NFL Player News

Patriots running back Shane Vereen stepped up in a big way Week 7 against the Jets, which was the team's first game without running back Stevan Ridley, who sustained a season-ending knee injury Week 6. Vereen totaled 114 yards (71 receiving) and two touchdowns in a 27-25 win.

Quarterback Tom Brady seems confident Vereen will be able to continue to be a steady presence on offense, per ESPN.

"Yeah, he’s done such a great job for us over the time that he’s been here," Brady said. "I think dependability really sums it up, and he’s really an explosive player for us, too. It’s just trying to continue to find ways to get him the ball because he does a lot of great things when it’s in his hands."

Browns coach Mike Pettine said Wednesday the team might not use three running backs Week 8 against the Raiders after Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West had trouble getting into the flow of the game during a Week 7 loss at Jacksonville.

Crowell and West both admitted their limited reps impacted how they performed Sunday, according to The Plain Dealer.

"We'll make a decision at the end of the week,'' Pettine said. "I don't want to lock it in and say we're set on three.''

Colts coach Chuck Pagano said Wednesday running back Trent Richardson's hamstring injury isn't as bad as the one he sustained during training camp, which forced him to miss about a week, per the team's official website.

Pagano said the plan is for Richardson to practice Thursday and the team will then re-evaluate his status. The Colts are preparing to face the Steelers in Week 8.

Buccaneers rookie running back Charles Sims will practice Wednesday, reports the Tampa Bay Times. He went on short-term IR after undergoing ankle surgery right before the season.

The paper expects Sims to sit out Sunday's game against Minnesota and return Week 9 at Cleveland.

Colts running back Trent Richardson was not practicing Wednesday during the portion of practice open to the media. Richardson suffered a hamstring injury Sunday against the Bengals.

Richardson rushed for 77 yards on 14 carries and was averaging a season-best 5.5 yards per carry before getting hurt Week 7. The Colts are preparing to face the Steelers in Week 8.

In his Week 8 waiver-wire column, Jamey Eisenberg takes a look at the wide receivers most worth adding ahead of this week's games.

The list is headlined by new Seahawks' No. 1 Doug Baldwin (33 percent owned), with Odell Beckham (68 percent) of the Giants, Davante Adams (21 percent) of the Packers, Allen Robinson (34 percent) of the Jaguars and Brandon LaFell (56 percent) of the Patriots rounding out the remainder of the top five.

If you need to drop someone to make room for any pickups this week, he also recommends possibly parting ways with the Vikings' Cordarrelle Patterson (81 percent) or the Steelers' Markus Wheaton (35 percent). 

Chargers running backs Ryan Mathews (knee) and Donald Brown (concussion) did not practice Tuesday, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. Neither is expected to play Thursday at Denver, leaving Branden Oliver as the lead back.

Forget about Brandon Bolden. The Patriots' use of him against the Jets in Week 7 -- he played only one snap -- pretty much tells the story there. Granted, they've had their share of about-faces at the running back spot over the last few years, so I wouldn't dare claim to know what they're thinking, but if they've decided their next-best choice at the position is Jonas Gray, who at least saw the field for 11 plays Thursday, it's pretty clear what direction they intend to go, right?

With that in mind, I cautiously, carefully and with a preemptive tinge of regret plan to start Shane Vereen Week 8 against Chicago and hopefully every week thereafter. Yes, he played 80 percent of the snaps in Week 7, and yes, he scored two touchdowns. But you'll notice both of them came through the air. True, he also got more than two-thirds of the Patriots' carries, but I can't help but wonder if in a different matchup, one that encouraged them to pound the ball instead of rushing just 15 times as a team, they would have been more creative. That would work to Vereen's detriment, obviously.

For more of my biggest takeaways from Week 7, be sure to check out my latest post to the Fantasy Football Today blog.

Raiders running back Darren McFadden has fallen on such hard times that even a three-week span with one double-digit Fantasy performance counts as a career renaissance. Does he have another level he can take his game to?

McFadden ranks 29th among running backs in Fantasy points over his last three games, but has just 25 Fantasy points. This might be more indicative of just how bad the position has been recently, as he isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. McFadden has topped 4.0 yards per carry just once this season, and has registered one or more Fantasy points through the air in just two games.

McFadden gets work, which will always make him an interesting Fantasy option, no matter how mediocre he is. Still, there are higher upside options out there than McFadden, who also carries the constant risk of injury. As a third Fantasy running back, McFadden is fine, but he doesn't have much more value than that at this point.  

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said the team's running back situation will continue to be a "week-to-week thing," adding Zac Stacy's lack of playing time Sunday wasn't an indicator of things to come. Stacy played one snap and got zero carries in the win over the Seahawks.

"We’ve got three outstanding runners," Fisher said, referring to Stacy, Benny Cunningham and rookie Tre Mason. "And as I mentioned, we think Trey Watts can also help us, so we’re going to use them all. It’ll be a week-to-week thing. Zac could get 25 carries this week. We had some things in early this week. It was working so we decided to stay with ‘Mase.' It’s nothing that Zac has done or hasn’t done. He’s been a little banged up the last couple of weeks, but obviously he’s an outstanding runner as well. We clearly have significant depth there at the position."

Fisher noted Stacy missed practice time the past couple weeks due to calf and ankle injuries.

"The good thing about this is he’ll come back and should be 100 percent this week and just see where it goes," Fisher said.

The Rams visit the Chiefs in Week 8.