NFL Player News

Though not listed on the Patriots' injury report after practicing fully Wednesday, Gillislee (knee) calls himself a game-time decision for Super Bowl LII, WEEI.com reports. "As far as health-wise, I am almost there," Gillislee noted Wednesday. "I am not where I want to be. I have battled a couple of injuries this year, but I was able to be healthy this week enough to practice. That has been great."

Given his current level of practice participation, Gillislee is clearly trending in the right direction in terms of his potential availability for Sunday's game against the Eagles. That said, Gillislee is not a lock to suit up for the contest even if he is physically capable of doing so, with Dion Lewis, James White and Rex Burkhead also in the Patriots' backfield mix.

Rawls had a miserable season, averaging 2.71 yards per carry, third lowest in the league among backs with at least 50 rushes.

Rawls was limited by an ankle injury in training camp, but that had little bearing on his awful season. The team gave up on him after a poor Week 10 showing when he rushed 10 times for 27 yards (one of two games with double-digit carries). Thereafter, he got just nine carries in the final seven games. Rawls hits the hole hard, but runs with too much impatience, seemingly trying to break off a long run on every carry. He is a restricted free agent, but the Seahawks are not expected to re-sign him.

Gillislee (knee) wasn't listed on the Patriots' injury report Wednesday.

During the bye between championship weekend and the Super Bowl, the Patriots provided game statuses as if they were playing this past Sunday. Gillislee was listed as questionable, which likely would have resulted in inactive status due to the Pats' game-day rosters during the second half of the season. With no designation in the week immediately preceding the Super Bowl, there seems to be a chance he'll be active for the second time since Week 8. On Wednesday, Gillislee told Tom Pelissero of NFL.com that "we'll have to see" regarding his chances to suit up Sunday against the Eagles, but it would surprise in a backfield with a clean bill of health at the moment.

The Giants signed Watson to a contract Wednesday, Chris Adamski of TribLive.com reports.

Watson opened the 2017 season as the Steelers' No. 3 running back, but didn't do much in the role and was demoted to the practice squad by year's end. He's an interesting name to keep an eye on in redraft leagues ahead of the 2018 campaign given the uncertainty in the Giants backfield.

Gillislee (knee) was listed as a limited participant on Wednesday's posted practice estimation.

While Gillislee's knee was not sufficiently recovered to play in the AFC championship game this past Sunday, we suspect that he'll be available for the Super Bowl against the Eagles on Feb. 4. That said, in such a scenario, he's not a lock to be active, and if he is, he'd work behind Dion Lewis, while adding depth to a running back rotation that would also include Rex Burkhead and James White.

Ellington had two carries for five yards and six catches on nine targets for 72 yards in four games with the Texans.

Ellington began the 2017 season as a pass-catching specialist for the Cardinals and had some productive games early. His name was mentioned as a possible fill-in when David Johnson suffered a season-ending wrist injury in Week 1. However, the Cardinals went to great lengths to avoid using Ellington in the RB rotation. The 28-year-old was eventually released and landed with the Texans for the final weeks of the season. There were opportunities for Ellington as a receiver in Houston due to injuries at wideout, and he played 47 snaps in his Week 13 debut. However, as the injury situation improved, Ellington was limited to just 22 snaps over the final four weeks. The Texans are already set at running back with Lamar Miller and D'Onta Foreman. If Alfred Blue returns to the fold, there will be little room for Ellington.

Jones finished the 2017 season with five carries for 14 yards.

Jones joined the Colts organization just before the season began, and he suited up for just five games as he was often a healthy scratch or a practice squad player. The 2015 third-round pick will be faced with another offseason of fighting for roster spots, whether it's for the Colts or someone else.

West appeared in just five games in 2017, rushing 39 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns and adding two receptions for 23 yards.

The four-year veteran heads to free agency at an unfortunate time as West put together the worst season of his career to date in 2017. West entered as the favorite to be the Ravens' primary back on standard downs after Kenneth Dixon went down with a season-ending meniscus injury, but he surprisingly fell behind Alex Collins -- who was signed to the practice squad just before the regular season -- and Javorius Allen. West will be 27 when the season begins, but he still has the size and physical running style to garner some attention from teams in need of a short-yardage back. That said, his days of being a starter-level option for teams is likely over.

Cook signed a reserve/future contract with the Jaguars on Tuesday.

After going undrafted out of Oregon State last spring, Cook latched on with Jacksonville and stuck with the team through the end of training camp before being cut loose. The 23-year-old will rejoin Jacksonville for its offseason program but faces similarly long odds to crack the roster in 2018.

Murray rushed six times for 18 yards while bringing in both of his targets for 11 yards during Sunday's 38-7 loss to the Eagles in the NFC championship game.

Murray struggled to find holes in the Eagles' tough run defense and his usage was blunted once the Vikings were forced to abandon the run game. He now finishes the postseason having averaged an inefficient 2.7 yards on 25 carries after averaging 3.9 yards on 216 carries during the regular season. Under contract with Minnesota for another two seasons, Murray is set to return in 2018 as the clear No. 2 runner on the depth chart behind Dalvin Cook (knee), as teammate Jerick McKinnon will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the league year.