NFL Player News

Warren and Rico Dowdle are expected to have regular roles in the Steelers offense during the 2026 season, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports.

With Kenny Gainwell moving on to the Buccaneers in free agency, Warren is the top incumbent running back in Pittsburgh, but Dowdle has taken Gainwell's place. Dowdle's previous experience with new coach Mike McCarthy in Dallas could dampen Warren's early-down role somewhat, but according to Graziano, Warren should take on the bulk of the pass-catching work out of Pittsburgh's backfield, as evidenced by his 139 catches in 48 regular-season games over the last three campaigns. Overall, Warren handled a career-high 251 touches in 2025, while Dowdle is coming off back-to-back seasons with 274 (with the Cowboys) and 275 (in Carolina), so both should be busy on a weekly basis this fall.

Coach Mike LaFleur said Thursday that Love (ankle) is "progressing," Howard Balzer of Cards Wire reports.

It seems to be the only thing LaFleur is willing to say about his rookie running back's recovery at this point, as the coach has made it his daily ritual to say Love is merely progressing while offering little else in the form of insight. Love has 10 days to try and get ready for Arizona's Week 1 opener against the Chargers. He's going to need to practice in some fashion next week to have a chance to play Sunday, Sept. 13, and even then Love is still likely to split carries with Tyler Allgeier versus Los Angeles.

Skattebo admitted Thursday in an appearance on FanDuel TV's "Up & Adams" that he briefly considered retirement after sustaining a severe right ankle injury in an Oct. 26 loss to the Eagles. "I would say probably a month in [to the rehab process] I was kind of like, 'Do I really want to do this?'" Skattebo said. "But I got to go back and play."

Skattebo told Kay Adams that coming out of college, he had determined that if he ever suffered a major injury, he would step away from football. However, after dislocating his right ankle just eight games into his rookie season, Skattebo determined that he still had too much good football left in him to justify an early retirement. Skattebo underwent surgery a day after suffering the injury and has bounced back well, as the Giants cleared him to take part in drills during June minicamp and made him available with no restrictions to begin training camp. After carrying four times for 19 yards in the Giants' preseason opener, Skattebo didn't play in either of the final two exhibitions, but he was held out merely as precaution. Skattebo is still likely to have his workload scaled back to some degree to begin the 2026 campaign after averaging 19.5 touches per game from Weeks 2 through 7 last season, but he'll head into the Sept. 13 opener versus the Cowboys as the Giants' clear lead option out of the backfield.

Harvey is expected to handle a key role in the Denver passing game in 2026, Jon Heath of USA Today reports. "That's where you felt the initial impact," Broncos coach Sean Payton said last week, in reference to Harvey's receiving ability. "And you saw marks of that in college and you also saw him as a runner. He's having a good camp in both areas [rushing and receiving], but [receiving] is certainly a strength of his."

Along with veteran J.K. Dobbins and rookie fourth-round pick Jonah Coleman, Harvey was rested in the Broncos' 34-6 win over the Vikings in the preseason finale Friday, which seemingly indicates that Payton intends for all three players to have roles in the game plan Week 1 against the Chiefs. After managing a soft-tissue issue in training camp, Dobbins is back to full health and is slated to begin the season as the Broncos' starter and lead runner, while the 5-foot-8, 220-pound Coleman is also likely to get some work on early downs. That leaves Harvey in line to serve as more of a change-of-pace option, which could make it difficult for him to build on the seven rushing scores he delivered as a rookie last season. Harvey averaged an unremarkable 3.7 yards per carry but proved to be an adept receiver right away, turning in a 47-356-5 line on 58 targets. He'll maintain more appeal in fantasy leagues with PPR scoring, though Harvey could emerge as a more trustworthy option in non-PPR formats if he earned more carries in the event Dobbins and/or Coleman miss time at any point.

Marks is expected to split backfield work pretty evenly with David Montgomery this season, Jonathan Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.

"The distribution ... might not be 50-50, but it will be close," Alexander wrote Aug. 23. "The Texans have utilized both nearly evenly throughout camp." Alexander expects a sort-of hot-hand approach out of the Houston backfield on a weekly basis. Marks played 10 snaps in the Texans' second preseason game and rushed four times for 37 yards and one touchdown. He also added a catch for six yards, working exclusively with the first-team offense while Montgomery was rested for that exhibition. Marks is being drafted nearly five rounds after Montgomery in fantasy.

Montgomery is one of three running backs on Houston's 53-man roster, along with Woody Marks and British Brooks, Jared Koch of SI.com reports.

Montgomery is ticketed for a prominent role after coming over from Detroit in an offseason trade, but it remains to be seen just how much Marks cuts into Montgomery's usage. The 230-pound Montgomery is much better suited for running inside and short-yardage work than the 208-pound Marks, but Montgomery recorded only 76 receptions across the past three regular seasons in Detroit, so the shifty Marks could siphon away opportunities in passing situations.

Bigsby played 10 offensive snaps this preseason before being rested for the final two exhibition contests.

The fact he was rested for Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason while Will Shipley played would suggest Bigsby has a firm grip on RB2 duties in Philadelphia behind Saquon Barkley. Barkley is entering his age-29 season with plenty of miles on his proverbial tires, and there's been talk out of Philly that the team wants to get Bigsby more involved to keep Barkley fresh. If something were to happen to him injury-wise, Bigsby would immediately enter the fantasy RB1 conversation in the Eagles' run-heavy offense that features one of the league's best offensive lines, making him the premier bench stash headed into the 2026 campaign.

Allgeier is poised to begin the regular season splitting carries with Jeremiyah Love (ankle), whom Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports is progressing well in his recovery and trending toward being available for Week 1.

Love is expected to eventually take on the lead role after being drafted third overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, but the rookie is likely to be eased in as he recovers from a preseason ankle injury, if he's cleared at all to suit up against the Chargers in Week 1 on Sunday, Sept. 13. Allgeier has rushed for at least 514 yards in each of his four regular seasons, the last three of which were spent backing up Bijan Robinson, so the former Falcons running back figures to maintain some level of involvement even once Love is fully up to speed. James Conner (foot) is on IR with a designation to return, so Bam Knight is currently the only healthy alternative to Allgeier on the roster.

Holani could get most of the opportunities on third down and in passing situations while Jadarian Price gets the majority of early-down work to begin the regular season, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN.com.

The Seahawks seem to trust Holani's receiving and pass-blocking abilities, which should allow the 26-year-old running back to earn a prominent role out of the gate, though the rookie first-round pick Price is the leading candidate to get most of the rushing opportunities. Zach Charbonnet (knee) also could earn a sizable role once healthy, but he'll miss at least the first four weeks of the season while on the reserve/PUP list and could be out well beyond then. Emanuel Wilson (hamstring) rounds out the running back depth chart.

Brooks is set to begin the season as one of Green Bay's top three available running backs alongside MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson, as Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the NFL placed Josh Jacobs (personal) on the Commissioner's Exempt List on Sunday.

Jacobs will spend an indeterminate amount of time on the Commissioner's Exempt List while his legal situation is sorted out. His absence creates an opportunity for Green Bay's running backs. Brooks is the most experienced of the team's available options at the position, having appeared in 41 regular-season games, including 32 with the Packers. Injuries have limited the currently healthy Lloyd to just one regular-season appearance in two years, while the recent trade acquisition Johnson seemed to be on the verge of being cut by Pittsburgh following a 28-carry rookie campaign in 2025.