NFL Player News

Conner (shoulder) returned to practice in pads Tuesday, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Conner was sidelined without pads during practice for nine days as he rehabbed a minor AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. The rookie was able to return well before Friday's upcoming preseason opener against the Giants, but it remains to be seen if his reps at running back will be limited to ensure full health moving forward.

Williams is listed as the Cardinals' No. 1 kick and punt returner, Mike Jurecki of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports.

In four NFL seasons, Williams only has nine reps as a returner, all on kickoffs, but he's only managed 17.1 yards per return. Preseason depth charts can yield insight on potential roles for the regular season, but the current iteration is likely impacted by John Brown's quad injury. When healthy, expect Brown to make an appearance on the depth chart and perhaps leapfrog Williams for the gig. Meanwhile, Williams seems to be the No. 3 running back behind David Johnson and Chris Johnson after working in front of Andre Ellington during last Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Cowboys.

Anderson will be limited to three series during Thursday's preseason game at Chicago, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post reports.

With Jamaal Charles (knee) and Devontae Booker (wrist) sidelined, Anderson will seemingly receive an extra series or two with the first team before giving way to Stevan Ridley, De'Angelo Henderson and Juwan Thompson. If the aforementioned injuries continue to plague their hosts, Anderson will be the clear-cut top running back in Denver once Week 1 rolls around.

Hightower (knee) was back on the practice field Tuesday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

His injury wasn't expected to hinder Hightower too long, and it's a good sign that he's back on the field. The 31-year-old will continue to share snaps with Carlos Hyde, especially since Hightower is a more skilled pass catcher than Hyde. The 49ers play in Kansas City on Friday night.

Rawls and Eddie Lacy rotated series with the starters at Monday's mock game, ESPN.com's Sheil Kapadia reports.

The Seahawks may be easing Lacy in as he returns from major ankle surgery, but Rawls is at least getting a shot to push for a significant chunk of the workload, if not the starting job. Given that Lacy and C.J. Prosise both have sketchy injury histories, it isn't hard to imagine Rawls working in a lead role at some point this season, regardless of where he stands in the Week 1 pecking order. The Seattle backfield will require close monitoring throughout the preseason, starting with Sunday's opener in Los Angeles.

West lost 12 pounds in the offseason and is down to 220-225 pounds at training camp, Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official website reports.

West visibly was in the best shape of his career last season, but it sounds as if he still played at around 235 pounds, rather than his listed weight of 225. He said he added muscle and lost fat this offseason, finally getting back to his weight from the 2014 Combine, where he ran a 4.54 40-yard dash at 225 pounds. With Kenneth Dixon (knee/suspension) likely out for the year, West has no real competition for the lead runner role as he enters a contract season looking to best last year's unimpressive marks of 4.0 yards per carry and 5.2 yards per target. Danny Woodhead's presence figures to limit West's involvement in passing game, but there's every opportunity for him to improve on last year's 193 carries if he stays healthy.

Cook is listed as Minnesota's starting running back on the first depth chart the team issued Monday, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It's not a surprise given the raves Cook has received from the coaching staff during training camp, along with the fact that Latavius Murray (ankle) only returned to practice Monday after missing the first two weeks of training camp. While he likely will have to share the first-team work in practice now that Murray is healthy, Cook is trending in the right direction to earn the lead back job for Week 1.

The unofficial depth chart the Patriots issued Monday lists Gillislee on the third-string.

We're taking this with a grain of salt, as he's listed behind Brandon Bolden, who's entrenched as a depth back and special teams player. By most accounts, Gillislee profiles as the team's top fantasy option out of the backfield, given the likelihood that he eventually absorbs the bulk of LeGarrette Blount's previous early-down/goal-line work. That said, Gillislee faces competition from fellow offseason acquisition Rex Burkhead, while James White and Dion Lewis handle the majority of the team's passing-down work. Regardless of where Gillislee ends up slotting on the depth chart, he'll be at the mercy of the Patriots' tendency to divide weekly carries in a game-plan-specific manner.

Murray (ankle) was removed from the Physically Unable to Perform list and will practice Monday, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Murray signed a three-year, $15 million contract in March and underwent surgery to address bone spurs shortly thereafter. He's been held out of practice on the PUP list for the first two weeks of training camp, which has allowed rookie Dalvin Cook to claim the top spot at running back on the Vikings' first official depth chart of training camp. While he remains behind in the competition for touches in the Minnesota backfield, Murray still has time to carve out a role if he can show he's fully healthy during preseason play.

Hightower was held out of practice Monday with a knee injury and is considered day-to-day, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Hightower exited early during practice Thursday and was subsequently absent from Friday's session with what was termed as a day off. It now appears that the veteran is nursing a legitimate injury, but given the day-to-day prognosis, it seems Hightower's situation presents little cause for concern.