NFL Player News

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he plans to get receiver Cordarrelle Patterson a personal instructor to work with this offseason, reports ESPN.com. Zimmer would not name the instructor, a former player.

"He's somebody that I trust, somebody that I think would be a great influence for [Patterson]," Zimmer said.

Patterson caught 33 passes for 384 yards and a touchdown in a highly disappointing second season.

Following a promising rookie season, Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson had a disappointing campaign in 2014. He now heads into the offseason looking to improve, with his eye on bouncing back in 2015.

"It wasn’t the year I wanted, like I had last year," Patterson said, per The Star Tribune. "I feel like last year was a good year for me and I felt like I was going to come back and capitalize off that. Week 1, you know, things was good. But after that, it just started going downhill. I blame myself for everything. I need to just take full advantage of the offseason and get better."

Patterson has no specific goals for the offseason, but he does have an idea of what he wants to accomplish.

"I just want to work with Matt [Cassel] and Teddy [Bridgewater] and whoever in the offseason, just pick those boys’ brain and talk to [Norv] Turner and [Mike] Zimmer and see how he wants things done in this offense and just take full advantage of this four months or whatever," he said. "Just take advantage and just try to learn the offense more than I already know and, like I said, just take advantage of it."

Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon, who missed the final five games of the season with a lower back injury, said he is feeling much better following surgery in early December and should be ready for the start of organized team activities in May, per ESPN. 

Running backs coach Kirby Wilson said Friday he feels McKinnon can be a featured back in the NFL, and he could be the team's primary running back in 2015, if Adrian Peterson doesn't return next season. 

"I can’t really say what’s going to happen," McKinnon said. "Nobody knows. It’s the NFL, things change. All I can do is work hard and come OTAs, come back out here and compete and show the coaches I can still do what I can."

McKinnon averaged 4.8 yards per carry as a rookie in 2014, totaling 538 rushing yards on 113 carries. He also had 27 catches for 135 yards, but he has no rushing or receiving touchdowns.

Broncos running back C.J. Anderson found the end zone three times Week 17 against the Raiders. 

Anderson finished second on the team with 13 carries, but wound up leading the way with 87 yards rushing. He broke off an 11 yard run in the first quarter for his first score of the game. His second touchdown came easier, as Anderson was able to plunge it in from 1 yard out. In the third quarter, Anderson put the finishing touches on his excellent game. He broke off a 25 yard scamper, finding the end zone for a third time. He also picked up two receptions for 20 yards.

Anderson has a bye next week. He's started the last six games for the club, and finishes the regular season with 849 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns. 

Raiders running back Latavius Murray found a way to make an impact despite a poor day on the ground.

Murray carried the ball 10 times for 37 yards. His longest run of the day went for just eight yards. While he wasn't much of a threat on the ground, Murray did have a nice game in the air. He led the club with four catches for 60 yards. He caught all four of his targets.

Murray got some run as the team's primary ball-carrier near the end of the season. Aside from a ridiculous game Week 12, where he gained 112 yards on just four carries, he failed to really establish himself as a future starter. Murray finished the year with 424 rushing yards on 82 attempts. 

Cardinals running back Kerwynn Williams led the team in rushing again Week 17 against the 49ers.

Williams carried the ball 17 times for 67 yards. He averaged 3.9 yards per attempt. Williams was not a threat in the passing game. While he did receive one target, Williams failed to come up with the catch. It was the third straight game in which Williams received at least 15 carries. 

Williams will take on the Panthers in the playoffs next week. Carolina is favored by -4.5 points.

With Steven Jackson (quad) sidelined, Falcons running backs Jacquizz Rodgers and rookie Devonta Freeman shouldered the load in the running game Sunday against Carolina.

Rodgers took nine carries for a team-high 44 yards and turned seven targets into three receptions for 19 yards. Freeman carried the ball only six times for 13 yards. He also added two catches for 3 yards in a 34-3 defeat, eliminating Atlanta from playoff contention.

Chargers running back Branden Oliver had 14 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 19-7 loss to the Chiefs. 

Oliver got a goal line carry early in the second quarter and plunged into the end zone from one yard out. His longest carry of the day went for 18 yards.

Oliver finishes his rookie campaign with 582 yards and three touchdowns on 160 carries. His most significant playing time coming when starting running back Ryan Mathews was injured.

Colts running back Dan Herron ran 10 times for 35 yards and caught three passes for 31 yards Week 17 against the Titans, and he didn't play in the second half as starters rested. Trent Richardson rushed six times for 11 yards and had a 9-yard catch.

No. 3 running back Zurlon Tipton added 21 yards on nine carries and caught both his targets for 45 yards.

Look for Herron to keep dominating backfield snaps when Indy plays the Bengals or Steelers in the playoffs.

Vikings running back Matt Asiata had 19 carries for 91 yards in Minnesota's 13-9 win over the Bears Sunday. It was a career high for the third year running back, who's previous high was 78 yards in Week 4 against Atlanta.

Asiata finishes the year with 570 yards and nine touchdowns on 164 carries. He is also third in the league with those nine touchdown runs.

Asiata will be a restricted free agent this offseason.