NFL Player News

Cardinals running back Ryan Williams watched practice Sunday with an ice pack on his right knee. Guard Daryn Colledge left practice with a leg injury, according to the team's website.

Chargers coach Mike McCoy isn’t featuring Ryan Mathews as the unquestioned lead back, instead rotating him with Danny Woodhead and Ronnie Brown.

 “I’ve been raised with (Denver head coach) John Fox in this league,” McCoy said, via FoxSports.com. “We always played with a couple of backs. It doesn’t matter who’s in there. Keep them fresh.

“That’s the big thing. Play the hot hand while you roll. If you’ve got to tap out for a play or two, we’ll put the next guy in.”

While Cordarrelle Patterson has the inside track to the primary kick returner, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier says that will not limit the first-round pick’s offensive role, reports the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Patterson has impressed coaches early in camp.

"It wasn't like starting from zero like we thought it might be," Frazier said. "That encourages all of us. Now take that with a grain of salt. We've got a lot more football to go, but we like what we see so far."

Patterson returned kicks Saturday, lined up often as a first-team wideout and took a pitch from Christian Ponder on an end-around, according to the report.

“I don’t think we’ll have that much of a concern,” Frazier said when asked about Patterson’s ability to handle double duty.

Redskins running back Roy Helu appears in the lead for the No. 2 job behind starter Alfred Morris, reports the Washington Post.

The report says the order for the running backs behind Morris are in this order: Helu, Evan Royster, Keiland Williams, Tristan Davis, Chris Thompson, Jawan Jamison. Morris is the unquestioned starter, and the rest are all battling for that backup/third-down back role.

Ryan Mathews has called himself an "average back" because of his underwhelming numbers over the first three years of his career. But the Chargers rusher told CBSSports.com Senior NFL Columnist Clark Judge that year four will be different. 

Judge believes 2013 is a make-or-break season for Mathews. 

Mathews has shed around 10 pounds because he felt too bulky and has changed his outlook on the game, aiming to just enjoy himself and not put any expectations on his shoulders. 

"I just think I put too much pressure on myself where I came in and tried to be what I wasn't," he said. "There was a great guy who led the way for me, LaDainian Tomlinson, and I thought I had to be him and do what he was doing. Instead, I got away from who I am. I got away from having fun and put too much pressure on myself. So now I just want to go back to the basics, run the ball and have fun."

Mathews believes he can be a Top-5 back in the league if he can prove to be consistent. 

Patriots running back Brandon Bolden was back on the field for the start of training camp after missing offseason workouts with a sprained ankle, according to ESPN.

The report said "he looked spry and back to full strength." Bolden is trying to be the No. 3 running back behind Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen.

The Broncos have had only a couple of training camp practices but it's clear in Sports Illustrated's Peter King's mind who the top running back will be. 

King tweeted Friday that he believes rookie Montee Ball is better than second-year back Ronnie Hillman and that he will "eventually" win the starting job with the Broncos. 

Hillman took the majority of first-team reps in training camp practice No. 1 for the Broncos but the competition is just beginning. 

Rams coach Jeff Fisher addressed the media Thursday and said this is new territory for him coming into training camp without a clear-cut starting running back. The Rams have listed Daryl Richardson as the starter, but he's competing with Isaiah Pead and Zac Stacy for the full-time job.

"No, I've usually had a guy, but that's what the competition is about and that's what camp's for and preseason games are for," Fisher said. "It's not going to be out of the question that we don't play two or three of them quite a bit. We may not end up with a 'bellcow' like we've had last year in 'Jack' [Steven Jackson] and previous years and just let them all play."

Fisher is open to using a committee backfield with all three running backs splitting time, but he's also looking for a lead rusher. The only one out of the mix for Week 1 is Pead, who is suspended.

"I'm not saying that we don't have one that can," Fisher said. "We just haven't seen him do it yet. One of them may emerge and carry it 350 times this year, we don't know. But offensively, it's nice to have two or three guys in a rotation just because there's different ability levels at the position."

Browns running back Trent Richardson felt great following his first practice in training camp Thursday, and he reported no issues with his injured shin during offseason workouts, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"I completely trust it," Richardson said of the shin. "I did a lot of rehab on it, and I did a lot of stuff in the offseason to build my muscle back up. Right now I'm feeling pretty good. When it comes down to it, you're going to see my game elevate. ... I'm just going up this hill we're climbing on. I'm going to keep striving to win every time."

Richardson said he's in great shape coming into the year.

"I feel way quicker, especially without all that extra padding I had around my ribs," he said, referring to last year's injury. "I lost weight. I'm 225. I probably came into camp 230 last year, probably played at 233 not being able to run fully other than Friday before the game due to injury. It’s a blessing to be in the shape that I am right now."

The Packers will have a good competition at running back during training camp, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Five running backs -- DuJuan Harris, Eddie Lacy, Johnathan Franklin, Alex Green and James Starks -- will battle for playing time.

The report says each will carry the ball a lot during camp, assuming all are healthy. Harris (chest) will open camp on the PUP list, but the report says once he's recovered from a cyst on his lung he could move to the top of the depth chart based on how last season finished.

But no matter who starts, we could see the Packers run the ball more than ever under coach Mike McCarthy.

"Running the football is a collective effort," McCarthy said. "There has to be commitment from the play-caller. It's something we need to do a better job of and I'm confident that we will."