NFL Player News

Gibson rushed four times for four yards and brought in his only target for 13 yards in the Patriots' 17-3 preseason win over the Panthers on Thursday.

The veteran back's team debut included the distinction of being on the receiving end of rookie third overall pick Drake Maye's first professional completion. Gibson unsurprisingly ceded the first series to Rhamondre Stevenson, who's projected to serve as the Patriots' clear lead back this coming season while the former acts in more of a third-down/pass-catching capacity.

Stevenson rushed once for 11 yards in the Patriots' 17-3 preseason win over the Panthers on Thursday.

Stevenson was the first running back in the game and also logged his one carry on the first play from scrimmage. The fourth-year back is slated to fill a lead role for the Patriots during the first year of head coach Jerod Mayo's tenure, with Antonio Gibson, who logged five touches in his own right Thursday, set to serve in a complementary capacity.

Gibbs isn't suited up ahead of Thursday's preseason game at the Giants, Justin Rogers of DetroitFootball.net reports.

Both Gibbs and David Montgomery will be in street clothes for the Lions' exhibition opener, which will leave Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki, Zonovan Knight, Jermar Jefferson and Jake Funk to work out of the backfield. Gibbs has been working all over the formation during training camp to date, potentially setting him up to easily surpass the 234 touches for 1,261 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns that he compiled in 15 regular-season contests as a rookie in 2023.

Hubbard isn't in line to play in Thursday's preseason game at New England, Kassidy Hill of the Panthers' official site reports.

Hubbard will be joined in street clothes by fellow running backs Jonathon Brooks, Miles Sanders and Raheem Blackshear, leaving Mike Boone, Jaden Shirden and Dillon Johnson as the options available out of Carolina's backfield. Hubbard is expected to be the team's top RB to begin the 2024 campaign due to Brooks, a rookie second-round pick, still being in recovery mode from a torn ACL that he suffered last November. In 2023, Hubbard put together a career-best 1,135 yards from scrimmage while scoring five rushing touchdowns on 277 touches in 17 regular-season contests.

Robinson (toe) has been ruled out of the Jaguars' preseason opener against the Chiefs on Saturday, Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union reports.

Robinson has been dealing with a toe injury since July 31, and since then he's been limited to individual drills. The rookie fifth-round running back is competing against Tank Bigsby and D'Ernest Johnson for the backup spot behind Travis Etienne. Robinson will work to be available for the Jaguars' second preseason game against the Buccaneers on Aug. 17.

Coach Matt Eberflus indicated Thursday that healthy starters (a group that would include Swift) are slated to play in Saturday's preseason contest against the Bills, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Swift was among the team's key players who didn't see action in last week's Hall of Fame Game, but the 25-year-old, who spent last season with Philadelphia, is poised to make his game debut in a Chicago uniform Saturday. In his lone campaign with the Eagles, Swift logged a team (and career) high 1,049 yards to go along with five TDs on 229 carries, while adding a career-low 39 catches (on 49 targets) for 214 yards and another score in 16 regular-season contests. Per Kevin Fishbainof The Athletic, Swift has demonstrated his ability as a receiver over the past few weeks in practice, and it's plausible that the 2020 second-rounder could see an uptick in catches this coming season, while leading a backfield that also includes Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer.

Foreman (neck) is participating in Thursday's practice, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Foreman is back on the practice field for the first time since suffering a scary neck injury Aug. 1, for which he had to be transported to a hospital via helicopter for evaluation. X-rays and CT scans showed no major damage, however, and after roughly a week of recovery time the veteran running back has been cleared to resume practicing. He'll resume competing for backfield snaps with Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong, while Nick Chubb (knee) and Nyheim Hines (knee) continue to work back from their respective ACL tears.

Dowdle is on track for a roster spot and could even be considered the favorite to lead Dallas in rushing this year, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.

Dowdle was the team's No. 2 RB last year but didn't get much work outside of garbage time with Tony Pollard staying healthy all season. Pollard is gone, replaced by the man he once replaced, Ezekiel Elliott, who reportedly has taken fewer carries than Dowdle with the first-team offense this summer. Machota says Dowdle "has to be the favorite" to lead Dallas in rushing, but fantasy managers should also consider the possibility that Elliott is getting fewer reps because he already has so much experience, including three seasons as the starting RB (2020-22) under current Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

Mason is getting regular first-team reps while Christian McCaffrey (calf) and Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) recover from injuries, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The opportunity is particularly interesting because there were reports of Mason challenging Mitchell for the second spot on the depth chart even before Mitchell and McCaffrey suffered their respective injuries. Mitchell's speed and running ability are proven commodities, but Mason may have advantages in terms of pass blocking and receiving skills, and nearly any player has the edge over Mitchell when it comes to durability. Maiocco notes that Mason has "greatly improved" his route-running and hands, making a case to be more involved on offense after taking nearly three-fourths of his snaps on special teams the past two years. That said, the injuries to McCaffrey and Mitchell aren't considered serious, so it's still possible Mason enters Week 1 mostly playing special teams. The San Francisco backfield also has rookie fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo, who has missed all of training camp with a hamstring injury.

White and other veteran starters aren't scheduled to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Bengals, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

The Bucs will play backups and rookies, with Kyle Trask starting at quarterback. White is entering his second year as the team's top running back, this time under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who spent the past few years bouncing between the Rams and the University of Kentucky. Backfield competition behind White again looks less than stellar, featuring rookie fourth-round pick Bucky Irving, 28-year-old Chase Edmonds (undisclosed) and 2023 UDFA Sean Tucker. With White and Edmonds presumably not playing Saturday, we could see a lot of Irving and Tucker -- both seemingly candidates for the No. 2 RB job.