NFL Player News
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Isiah Pacheco RB | KC
Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Adds weight, looking healthy
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Thursday that Pacheco "looks tremendous" at OTAs and has "put on some good weight," Charles Goldman of AtoZSports.com reports.
Pacheco missed Week 3 through Week 12 last season due to a broken fibula and looked like a shadow of his usual self when back in action, averaging just 3.4 YPC across Kansas City's five remaining regular season games and three playoff contests. When healthy Pacheco is an explosive, physical ball carrier capable of overrunning would-be tacklers, as demonstrated by his 4.9 YPC and 4.6 YPC averages in 2022 and 2023. An offseason to return to full form should securely position Pacheco atop the Chiefs' running back depth chart, especially in the wake of the team's decision to forego early-round additions to the position in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Chiefs re-signed Kareem Hunt and added Elijah Mitchell in free agency, both to one-year deals, and added Brashard Smith in the seventh-round of April's draft, but all three backs seem more likely to push for complementary snaps than an actual committee if Pacheco can indeed return to 100 percent strength.
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James Conner RB | ARI
Cardinals' James Conner: Puts knee injury behind him
Conner (knee) was present for the Cardinals' first OTA of the offseason program Wednesday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.
Prior to hurting his right knee Week 16 of last season, Conner had racked up six 100-yard rushing efforts through 15 games, and while he attempted to gut through it Week 17, he managed just six touches before departing early and then was placed on IR before Week 18. Overall, he handled 236 carries and hauled in 47 of 55 targets en route to a career-best 1,518 yards from scrimmage along with nine total touchdowns in 16 regular-season contests. More than five months removed the aforementioned injury, Conner is healthy, stating, "I'm ready," as Arizona kicks off on-field work this spring.
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Zack Moss RB | CIN
Bengals' Zack Moss: Good to go at OTAs
Moss (neck) participated in the Bengals' opening session of OTAs on Tuesday, Albert Cesare of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports
Moss signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Bengals last offseason and reworked the deal in April to add guaranteed money for the 2025 campaign, which the contract did not previously include. That positions him to kick off Week 1 as one of the top backups to Chase Brown alongside free-agency signing Samaje Perine, a role that Moss looks increasingly secure in with Cincinnati's only backfield addition in the 2025 NFL Draft having been Tahj Brooks in the sixth round. Moss looked uninspiring across his eight appearances last season, logging 74 carries for 242 yard (3.3 YPC) and two scores before landing on IR with a neck injury. The 27-year-old nonetheless seems the favorite to earn the top reserve role behind Brown, but he will have to show some signs of increased efficiency to insulate his role against pressure from Perine and/or Brooks.
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Chase Brown RB | CIN
Bengals' Chase Brown: Getting in work at OTAs
Brown (ankle) participated in Cincinnati's opening session of OTAs on Tuesday.
Brown appears back to full health after an ankle injury forced him to sit out the Bengals' regular-season finale against Pittsburgh last year. The 25-year-old running back is fresh off a Year 2 breakout in which he rushed 229 times for 990 yards (4.3 YPC) and seven scores while adding an impressive 54 catches (on 65 targets) for 360 yards and four touchdowns. Brown's 2024 performance is particularly impressive considering that as a rookie fifth-rounder in 2023, he logged just 44 carries for 179 yards. Cincinnati opted to keep Zack Moss (neck) around via a reworked deal rather than significantly add to the backfield in free agency beyond Samaje Perine, or in the 2025 NFL Draft other than sixth-rounder Tahj Brooks. Those decisions imply confidence from the team in Brown's ability to reprise a significant starting workload, a role that he's already proven an ability to translate into high-end fantasy upside.
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James Cook RB | BUF
Bills' James Cook: Not at voluntary OTAs
Cook wasn't present for Tuesday's voluntary organized team activities, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN reports.
While Cook isn't participating in the Bills' voluntary OTAs, coach Sean McDermott noted that he's remained in contact with the running back, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal and seeking a contract extension. "Yeah, we're staying in touch, like you'd expect a player and a coach to do," McDermott said of the 2022 second-rounder. "So, James will be here when he's ready to be here and we move forward." While it remains to be seen whether Cook will be on the field for the team's mandatory minicamp (June 10-12), GM Brandon Beane maintains that he expects Buffalo's leading rusher to be ready to go for the 2025 season. Assuming that's the case, Cook will continue to lead a backfield that returns his top two backups from last season, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson.
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MarShawn Lloyd RB | GB
Packers' MarShawn Lloyd: Practicing without restrictions
Lloyd (appendix) has no restrictions at practice and is slated to be a full participant when Green Bay's OTAs begin May 27, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.
Lloyd was limited to just one appearance in his rookie season, first due to a hamstring injury sustained during the Packers' preseason opener, then an ankle sprain that required seven weeks on IR to heal, and finally appendicitis that popped up just after his practice window opened. Now that he's healthy, the 2024 third-rounder again faces opportunity to compete for the No. 2 role behind workhorse Josh Jacobs. Green Bay didn't make notable additions to the running back room in free agency or April's draft, though Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks proved capable last season and remain on hand. Lloyd boasts playmaking speed and pass-catching chops, but after having missed most of training camp and the regular season in Year 1, he may still have developmental work to do relating to the ball-security issues that plagued him in college.
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Tony Pollard RB | TEN
Titans' Tony Pollard: Coach envisions even backfield split
Titans head coach Brian Callahan said Wednesday that the team intends to deploy a backfield distribution that allows Pollard and Tyjae Spears to "play a little more evenly" in 2025, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.
Callahan said Pollard, who compiled a career-high 1,079 rushing yards plus five scores on 260 carries (4.2 YPC) last season, "was our most productive running back" but acknowledged that he "was battling the second half of the year quite a bit" and struggled to remain fully healthy, as did Spears. "So hopefully that division of labor gets a little more evenly distributed so [Pollard] doesn't have to take the brunt of it," Callahan said while also expressing a desire to work a third back into the mix, which could be either Julius Chestnut or rookie sixth-rounder Kalel Mullings (abdomen). Pollard said the right high-ankle sprain he dealt with late in 2024 is "ready to go" and that "getting more guys involved, keeping guys fresh" would be "ideal." A decrease in overall workload could allow the 28-year-old Pollard to better maintain his efficiency for a full 17-game slate, and even if he doesn't reprise a workhorse role, he's positioned to repeat as Tennessee's top backfield option. With Cam Ward now under center rather than Will Levis, there's also room for the Titans' offense to improve as a whole and provide enough increased scoring opportunities for Pollard's fantasy value as an RB2 to remain safely intact.
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Tyjae Spears RB | TEN
Titans' Tyjae Spears: Participates in OTAs
Spears (concussion) participated in Tennessee's OTAs on Tuesday.
Spears is healthy again after having been sidelined for the team's Week 18 loss versus the Texans last season with a concussion. The 23-year-old rushed for 312 yards and four touchdowns on 84 carries and hauled in 31 passes for 226 yards and an additional touchdown in 12 games during the 2024 campaign, and he should once again serve as the team's No. 2 running back behind Tony Pollard in the upcoming season.
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Troy Hairston II RB | CLE
Browns' Troy Hairston: Could have role in 2025
Hairston is in line for a role on the 2025 roster with the expectation that the Browns will utilize the fullback position this season, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.
Hairston, who signed a futures contract with the Browns in January, has game experience at fullback from when he was with the Texans. Whether the Browns actually carry a fullback and make plans to use the position will evolve over the summer. Hairston's fate is tied to the number of tight ends and true running backs that end up sticking around.
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Jabari Small RB | DET
Jabari Small: Let go by Titans
The Titans waived Small on Wednesday, Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports.
Small joined Tennessee as an undrafted free agent ahead of the 2024 campaign and spent the majority of last season on the practice squad. He has yet to appear in an NFL game.