NFL Player News

Abanikanda (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's Week 18 matchup versus Arizona, Lindsey Pallares of the 49ers' official site reports.

Abanikanda will end the campaign in a familiar position, as he's been a healthy inactive on gameday throughout the season. The second-year running back didn't see any NFL action this year after getting into six games for the Jets in 2023. Abanikanda was claimed off waivers by San Francisco in early December but didn't get any looks despite the team's running-back room being decimated by injuries.

Hunt (coach's decision) is active for Sunday's game against the Broncos.

Hunt didn't miss any practice time this week, but with the Chiefs having already clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed heading to regular-season finale and planning to rest multiple key players on both sides of the ball, he had been listed as doubtful heading into Sunday. Though he'll be in uniform Sunday, Hunt may just make a ceremonial start, if he even plays at all. Normal starting running back Isiah Pacheco (ribs) is also sitting out Sunday, so the Chiefs are expected to lean on Samaje Perine and Carson Steele as their primary options out of the backfield.

Gainwell took reps with the first-team offense during pregame drills and appears in line to start Sunday's game against the Giants, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.

With the Eagles having locked up the NFC's No. 2 seed, normal lead back Saquon Barkley will be resting in the regular-season finale, leaving Gainwell and Will Shipley as the team's available backfield options after Philadelphia elected not to elevate Tyrion Davis-Price from the practice squad for the second week in a row. Though he has worked as Barkley's top backup all season, Gainwell probably won't be tasked with handling a three-down workload, as the Eagles presumably want Gainwell to escape Week 18 healthy so that he can reprise his usual change-of-pace role in the wild-card round. With that in mind, it wouldn't be surprising if Shipley ends up seeing the larger share of snaps, though both he and Gainwell could struggle to produce with their opportunities while playing behind an offensive line mostly consisting of reserve players.

Hasty (coach's decision) is a healthy inactive for Sunday's game against the Bills.

Hasty sat out the Patriots' Week 16 loss in Buffalo due to an ankle injury, but he'll miss his first game of the season due to non-health-related reasons as he sits out the finale. He'll head into free agency this spring after concluding the 2024 campaign with 20 carries for 69 yards and 10 catches for 59 yards, and a touchdown on 12 targets over his 15 appearances.

Blackshear is expected to cede the start at running back to Miles Sanders (ankle) on Sunday in Atlanta, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Blackshear got the first chance to lead the backfield in the wake of Chuba Hubbard (knee) landing on IR prior to Week 17, but despite handling a 77 percent snap share last Sunday at Tampa Bay, the former had eight carries for 20 yards and wasn't targeted. Now with Sanders off injured reserve, he's in line to swap in for Blackshear, which isn't much of a surprise considering his vast experience as a No. 1 back. Blackshear thus will be vying with Mike Boone for complementary reps behind Sanders on Sunday.

Shipley (concussion) is active for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Though he was listed as questionable heading into the weekend, Shipley put in full practices Thursday and Friday and was cleared by an independent neurologist at some point thereafter, allowing him to exit the NFL's five-step concussion protocol. With workhorse back Saquon Barkley (rest) sitting out the regular-season finale, Shipley should be primed for his heftiest snap count of the season, after taking the field for no more than 11 plays in any of his previous 15 games. Kenneth Gainwell may get the start for the Eagles, but he likely won't take on a Barkley-level workload as the team looks to preserve his health heading into the postseason. As the only other active running back, Shipley could thus be in store for plenty of volume on the ground and as a pass catcher, but he could struggle to produce while the Eagles are resting three of their starting linemen (offensive tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, center Landon Dickerson).

Sanders (ankle) is listed as active and expected to start Sunday at Atlanta, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

In his first game action since he sprained his ankle Week 10 against the Giants, Sanders is in line to sit atop the backfield, what with both Chuba Hubbard (knee) and Jonathon Brooks (knee) on injured reserve and Velus Jones (coach's decision) inactive. Sanders will be vying with Raheem Blackshear (11 carries this season) and Mike Boone (nine) for touches Sunday. However, considering Sanders has 38 rushes and 21 receptions (on 26 targets) in 10 games on the campaign, he likely should be the top option among the trio.

Barkley (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Giants.

As was expected after the Eagles listed him doubtful heading into the weekend, Barkley will rest up in the regular-season finale while the Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. Barkley will finish the regular season with 2,005 rushing yards -- the eighth-most in NFL history -- to go with 33 catches for 278 yards and 15 total touchdowns.

Miller (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Eagles, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Miller was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster Saturday, but the undrafted free agent out of South Carolina will not play in Sunday's regular-season finale as the Giants roll with a three-man backfield of rookie Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singletary and Eric Gray. Miller was elevated to the 53-man roster for Week 5 and 6 and played eight snaps (one on offense, seven on special teams) across the two games, but otherwise did not show up on the box score.

Pollard (ankle) is active for Sunday's game against the Texans.

Pollard was sidelined for Week 17 due to a combination of an ankle injury and illness. However, he'll be back in action after logging two limited practices during the week, and he should have a clear path to a significant workload with Tyjae Spears (concussion) sidelined. Per Turron Davenport of ESPN, Pollard needs 83 rushing yards to earn $250,000 in incentives and he could earn an additional $200,000 if he finds the end zone twice. That will give him plenty to play for despite the Titans being out of playoff contention.