NFL Player News

Coach Kliff Kingsbury said he will utilize a backfield committee in Sunday's game against the 49ers that includes packages for both Drake and David Johnson, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

Drake led the backfield in the Week 10 loss to Tampa Bay, playing 64 percent of the snaps and garnering 16 touches while Johnson was limited to 43 percent and six touches, fumbling on one of them. A report earlier Friday suggested Drake was getting most of the work with the first-team offense during practice, but Kingsbury downplayed any notion of Johnson having his role further reduced. Drake steamrolled this same Niners team for 162 scrimmage yards just a couple weeks ago, albeit with both Johnson and Chase Edmonds (hamstring) inactive due to injuries. Johnson is no longer listed on the injury report, though he didn't exactly look spry last week. In any case, Drake is shaping up as the better Week 11 fantasy play, even if a starter-level workload isn't assured.

Sanders may be in store for the lead role out of the Philadelphia backfield Sunday against the Patriots with Jordan Howard (shoulder) listed as questionable for the contest, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.

Though Howard was a limited participant in practice throughout the week, coach Doug Pederson noted prior to Friday's session that the Eagles' top ground option hasn't yet been cleared to resume taking contact. Given that Howard hasn't fully recovered from the stinger he suffered in the Week 9 win over the Bears, there's reason to believe he may be limited or withheld entirely from the matchup with New England. If that's the case, Sanders -- who has earned double-digit touches just once in the past four games -- could be thrust into a more prominent role, especially with scatback Darren Sproles (hip) getting shut down for the season. The Eagles plan to add Jay Ajayi to the roster to bolster the team's backfield depth, but Sanders would still be the odds-on favorite to headline a Howard-less backfield.

Montgomery (ankle) returned to practice Friday as a limited participant and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports.

This has all the makings of a frustrating situation for fantasy managers, with Montgomery appearing truly questionable for a game that kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET. He was listed as a limited participant Wednesday when he initially hurt his ankle during practice, before downgrading to no activity Thursday. The return to a limited session Friday suggests he has a real chance to play, with Tarik Cohen and Ryan Nall on hand in the event of an absence. The Bears waived Mike Davis last week, eating some dead-cap money in order to recoup a fourth-round compensatory draft pick.

Drake worked with the first-team offense -- ahead of David Johnson -- during Friday's practice, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

Drake had the advantage in snaps, touches and production during last week's 30-27 loss to Tampa Bay, though neither running back found much open real estate against one of the toughest run defenses in the league. Johnson did himself no favors with a lost fumble in the fourth quarter, but Drake was getting most of the work even before that happened. The former Dolphin is the favorite to lead Arizona's backfield this coming Sunday in San Francisco, albeit with Johnson likely mixing in to some extent. Meanwhile, Chase Edmonds (hamstring) is set to miss another game, potentially aiming to return after a Week 12 bye.

Williams (not injury-related) won't practice Friday, BJ Kissel of the Chiefs' official site reports

Per the report, the running back's Friday absence is an excused one, so at this stage it doesn't appear his availability for Monday night's game against the Chargers is in question. Saturday's final Week 11 injury report should confirm that notion, one way or the other.

Coach Dan Quinn said that Ollison "will definitely take on more of a role" in Sunday's game against the Panthers with top running back Devonta Freeman (knee) ruled out for the contest, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

The fifth-round pick out of Pittsburgh has been on the Atlanta roster all season, but he was a healthy inactive through the first eight games before filling purely a special-teams role in his NFL debut in last weekend's upset win in New Orleans. With Freeman sidelined for at least one game, however, Ollison should get his first snaps on offense, though both the rookie and veteran Kenjon Barner will rank as clear depth options behind Brian Hill. Thanks in part to Freeman's early exit versus the Saints, Hill picked up a season-high 40 offensive snaps, while Barner played 11.

Conner ran for 10 yards on five carries and caught one of two targets for six yards Thursday in Pittsburgh's 21-7 loss to Cleveland before departing in the first half after aggravating a right shoulder injury.

Returning after missing the last two games with an AC joint sprain in his shoulder, Conner struggled to find room to run, with seven of his 10 yards coming on one carry. He re-injured the shoulder in the second quarter and was initially labeled questionable to return before being ruled out for the remainder of the contest. With 10 days before Pittsburgh's next outing Week 12 versus the Bengals, fantasy owners will need to take a wait-and-see approach with regard to Conner's availability for that matchup. Cincinnati has surrendered a league-high 173.0 yards per game on the ground to date.

Chubb rushed 27 times for 92 yards in the Browns' 21-7 win over the Steelers on Thursday. He also failed to haul in his only target.

Any doubts about whether Kareem Hunt would eat into Chubb's lead-back workload were put to rest for at least one more game, as the latter logged a season-high workload. Chubb frequently found running room at a premium against a stingy Steelers front, but he did enough to help keep the chains moving and crossed the 90-yard threshold for the sixth time this season. While Hunt's role figures to continue expanding over the season's remaining games, Chubb will head into a highly favorable Week 12 matchup against the Dolphins a week from Sunday as the top backfield option for Cleveland.

Conner was removed from Thursday's game against the Browns to be evaluated for a shoulder injury.

The 24-year-old missed the previous two games with an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder but practiced fully this week, though he appears to have aggravated the injury during the first half Thursday. Conner was initially questionable to return but has since been ruled out. Jaylen Samuels and Trey Edmunds should handle backfield work for the Steelers in his absence.

Mostert (knee) was listed as a limited practice participant Thursday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Mostert is nearly one month removed from injuring his knee, and while the issue has impacted his practice reps at times, he's suited up in each of the 49ers' past four games. During that span, he's racked up 17 touches for 93 yards from scrimmage and one rushing TD. With Matt Breida expected to miss the next 1-to-2 games due to a low-ankle sprain, a more consistent role may be on tap for Mostert in the short term.