NFL Player News

Vaughn was forced out of Thursday's game against the Bears late in the second quarter, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Vaughn went to the locker room after receiving a hit by Kyle Fuller just before halftime, so the Buccaneers will have ample time to evaluate him before the third quarter begins. Aside from Vaughn, the only depth option active for Tampa Bay behind top running back Ronald Jones is Leonard Fournette, who is only present as an emergency option.

Akers (ribs) was a full participant in Thursday's practice, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

Akers has now resumed practicing in full for the first time since he was forced out of the Rams' Week 2 contest against the Eagles, a development which appears to set the stage for him to return to the field at Washington on Sunday. Coach Sean McVay said Akers is "looking good" for Week 5, per Kevin Modesti of the Los Angeles Daily News. The rookie second-round pick worked in a timeshare with Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson before being injured, so he'll likely resume operating in a crowded committee upon suiting back up Sunday.

Gordon and the Broncos are now scheduled to face the Patriots on Monday instead of Sunday, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

A pair of prominent Patriots (Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore) have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, so the move was made to give the Broncos' opponent more time to ensure negative results continue to come in in New England. Assuming the game is played as rescheduled, Gordon will be sharing the backfield again with Phillip Lindsay (toe), who will be back in action for the first time since Week 1.

Johnson could handle a significant role on offense with Nick Chubb (knee) on IR and expected to miss about six weeks, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

Johnson worked alongside Kareem Hunt after Chubb was forced out of Cleveland's Week 4 win over the Cowboys, and he impressed while turning 13 carries into 95 yards. Though Kareem Hunt (groin) is the clear favorite to lead the Browns' backfield until late November, at which point Chubb could return, it wouldn't be out of the question for Johnson to see somewhere in the range of ten carries a week in one of the league's most potent rushing attacks. Additionally, Johnson would stand to inherit a hugely valuable role if Hunt were to exacerbate his groin injury.

Mostert (knee) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, Keiana Martin of the 49ers' official site reports.

Mostert appears to be testing out his sprained MCL this week, having his practice reps capped in the process. Friday's injury report will be telling for his ability to return Week 5. If Mostert is unable to suit up and misses a third straight game, Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson and JaMycal Hasty will be the running backs available to the 49ers offense.

Mixon was added to the Bengals' Week 5 injury report after being listed as limited at Thursday's practice by a shin injury, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Mixon was added to the team's Week 4 injury report this past Saturday with a chest issue, but ended up suiting up Sunday and putting up huge fantasy numbers. It remains to be seen if his new injury threatens his status for this weekend's game against the Ravens, but what the running back is able to do at practice Friday should add some clarity on that front.

Coach Anthony Lynn confirmed Thursday that Ekeler (hamstring) is out for Monday night's game against the Saints, Gilbert Manzano of The Orange County Register reports.

Lynn added that the Chargers haven't yet decided if Ekeler will be placed on IR, which implies that there's at least some hope that the running back could potentially beat the estimated four-to-six week timetable that was previously reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN. In Ekeler's absence, Joshua Kelley and Justin Jackson will head the team's backfield.

Moss (toe) was listed as a limited participant for Thursday's practice.

Moss was limited all of last week before being surprisingly ruled out for Sunday's game in Las Vegas, so we'd like to see him practice fully or at least get an encouraging outlook from the coaching staff before we feel comfortable about his status for Sunday's game in Tennessee, a contest that -- like Moss's status -- is up in the air due to the Titans' current COVID-19 issues.

Vaughn, who logged the first three carries of his career and also notched a receiving touchdown in a Week 4 win over the Chargers, is likely to see an expanded role in Thursday's game against the Bears with Leonard Fournette (ankle) doubtful and LeSean McCoy (ankle) already ruled out.

The rookie made his noise through the air against the Chargers with his key touchdown grab, but Thursday could see him assume a more prominent role on the ground. Vaughn's NFL career got off to an inauspicious start, as he logged zero snaps in Weeks 1 and 2 before serving as a healthy scratch in Week 3. However, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports Vaughn has been mentally prepared for his opportunity since training camp with encouragement from head coach Bruce Arians, who emphasized to Vaughn "your time's going to come" early on when he was essentially fourth on the depth chart. For his part, Vaughn drew on his college experience at Illinois, where he also was forced to wait out his opportunity. "For the most part, I was just sitting back and taking it in, taking advantage of not just being thrown in the fire ASAP," said Vaughn. "[I was] just staying patient, taking advantage of being able to practice without playing, if that makes sense. I got to work on my craft at practice."

Akers (ribs) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.

As he gears up for a potential return to action Sunday at Washington, Akers had his practice reps capped, but he still has two more sessions this week to move up to full participation. If he gains clearance to play, he may serve in some sort of timeshare with Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson, who have received 21 and 30 touches, respectively, during Akers' two-game absence.