NFL Player News

With Ameer Abdullah (foot) ruled out for Sunday's season finale against the Chargers, Mattison is in line to start at running back for the Raiders in Week 18, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic.

Mattison, who carried 10 times for 32 yards and caught one of three targets for six yards in last weekend's win over the Saints (a game in which Abdullah logged 20 carries for 115 yards to go along with three catches), is thus in line for an expanded role Sunday, with Chris Collier and Dylan Laube, to a lesser degree, available to mix in. With that in mind, Mattison offers fantasy managers who are dealing with injuries or resting starters with a Week 18 pivot option.

Abdullah (foot) has been ruled out for Sunday's season finale against the Chargers.

Per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com, head coach Antonio Pierce initially indicated that Abdullah would be listed as doubtful for the contest. However, it has been confirmed that the running back, who is coming off a strong effort Week 17, will sit out the Raiders' final game of the 2024 season. In Abdullah's absence, Alexander Mattison is in line to lead the team's Week 18 backfield, with Chris Collier also mixing in, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic, and Dylan Laube potentially seeing some work in passing situations, according to Tafur.

Dobbins may be the Chargers' lead running back Sunday at Las Vegas with Gus Edwards (ankle) ruled out for that contest.

Following a four-game stint on IR due to a knee injury, Dobbins returned to action this past Saturday at New England to a backfield that also didn't have Edwards' services. Dobbins handled a 53 percent snap share and turned 21 touches into 83 yards from scrimmage and one rushing TD, while reserves Hassan Haskins (35 percent, 9-40-0) and Kimani Vidal (11 percent, 5-24-0) also got in the mix. It's possible Dobbins takes on closer to the roughly 70 percent of snaps he handled prior to getting injured Week 12, in which case he'd be closer to a workhorse in Week 18. Having said that, if the Steelers beat the Bengals on Saturday, the Chargers would be locked into the No. 6 seed in the AFC and could opt to scale back Dobbins' workload with his health for the postseason in mind.

Edwards (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's regular season finale against the Raiders.

Edwards, who was unable to practice this week, thus will target a potential return to action when the Chargers commence their playoff run next weekend. In Edwards' absence versus Las Vegas, J.K. Dobbins is in line to lead the team's backfield, with Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal available to mix in.

Badie (back) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Chiefs, Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post reports.

Badie remains on injured reserve but had his 21-day practice window opened Dec. 24. He practiced fully all last week but was eventually ruled out against Cincinnati. Badie once again practiced fully all this week, but it's up in the air if he'll see the field against Kansas City, especially with all three of Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime healthy.

Pacheco (ribs) has been ruled out for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Broncos.

With the Chiefs having clinched the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed, they'll play it safe with Pacheco with an eye toward having him healthy for the team's divisional-round contest. Meanwhile, fellow RB Kareem Hunt (not injury-related) is among the team's key players listed as doubtful for Sunday's contest and on track to be rested in Week 18. In that context, Samaje Perine and Carson Steele are available to handle backfield reps versus Denver, with Keaontay Ingram being a potential practice-squad elevation.

Brooks (ankle) doesn't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game against the Bears.

Brooks was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday but is good to go for the regular-season finale against Chicago. With Green Bay likely (73.9 percent, per ESPN.com) ticketed for the No. 7 seed in the NFC, there's a chance Brooks sees an uptick in playing time against the Bears, as Josh Jacobs has already stated he doesn't believe he's going to play his full workload. Green Bay could use more of Emanuel Wilson and Brooks out of the backfield, allowing Jacobs to rest a bit more ahead of next weekend's playoff opener.

Hunt (coach's decision) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Broncos.

Hunt is among a multitude of key contributors expected to be rested for Sunday's regular-season finale, as the 15-1 Chiefs have already clinched the top seed in the AFC. Isiah Pacheco (rib) has been ruled out, so Samaje Perine and Carson Steele are the top candidates to flank Carson Wentz in Kansas City's backfield, while Keaontay Ingram's an option to be elevated from the practice squad.

Jacobs (wrist) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Bears.

Jacobs never seemed in real danger of missing the game and figures to occupy his usual role as Green Bay's workhorse. There is some chance of his usage eventually being scaled back, however, as the team's chances to move up from the seventh seed to No. 6 depend on the Cowboys beating the Commanders in a game that takes place at the same time as Green Bay's. In other words, the Packers may start to pull starters if it looks like a victory won't help them avoid a first-round trip to Philadelphia.

Ekeler (concussion) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Dallas, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

The Commanders designated Ekeler to return from injured reserve Wednesday, at which point he logged the first of three consecutive full practices. He'll need to be activated from IR on Saturday in order to play in the regular-season finale. If that happens, it'll likely mean reduced workloads for Jeremy McNichols and/or Chris Rodriguez, and it's also possible Ekeler would cut into Brian Robinson's usage.