NFL Player News

Wilson will be the 49ers' lead back Week 17 against the Rams with Matt Breida (ankle) ruled out for the season finale, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

When Breida previously yielded the role to Wilson in Week 14, the latter turned a season-high 62 offensive snaps into 23 rushes for 90 yards and one catch (on two targets) for six yards. On the season, Wilson has averaged 4.1 yards per carry and gathered in 80 percent of his 15 targets, so he has the ability to cripple defenses in a variety of ways. He'll look to keep it up against an LA defense that has given up 125.1 yards from scrimmage per game and 14 touchdowns to running backs this season.

Breida (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's game at the Rams, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Breida has expended enough stress on his lingering ankle injury for the 49ers to shut down their starting running back for the final contest of the season. Despite missing two full games and parts of others, he'll finish his second campaign with 153 carries for 854 yards (5.3 YPC) and three touchdowns to go with 27 receptions (on 31 targets) for 261 yards and two TDs. While Jeff Wilson and potentially Alfred Morris will populate the backfield Week 17, some combination of Breida and Jerick McKinnon (torn ACL) are slated to be the 49ers' top running back options in 2019.

Coach Pete Carroll is hopeful Penny (knee) returns for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.

Prior to earning inactive status for a second straight game this past Sunday against the Chiefs, Penny practiced for the first time in two weeks, logging a limited session Friday. It wasn't enough to prove the health of his knee, but it appears as if he'll have a chance to do so this week. Carroll elaborated to John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site, saying Penny should suit up Week 17 if he makes it through preparations OK. Assuming he does, Penny would split the reps not given to starting running back Chris Carson with fellow reserve Mike Davis.

Kelly carried 10 times for 40 yards and caught one pass for nine yards in Sunday's 31-9 win over the Cardinals.

Kelly's most extensive work this season was the result of starter Todd Gurley (knee) being inactive. The 2018 sixth-rounder worked behind C.J. Anderson -- who logged 167 yards and a TD on 20 carries Sunday -- and would be in line to do so again Week 17 against the 49ers, should the Rams elect to play it safe and sit Gurley once again.

Rodgers rushed twice for two yards and a touchdown and brought in all seven of his targets for 55 yards in the Buccaneers' 27-20 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday.

Rodgers' two-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining in the first half was his first score on the ground since the regular-season opener against the Bears in 2017. Moreover, the veteran running back made his mark as a receiver out of the backfield, posting his second-best reception and receiving yardage totals of the campaign. Rodgers' production has naturally fluctuated this season as the primary backup to starter Peyton Barber, but his 37 receptions and 302 receiving yards on the season both rank as his third-highest figures in those categories over his eight-year career.

Coach Anthony Lynn expects Ekeler (neck/concussion) to return Sunday at Denver, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Lynn may be hinting that Ekeler has gained clearance from the concussion protocol, but official word on that front has yet to emerge. Perhaps working in Ekeler's favor was his limited listing on the final Week 16 injury report before he was ruled out for Saturday's eventual loss to the Ravens. In the end, his activity level will be watched closely to get a bearing on his potential to play in the Chargers' regular-season finale.

Wilkins didn't have any carries or targets in Sunday's win over the Giants.

Wilkins has seen his role drop off over the last half of the season. Sunday marked the third time this season he hasn't carried the ball or been targeted in the passing game. Barring injuries to Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines, it seems unlikely that Wilkins will have much fantasy value, if any, in Week 17 against the Titans.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Monday that the Cowboys will go "all out" in their Week 17 matchup with the Giants, suggesting Elliott will play in the contest, Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News reports.

After defeating the Buccaneers in Week 16, the Cowboys clinched the NFC East title and are locked in as the conference's No. 4 seed in the postseason. With nothing on the line for Dallas in the regular-season finale, there's little to gain by using key players extensively and potentially exposing them to injury ahead of the playoffs. That said, if Elliott ends up seeing something resembling a normal workload Week 17, it would make him one of the better high-end fantasy plays at running back, though Jones' comments shouldn't be taken as gospel at this point. Reserve backs Rod Smith and Darius Jackson would be in line for more snaps than usual if Dallas ultimately decides to restrict Elliott's usage.

Coach Ron Rivera admitted Monday that the team will hold internal discussions before deciding whether to hold out key players such as McCaffrey for its Week 17 game against the Saints, Bill Voth of the Panthers' official site reports.

Though the Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention heading into Sunday's 24-10 loss to the Falcons, it didn't stop McCaffrey from playing 83 of the team's 92 offensive snaps (90.2 percent), which actually dropped his season-long percentage to a still-astronomical 97.7 percent. During the contest, McCaffrey reached a milestone by hauling in 12 passes to bump his total up to 106 for the season, establishing a new NFL record for running backs. Aside from giving McCaffrey a chance to reach 2,000 scrimmage yards for the season -- he's 75 shy of that mark -- there's seemingly little benefit for the Panthers to hand the second-year player another massive workload and potentially expose him to injury in an otherwise meaningless season finale. Even if the Panthers elect to hand McCaffrey another start Week 17, there could be some risk of him being pulled from the game early, which would make him a more shaky play than usual in DFS contests.

Williams carried the ball 13 times for 103 yards in Sunday's 38-31 loss to the Seahawks. He also added seven receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Williams continued to see his workload increase on the ground, racking up a season-high 13 carries. That allowed him to surpass 100 rushing yards in a single game for the first time in his career. Williams also continued his excellence through the air, hauling in all seven of his targets while recording his second receiving score of the season. He's taken advantage of being the lead back on one of the most explosive offenses in the league, and it should be expected that he'll maintain the same role so long as Spencer Ware (hamstring) remains sidelined heading into a Week 17 matchup against the Raiders.