NFL Player News

Jets running back Chris Johnson has showed some signs of life in recent weeks, and appears to have earned a bit of a bigger role in the team's offense after Week 13's 16-13 loss to the Dolphins.

Johnson rushed the ball a season-high 17 times for 105 yards, both of which led the team. This is just the second time he has finished a game with more carries than Chris Ivory in the last six, though they both also had seven in the team's previous game.

Ivory had been the better runner over the first half of the season, but he has fallen off the pace of late, which has allowed Johnson to cut into his playing time a bit. Ivory is averaging 4.4 yards per carry for the season, while Johnson is now up to 4.6, and the gap is mostly from the last five games. Johnson is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, while Ivory is at 3.6 yards per carry in that span.

Neither player is a must-start Fantasy option, but Johnson is starting to show signs of being the player the Jets they were getting when they added him this offseason. The continued split workload makes it hard to rely on either player, however, so view Johnson and Ivory both as just low-end starting Fantasy options down the stretch.

After saying running back Terrance West has been "very careless with the football," Browns coach Mike Pettine told ESPNCleveland.com that No. 3 running back Glenn Winston, a 6-2, 220-pounder, could get reps with the regular offense.

"That's something we'll look at," Pettine said. "Because we need to pride ourselves on not turning the ball over."

Isaiah Crowell will continue to start.

Jets running back Chris Johnson looked like a younger version of himself in Monday's loss to the Dolphins. Johnson ran 17 times for 105 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry and producing his first 100-yard game this season.

Johnson showed great burst on a 47-yard cutback run in the first quarter. He has now exceeded 100 yards rushing in all four of his career games against Miami.

Johnson was not targeted in the passing game. He'll visit the Vikings in Week 14.

The Dolphins got several offensive contributions in their Week 13 win over the Jets. Among them, wideout Brandon Gibson caught two passes for 17 yards, while running back Daniel Thomas had a 5-yard carry and a 3-yard reception.

They'll play the Ravens in Week 14.

With starter Alfred Morris averaging 17.5 carries per game, backup running back Roy Helu isn't a big-time contributor in Fantasy. But he has a clear enough role in the Redskins offense to give him some value in PPR leagues.

He caught four passes for 61 yards Week 13 at Indianapolis, scoring a touchdown on a 21-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter. It was the second time in three games that he scored a touchdown and the third time in four games that he had at least four catches.

Helu's 38 catches tie him with Ahmad Bradshaw for seventh among running backs, and obviously, he'll be passing Bradshaw before season's end. His 436 receiving yards are also third among running backs, but of course, that averages out to just 36.3 per game and has been fairly evenly distributed over his 12 games. Week 13 was just the second time he topped 60 yards through the air.

In other words, if you don't get points for the receptions themselves, Helu isn't productive enough to matter in 12-team leagues, but if you do, he's at least a usable player.

Jets running backs Chris Ivory (shoulder), Chris Johnson (knee) and Bilal Powell (illness) are active for the game against the Dolphins after being listed as probable.

Andre Ellington has technically been one of the best 12 running backs in Fantasy this season, but you wouldn't know it by his recent performance. With just 12 yards on five carries Week 13 at Atlanta, he has averaged 25.3 yards on 13.0 carries in his last four games -- a stretch that almost directly coincides with the loss of quarterback Carson Palmer to a season-ending injury.

Of course, health hasn't been Ellington's ally either. He has contended with a foot injury all season, costing him valuable practice time as well as limiting his ability, and to make matters worse, he suffered a hip pointer Week 13 at Atlanta, leaving before the end of the first half.

So if you're keeping score at home, he was already hobbled and the No. 1 target for defenses with no threat of a passing game, and now he has a second injury that might keep him off the field altogether. I'd say regardless of his actual playing status, you might want to avoid Ellington for Week 14 against Kansas City.

And if he does miss the game, the Cardinals will turn to some combination of Marion Grice, Stepfan Taylor, Robert Hughes and Michael Bush in his place, so good luck sorting out that mess.

The Dolphins ruled these players inactive for Monday's game at the Jets: tight end Charles Clay (hamstring, knee), cornerbacks Jamar Taylor (shoulder) and Cortland Finnegan (ankle), linebacker Jonathan Freeny (hamstring), running back LaMichael James, offensive tackle Billy Turner and guard Nate Garner (illness).

Browns coach Mike Pettine told reporters during Monday's news conference that Terrance West has been "careless" with the football in recent weeks, reports the News-Herald.

West nearly lost a fumble in Week 12's win over Atlanta. He coughed up the ball twice Sunday against Buffalo, including one which resulted in a touchdown that gave the Bills a 14-3 lead in the third quarter. The Browns weren't able to overcome the second-half deficit and suffered a 26-10 loss to the Bills.

With Ben Tate out of the picture, West and Isaiah Crowell have been sharing the load the past two weeks. West has been unable to establish himself as the primary option. He has combined for 23 touches, carrying the ball 21 times for 94 yards over that span. He has not found the end zone since Week 10 against the Bengals.

Despite struggling throughout the season, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer expressed confidence in wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson Monday.

"I’m going to keep saying this over and over until somebody believes me: I am in this guy’s corner,” Zimmer said, per 1500espn.com.

Patterson was expected to play a large role in the Vikings’ offense this season, but has produced 30 receptions for 350 yards and one touchdown in 12 games.