NFL Player News

McFadden will be active following the reinstatement of Ezekiel Elliott's six-game suspension Thursday, Jane Slater of NFL Network reports.

McFadden has been a healthy scratch for the first half of the season as Alfred Morris served as Elliott's backup and Rod Smith contributed on special teams. Thursday's decision ensures McFadden will be available out of the Cowboys backfield Sunday in Atlanta, but there's no guarantee he'll supersede Morris or Smith in the pecking order.

Anderson, who was limited at Wednesday's practice by an ankle issue, did not practice Thursday due to an illness, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.

Fantasy owners will want to check back and see if Anderson recovers in time to practice Friday, but it's still expected the running back will be able to suit up Sunday against the Patriots. Given that Anderson was under the weather Thursday and was previously nursing an ankle issue, it's plausible that the Broncos will list him as questionable on their final Week 10 injury report, which will be released following Friday's practice.

Elliott's six-game suspension was reinstated Thursday after his motion was denied by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Unlike past weeks, Elliott may not have enough time to string out the legal situation in time to play Sunday in Atlanta, which would result in him missing his first game of the season. If the suspension indeed holds entering the weekend, the Cowboys backfield will likely be led by Alfred Morris, with Rod Smith and Darren McFadden pitching in. Elliott would be eligible to return for the Cowboys' penultimate regular-season contest Dec. 24 against the Seahawks.

Williams (illness) won't practice Thursday, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

The same applies to wideout Jakeem Grant, though we suspect that both players will recover in time to be ready for Monday night's game against the Panthers. Prior to the NFL trade deadline, Williams missing practice wouldn't have attracted much attention, but since the Dolphins dealt Jay Ajayi to the Eagles prior to Week 9, his status gains a level of import now that Williams and Kenyan Drake now head the Dolphins' backfield in a time-share situation.

Anderson was limited at Wednesday's practice due to an ankle issue.

Anderson is coming off a nine-carry, 13-yard dud in Sunday's 51-23 loss in Philadelphia. As long as Anderson's ankle doesn't affect his Week 10 availability, he'll look to rebound against a New England defense that has allowed an average of 121.5 rushing yards per game to date.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said Rawls will lead the Seattle backfield in Thursday's game against the Cardinals, ESPN.com's Brady Henderson reports.

The Seahawks talked up Eddie Lacy as their lead back ahead of the Week 9 loss to Washington, but Rawls took over the role after his teammate suffered a groin injury in the second quarter. Lacy has since been ruled out for Thursday's game in Arizona, leaving passing-down specialists C.J. Prosise and J.D. McKissic as the only competition for Rawls in the backfield. There is some cause for optimism despite Rawls' season-long mark of 2.5 yards per carry, as Thursday will mark his first appearance of the season without Lacy or Chris Carson (ankle) also available. The Cardinals have limited opposing running backs to 3.5 yards per carry and 81 rushing yards per game, with Todd Gurley standing as the only player to produce more than 80 yards on the ground in a single contest against Arizona.

Elliott will miss Thursday's practice in order to attend a hearing in front of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, Kate Hairopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

A three-judge panel will hear arguments from the NFL and Elliott's representatives beginning at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday. At the crux of the hearing is Elliott's request for an emergency injunction to delay his six-game suspension. If the court rules in favor of the league, Elliott's suspension will kick in this Sunday in Atlanta, forcing the Cowboys to turn to a backfield committee headed by Alfred Morris. Otherwise, Elliott will be eligible to play, as he has in each of the team's first eight games of the season.

Jones and Ty Montgomery will continue to work as part of a committee at running back, with the rookie handling most of the early down work while Montgomery earns most of the third-down snaps, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

While there wasn't much for the Packers to be pleased about in Monday's 30-17 loss to the Lions, head coach Mike McCarthy said he was happy about the division of work between Jones and Montgomery. Game flow shifted the playing time in Montgomery's favor, limiting Jones to his lowest snap share (34 percent) and carry total (five) since he first earned a role in the offense. The likelihood of a more competitive contest Week 10 against the Bears should swing things back in Jones' favor, at least to some degree. Jones will likely remain the weekly favorite to lead the Packers in carries, but his involvement as a receiver should be limited unless Montgomery misses time due to injury. This could be a frustrating timeshare, particularly given the lack of total touchdowns up for grabs with Brett Hundley directing the offense.

The Colts expect to have Jones available for practice in some capacity Wednesday, George Bremer of The Anderson Herald Bulletin reports.

Jones failed to practice Thursday and Friday of last week before ultimately being ruled out in advance of Sunday's win over the Texans. The fact that the running back is set to begin Week 10 preparations on the practice field portends well for his status for the Colts' contest against the Steelers, but don't expect Jones to have much of a role in the team's game plan.

Elliott is set to practice Wednesday, but will likely miss Thursday's session to head to New York and attend oral arguments in the hearing for his request of an injunction to overturn his six-game suspension, David Moore of The Dallas Morning News reports.

That same day, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to render a verdict on the matter, which would either put Elliott's suspension in motion beginning with Sunday's game against the Falcons or leave him in the clear to play in the contest. Through all the legal back and forth that has taken place since Elliott was first handed the suspension in August, the 22-year-old has yet to miss any contests and has remained an elite fantasy option, ranking second in the league in rushing yardage (783) and tied for first in touchdowns (seven). Alfred Morris would take over as the starter in Week 10 if Elliott's suspension is reinstated, with Rod Smith and Darren McFadden likely seeing increased snaps in complementary roles.