NFL Player News

Warren signed his one-year restricted free agent tender with the Steelers on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Warren received a second-round tender in March, which carries a $5.35 million salary for the 2025 season. Signing his tender doesn't necessarily preclude a long-term deal for Warren, but any further negotiations could be impacted by whether the team addresses the running back position during the 2025 NFL Draft. Coach Mike Tomlin expressed confidence Tuesday in Warren's ability to handle lead back duties following the departure of Najee Harris, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com.

Cook is not present for the start of voluntary OTAs on Tuesday, Sal Capaccio of WGR Sports Radio 550 Buffalo reports.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane said it's "not fair" to assume Cook's absence at voluntary OTAs is related to his desire for a new contract, adding that "he'll be ready to go" for mandatory offseason activities. Nonetheless, coming off a 2024 campaign in which he scored 18 touchdowns (16 rushing) despite playing just 48 percent of offensive snaps in his 16 regular-season appearances, Cook has been open about his desire for both a substantial extension and increased playing time. Still, Buffalo has Ray Davis entering Year 2, and the team opted to re-sign pending free agent Ty Johnson, indicating some level of commitment to a backfield rotation. How much attention the team pays to the running back position in the 2025 NFL Draft, which kicks off Thursday, could be telling as to Cook's odds of attaining a new deal. He's currently heading into the final year of his rookie contract after having compiled back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

The Bengals and Moss (neck) agreed to terms on a reworked contract Monday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Moss signed a two-year, $8 million deal with Cincinnati last offseason, but it didn't include any guaranteed money beyond 2024. While he kicked off last year as the Bengals' starting running back, he eventually ceded reps to second-year pro Chase Brown (ankle) and then was shut down after Week 8 due to a neck injury. With guaranteed money included in the reworked contract, there's a sense that Moss is making good progress in his recovery, and assuming he's good to go by Week 1 of the upcoming campaign, he and Samaje Perine will be the primary reserve RB options behind Brown.

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said last week that McCaffrey (knee) is healthy and doing well, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Shanahan also mentioned the possibility of drafting another running back to join McCaffrey and 2024 fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo. The 49ers traded Jordan Mason to the Vikings and lost Elijah Mitchell to the Chiefs in free agency, thinning out a backfield that was devastated by injuries last season. McCaffrey missed the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis and the final five games with a PCL sprain, ultimately taking 65 touches for 346 yards and no TDs in four appearances -- his third time playing fewer than half of the games in a season. He's apparently healthy well before the start of OTAs, but concerns about durability will continue to impact McCaffrey's fantasy value for his age-29 season ahead. It remains to be seen if his Achilles tendons, in particular, can hold up to the kind of workloads Shanahan typically has given him, though perhaps he is trying to avoid having to find out the answer to that question if the team does in fact add another running back to the mix.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has hinted at reducing Jones' workload and using trade acquisition Jordan Mason as part of a "1A/1B backfield structure," ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert reports.

O'Connell specifically mentioned goal-line and short-yardage situations as areas where Mason can help, noting that the Vikings "left a lot to be desired" in those situations last year. Jones returns as the starter after signing a two-year, $20 million contract, but it sounds like he's a long shot to match last season's career highs for snaps (700), rush attempts (255) and touches (306). The only disappointment in 2024 was scoring three times on 24 carries inside the 10-yard line, with just seven total TDs (five rushing) despite playing all 17 games and recording 1,546 yards from scrimmage (his most since 2019) at rates of 4.5 yards per carry and 8.0 per catch. While ceding goal-line carries is never a good thing for fantasy value, Mason's physical presence could help the 30-year-old Jones stay healthy and maintain his strong per-touch yardage production.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell expects Mason (ankle) to "bring something to the table" in goal-line and short-yardage situations, ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert reports.

O'Connell also discussed returning starter Aaron Jones, saying "when [Jones] has... that 1A/1B backfield structure, he can be a total game-changer every time he touches the ball." In other words, O'Connell hopes the 223-pound Mason can be 1B, taking carries between the tackles while Jones gets most of the work in space. The Vikings traded for Mason in mid-March, shortly after San Francisco gave him a second-round restricted free agent tender (and after Minnesota re-signed Jones on a two-year, $20 million contract). Mason missed the final five weeks of his 2024 breakout season with a high-ankle injury, but there hasn't been any report of surgery or a prolonged rehab process this offseason.

Blackshear is signing a one-year contract with the Panthers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The 2022 UDFA played 41 games for Carolina the past three seasons, taking 68 touches for 341 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns, 66 kickoff returns for 1,734 yards and 23 punt returns for 200 yards. Blackshear returned both kicks and punts in 2024, but he didn't get a restricted-free-agent tender earlier this offseason and now returns to the Panthers on a cheaper contract. He'll likely be third or fourth on the depth chart at running back, behind Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle at the very least.

Rams GM Les Snead said Monday that he wants to "engineer a long-term partnership" with Williams, Gary Klein of the LA Times reports.

Williams has been a polarizing player in the fantasy sphere since his 2023 breakout, and that's unlikely to change after he dipped to 4.1 YPC in 2024 while fumbling six times (including once in the playoffs). He otherwise had another big year, ranking third in carries per game (19.8), sixth in rushing yards per game (81.2) and tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (14), giving him 26 rushing scores and five receiving TDs in 38 regular-season games over the past two seasons. Blake Corum, a 2024 third-round pick, never made a serious push to threaten Williams last season, and it sounds like the Rams would rather give Williams a contract extension than search for his replacement. Snead said he's already exchanged initial contract terms with agent Drew Rosenhaus.

New Jets coach Aaron Glenn said Monday that Hall is one of three running backs that the team wants to "utilize as much as possible," Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The other two presumably are 2024 fourth-round pick Braelon Allen and 2024 fifth-round pick Isaiah Davis, both of whom had some nice moments as rookies while spelling Hall off the bench during his disappointing season. It won't come as any surprise if the uber-talented Hall improves in 2025 and re-establishes himself as a workhorse back under a new coaching staff, but it's nonetheless interesting to see the contrast between Glenn's comment on Hall and what he said when reporters asked about WR Garrett Wilson. Glenn referred to Wilson as a "dynamic player" and said the Jets will try to get him the ball "as much as possible."

Chestnut agreed Wednesday with the Titans on a one-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

The Sacred Heart product has inked a deal to return to Tennessee after taking 22 carries for 102 yards and catching two of his three targets for 11 yards across 17 games in 2024. Additionally, Chestnut played 225 special-teams snaps and tallied 337 kick-return yards. He's expected to play a similar role in 2025.