'll be sidelined for a second straight game should come as no surprise. Expect the rookie to be officially ruled out with the release of Washington's inactive list 90 minutes prior to the 1 p.m. ET kickoff. J.D. McKissic should serve as Washington's clear-cut top pass-catching back Week 15 while absorbing at least a handful of carries, leaving Peyton Barber to operate as the team's main short-yardage/goal-line back.