NFL Player News

The Steelers released Patterson (undisclosed) on Tuesday, Teresa Varley of the team's official site reports.

Patterson had posted on X on Monday that he was being released, and the official transaction, which gives the Steelers an extra $2.8 million in cap space, became official Tuesday. Patterson has been utilized across multiple positions on offense and has plenty of special-teams experience as a returner, so the veteran should garner interest from teams as the 2025 season approaches.

The Patriots placed Lampe on injured reserve Tuesday due to an undisclosed injury.

It's unclear what type of injury Lampe is working through, but by being placed on IR, he will be forced to miss the entire 2025 season unless he is waived by the Patriots with an injury settlement. The Northern Illinois product was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in early May.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Tuesday that Ahmed has a back injury, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star reports.

Indianapolis will take a day off from training camp Wednesday, so Ahmed's next opportunity to take the practice field will come Thursday. The veteran running back joined the Colts' practice squad last season after being cut by Denver, but he didn't suit up for regular-season action with either team.

As Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Lions approaches, coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged that there is still no timetable for the return of Harris (eye) to practice, Kris Rhim of ESPN.com reports.

Harris, who sustained an eye injury as the result of a fireworks mishap on the Fourth of July, has been on the active/non-football injury list since July 17, though the running back has been spotted on the field during practice in shorts and a t-shirt. Until he's ready to return to drills, 2025 first-rounder Omarion Hampton should continue to see added first-team reps. Once Harris is cleared to practice, he'll be able to make his case for a key backfield role alongside his highly touted rookie counterpart.

Hampton is in line to play in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Lions, Eric Smith of the Chargers' official site reports.

While coach Jim Harbaugh said that "veteran traditional starters" won't play in the contest, Hampton -- as well as rookie WRs Tre Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith -- is slated to see snaps versus Detroit. Hampton, who was taken 22nd overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, is destined to play a key role this season in a Chargers backfield that also features Najee Harris, who is on the active/non-football injury list after sustaining an eye injury as the result of a fireworks mishap on the Fourth of July.

Pittsburgh signed Nichols on Tuesday.

Nichols spent time on the Eagles' practice squad during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, though he never got a chance to make his regular-season NFL debut with the team. He now gets a chance to compete during training camp with the Steelers.

Ekeler and Deebo Samuel have been returning kickoffs in practice, Zach Selby of the Commanders' official site reports.

The new touchback rules last season led to 32.8 percent of kicks being returned, up from 21.8 percent the year before. A second increase is coming -- potentially a much bigger one -- after another rule change this offseason to move touchbacks out to the 35-yard line. Last year, over 12 regular-season games played, Ekeler handled 19 of Washington's 37 kick returns, averaging 31.3 yards to finish with the third-most kick return yardage in the league (594). It's a nice little boost in fantasy leagues that count those yards, but in most formats the increased injury risk probably isn't worth the chance of a touchdown every once in a while, especially if return work is also costing the player snaps on offense. That'll likely be Ekeler's reality this season, although he's already off the field plenty given his committee role alongside Brian Robinson in Washington's backfield.

Croskey-Merritt has made a huge impression during the first week of training camp, according to Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan.

When Paulsen asked six other Washington beat reporters to name the player that has stood out most at training camp, four of them named Croskey-Merritt immediately. He was merely a seventh-round pick in the 2025 Draft after eligibility issues limited him to one game at Arizona last year, but it sounds like the running back is already making a strong bid for the Week 1 roster, and possibly even for some touches early in the season. The Commanders have Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler atop their backfield depth chart, followed by Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols and others battling for depth roles. The first task for Croskey-Merritt this August is to get his foot in the door for the No. 3 running back role.

Martinez is competing for the No. 3 running back role after Kenny McIntosh suffered a torn ACL on Monday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

A seventh-round rookie, Martinez had a chance to push McIntosh for the role anyway, and now he's now competing for the role with George Holani, Jacardia Wright and D.K. Kaufman. Martinez entered the NFL after three standout college seasons where he compiled 3,169 yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground across three seasons between Miami and Oregon State. With Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet healthy to start training camp, there are limited offensive reps available, but Martinez could carve out a role as a pass catcher, something he showed modest improvement on as a junior with 17 catches (22 targets) for 204 yards through 13 games.

Moss (neck), who remains on the active/non-football injury list, has been working on his conditioning on side fields during training camp, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

The report also notes that Moss, who last saw game action Oct. 27 of last year, subsequently learned at the start of November that his neck was broken in three places (on his C6 vertebrae), which resulted in the running back spending the next two months in a neck brace. Moss didn't need surgery to address the issue and instead allowed the injury to heal on its own. Though he was cleared from his neck injury in the spring, Dehner notes that conditioning has been a significant issue for the 27-year-old due to a lack of activity following his injury. While Moss remains away from practice, Samaje Perine, Tahj Brooks and Gary Brightwell are in contention for slotting behind top running back Chase Brown.