NFL Player News

The Ravens announced they put rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro (foot), safety Terrence Brooks (knee) and cornerback Asa Jackson (knee) on injured reserve.

Chargers running back Ryan Mathews, who missed Week 15 with an ankle injury, is not practicing Tuesday, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. The paper added Mathews "wasn't particularly close" to playing Sunday against the Broncos.

The Chargers visit the 49ers on Saturday.

With DeMarco Murray's (hand) availability very much in doubt, plenty of Fantasy owners are going to be scrambling for the waiver wires ahead of Week 16. At the Fantasy Football Today blog, I took a look at Murray's backups, Joseph Randle and  Lance Dunbar, to see how they might be used in Murray's absence:

"Dunbar saw more work than Randle in Week 15 as well, playing 14 snaps to Randle's three. However, the team has been more likely to give Randle the ball when he's been on the field, as he has touched the ball on 58.1 percent of his offensive snaps. That number is closer to Murray's mark of 56.9 than Dunbar's 38.9 percent mark."

Randle is averaging a robust 7.0 yards per carry on the season, twice what Dunbar has managed. However, Dunbar has much more experience as a pass-catching option out of the backfield, so we could see a true split if Murray sits, with Randle handling the early downs and Dunbar getting work when the team needs to pass. 

If you can only pick up one player, Randle looks like the guy to own. Both Jamey Eisenberg and Dave Richard have him among their top-16 running backs for the week, while Dunbar manages to just barely sneak into Dave's top-30, and doesn't come anywhere close for Jamey. He may have more value in a PPR format, but Randle has been so effective running the ball, he probably fits what the Cowboys want to do more. 

The Bears got a few offensive contributions in Monday's 31-15 home loss to the Saints. Among them, rookie running back Ka'Deem Carey caught all three of his targets for 39 yards and had a 4-yard carry. Dante Rosario made a 4-yard catch. Wideout Josh Morgan was targeted once without a catch.

They'll play the Lions in Week 16.

Asked Monday about Latavius Murray's status as the Raiders' primary ballcarrier, coach Tony Sparano said, "I've had no thought of changing that," reports CSNCalifornia.com.

Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew combined for four carries Sunday.

Oakland hosts the Bills in Week 16.

Redskins coach Jay Gruden told reporters that running back Roy Helu has a chance to return this season, according to Comcast SportsNet Washington.

Helu suffered a turf toe injury Week 14 against the Rams and was inactive Week 15 against the Giants. He has carried the ball 34 times for 174 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He also has 38 receptions for 436 yards and two scores.

Washington will finish the season against Philadelphia and Dallas.

Let's face it: Vikings running back Matt Asiata isn't a great rusher. With his 11 carries for 36 yards Week 15 at Detroit, he's now averaging 3.3 yards per carry, or 3.0 since Jerick McKinnon went down in Week 13. But he makes up for it at least to some degree with his receiving.

Never was it more evident than in Week 15, when he caught seven passes for 50 yards, both season highs. Maybe that's the ceiling of what he can do, but he hasn't had less than three catches since Week 7, averaging 4.2 in six games.

Certainly in PPR leagues, that gives him a big boost in value, but the potential for an extra 20-plus yards makes a difference in standard leagues as well, especially since he's really the Vikings' only choice to carry the ball at the goal line, provided they make it there.

He's not an ideal start, particularly for a playoff-caliber Fantasy team, but for Week 16 at Miami, a team that has struggled against the run, you could do worse if you get in a pinch.

What's that? Buccaneers running back Doug Martin ran for 96 yards on 14 carries Week 15 at Carolina. Sweet Moses, he's back!

Whoa now, slow your roll. More than two-thirds of those yards came on a 63-yard run on his second carry of the game. On the other 13, he averaged just 2.5 yards.

Now obviously, some running backs rely on long runs to bring up their yards per carry, so isolating those runs under the assumption they're some sort of fluke isn't the fairest way to assess a rusher's performance. But long runs aren't the norm for Martin. That 63-yarder was his first of 20-plus all season.

This performance was similar to the 58-yard game he had Week 13 against Cincinnati. He seemed like he was poised for a big numbers when he gained 46 yards on his first 10 carries, but it was largely skewed by a 10-yard run he had early on. He had just 18 yards on eight carries the rest of the way.

By now, Fantasy owners should have a pretty good idea who Martin is, and it's not someone they should be looking to start in a 12-team league.

Rest assured, Jamaal Charles owners, there's no running back controversy in Kansas City.

The box score for Week 15 against Oakland may suggest otherwise. Charles led the Chiefs with 12 carries for 52 yards, sure, but backup Knile Davis scored both the touchdowns out of the backfield, plunging in from 3 yards out midway through the third quarter and then scoring on a 70-yard catch-and-run a couple drives later.

But it was all a matter of timing. Davis' touchdown run came after Charles took a hard hit the play before and had to be tested for a concussion. Charles returned for the team's next drive, but the Chiefs went up three scores then, putting the game out of reach. It only made sense to bring in the backup running back, who then broke a long one when a defender stumbled.

Davis wasn't even effective with his nine carries, five of which came in the fourth quarter. He gained a total of 11 yards. His value to Fantasy owners remains as a handcuff to Charles. You wouldn't want to start him on his own merits Week 16 at Pittsburgh.

Getting another start for the Raiders, running back Latavius Murray didn't exactly light up the scoreboard like in his previous meeting with the Chiefs, when he had 112 yards and two touchdowns on four carries, but he performed adequately enough Week 15 at Kansas City, gaining 59 yards on 12 carries and 17 on two catches.

The problem is he had just 12 carries -- and only a week after having 23. It wasn't because the Raiders turned to someone else. They just stopped running the ball, having only seven carries as a team in the second half.

The Raiders trailed by only a touchdown at the half, but the Chiefs pulled away soon thereafter, putting the ball in the hands of rookie quarterback Derek Carr keeping it away from the Raiders' new weapon.

That's going to happen sometimes with the running back of a 2-12 team, so even though Murray has been a nice find to end the season, you'll need to pick your spots with him. Week 16 against Buffalo could be a more competitive game, but the Bills are so tough against the run that you may still want to pass on Murray.