NFL Player News

Thompson snatched four passes for 21 yards off of six targets and added eight yards on the ground on five carries.

Thompson has nine touches in each of his past two games, by far his biggest workloads of the season. Thompson's looks have come due to C.J. Anderson being sidelined with an ankle injury and he hasn't done too much with them, averaging seven yards per catch and 2.7 yards per carry. Anderson suited up as the emergency back on Sunday and appears to be on pace to re-emerge and take carries away from Thompson in the coming weeks.

Sims played on 27 snaps in Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Saints, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Bucs' backup tailback played only one fewer snap than starter Doug Martin, with his pass-catching prowess keeping him on the field for long stretches in the second half as Tampa tried to overcome a deficit that climbed as high as 14 points. Sims' highly productive afternoon included a career-high six catches, and could have been even more explosive if Jameis Winston hadn't slightly overthrown him late in the fourth quarter for a game-tying touchdown. Sims is receiving solid playing time regardless of game flow, but he receives extended opportunity whenever Tampa Bay plays from behind.

Martin was in on 28 snaps in Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Saints, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Bucs' starting tailback's playing time was relatively scarce in the second half, with Tampa behind by as much as two touchdowns at one point. The encouraging thing was that Martin continued to run very effectively when he did get the opportunity. With the offensively-challenged Rams on deck Thursday night, Martin should benefit from what should be a much more balanced offensive approach in Week 15.

Bolden is in line for an expanded workload after LaGarrette Blount was ruled out for the season due to a hip injury.

Upon Blount's removal in the second quarter Sunday in Houston, Bolden took the reins of the backfield, for the most part, notching a season-high 16 rushes for 51 yards. Meanwhile, James White received a goal-line carry and fulfilled pass-catching duties with four receptions (on six targets) for 38 yards. The Patriots are notorious for building a game plan to suit that week's opponent, but with Blount joining Dion Lewis (knee) on the rehab trail, Bolden should become a more featured option in the offense.

Harris, who was expected to compete for the starting RB job with Thomas Rawls injured, was released Tuesday by the Seahawks, the Seattle Times reports.

The move is a bit of a surprise, considering Bryce Brown, who was just signed Monday, is the only other running back on the roster besides Fred Jackson. And coach Pete Carroll said Monday that Jackson would remain in his third-down role. Fullback Derrick Coleman played running back at UCLA and could get carries. But it looks like Brown will handle the bulk of the work Sunday against the Browns.

Rawls (ankle) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday afternoon, Liz Mathews of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

This is merely procedural, as Rawls was already ruled out for the rest of the season due to a broken ankle. DuJuan Harris and Bryce Brown will battle for early-down duties, with Fred Jackson remaining in the passing-down role.

Richardson signed with the Browns on Tuesday.

A seventh-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Richardson hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since the end of 2013. With Glenn Winston (concussion) looking shaky for Week 15, Richardson could serve as the No. 3 running back behind Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson. It's not a role that would necessarily include any offensive snaps or touches.

Ellington (toe) was not present during the media portion of Tuesday's practice, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' website reports.

The Cardinals will not be required to file an injury report until Wednesday, so an official update on Ellington's status will not come for another day. However, it appears his toe injury remains an issue, even with the team off since Dec. 10. Ellington's status for Sunday's game against the Eagles is not likely to be determined until later this week, but even if he is able to suit up, he figures to slot in behind David Johnson on the depth chart.

Mostert was released by the Ravens on Tuesday.

Mostert was a non-factor in Baltimore's offense and made only a marginal impact in the return game, so the team decided to remove him from the roster and add fellow running back Terrence Magee. The Ravens did activate him for seven games this season, so they may look to keep him around.

Magee was promoted to the Ravens' active roster Tuesday.

Magee will take the roster spot of fellow running back Raheem Mostert. Magee bounced between the practice squad and active roster this season, but with him again joining the active roster this late in the season, he figures to remain on it the rest of the way. He will slot in as the Ravens' third running back behind Javorius Allen and Terrance West.