NFL Player News

Hightower had 23 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 41-23 win at San Francisco. He caught his lone target for 15 yards.

Hightower dominated the action early, rushing eight times before Mark Ingram even touched the ball. While Hightower ended up leading the Saints in rushing attempts Sunday, Ingram blew up for 158 rushing yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). It's tough to read too much into Sunday's distribution of work, as the 49ers were a very favorable matchup. For now, both players should remain involved. Next up for the Saints are the Broncos in Week 10.

Mathews carried five times for 15 yards and a touchdown Sunday against the Giants. He also caught his only target for no gain in the 28-23 loss.

Mathews converted an eight-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but he received eight fewer carries than Darren Sproles, who also saw eight additional looks in the passing game. He has six touchdowns on the season and figures to continue seeing work in the red zone, but Mathews appears to be second in line for carries between the 20s at the moment. This backfield configuration should continue next week as the Eagles take on the Falcons.

West was held to 21 yards on 15 carries, and caught one of three targets for six yards Sunday against the Steelers

West was bottled up by the Steelers front, and his inability to run the ball effectively down the stretch allowed Pittsburgh to turn a 21-0 fourth-quarter deficit into a narrow 21-14 defeat. Backup Kenneth Dixon got nine carries of his own, but managed only 13 yards and an identical 1.4 yards per carry. West is still the primary running back in Baltimore heading into Thursday's matchup with a much more generous Browns run defense.

Elliott gained 92 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries Sunday against the Browns. He also caught his lone target for an additional five yards in the 35-10 win.

Elliott gashed the Browns for 5.1 yards per carry and helped break the game open with a 10-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter and an eight-yard score in the third. He could have had an even bigger game, but the Cowboys elected to rest the young tailback and gave Alfred Morris a season-high 17 carries with the score well in hand. Halfway through his rookie campaign, Elliott is on pace for nearly 1,800 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, and he will have the opportunity to continue his productive season next week against the Steelers.

Henry suffered a calf injury Sunday against the Chargers.

With Henry dealing with a calf issue, fellow RB Antonio Andrews is seeing work Sunday behind DeMarco Murray.

Washington rushed 10 times for 26 yards Sunday against the Vikings.

Starter Theo Riddick was shaken up in the first half and proceeded to miss an assignment in pass protection, allowing Washington to largely take over the team's running back duties thereafter. It isn't clear if Riddick actually sustained an injury, but Washington appears next in line for carries if Riddick is forced to miss any time, considering Zach Zenner and Justin Forsett didn't see any action at all.

Gillislee's teammate LeSean McCoy (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Monday's game in Seattle, though the veteran is generally expected to give it a go after practicing all week.

Gillislee was a slick pickup a few weeks back, but that value could be coming to a close soon with McCoy on the mend and apparently ready for game action again following a one-week absence, one that followed a game where he was limited to a few weak carries. Gillislee seems worth holding onto until McCoy is out of the woods, but his only value for Week 9 seems to be as a late Monday swap for those owning McCoy, should Shady test things out before the game and suffer a setback.

Washington is listed as active Sunday in Minnesota, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

After full practices sessions in advance of Week 8, Washington was in line for a return last Sunday but instead landed on the inactive list. The Lions trusted in Theo Riddick to handle the bulk of the reps out of the backfield, with Zach Zenner taking on the rest, resulting in no snaps whatsoever for veteran Justin Forsett. Washington will swap in for Forsett this time around, but Riddick could again dominate the touches for the second game in a row.

McKinnon (ankle) is listed as active Sunday against the Lions.

The release of the Vikings' inactive list confirms what was expected all along: McKinnon will return following one DNP due to an ankle issue. Nonetheless, he's been unable to parlay opportunity into production since Adrian Peterson went down with a likely season-ending knee injury, averaging 3.3 YPC and hauling in six of 11 passes in the four games prior to last Sunday's absence.

Rainey (calf) is active for Sunday's matchup against the Eagles, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.TV reports.

Rainey was limited in practice all week due to a calf injury, but it won't prevent him from suiting up and providing depth in the New York backfield Sunday. Rashad Jennings has taken back over as the lead back since his Week 6 return, but Rainey still logged 39 total offensive snaps in the two weeks prior to the Week 8 bye, in addition to his regular role on special teams. Though he'll be active and presumably have a complementary role to Jennings, it's a tough fantasy matchup given the fact that the Eagles have allowed just four rushing touchdowns this season.