NFL Player News

Mixon (hamstring) will not play in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Bears, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston reports.

Even had Mixon not been dealing with a hamstring injury, it's unlikely he would have played Thursday. The Texans are expected to give Dameon Pierce and Jawhar Jordan extensive action in the backfield.

The Jets activated Bawden (undisclosed) off the active/PUP list Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

The San Diego State product had been sidelined with an undisclosed injury of late, but he's now passed his physical and moved past the issue. Bawden appeared in 16 regular-season games with the Jets last season, and he's expected to remain New York's top fullback once again in 2024.

Williams and Ray-Ray McCloud are the Falcons' first-team returners to start training camp, Josh Kendall of The Athletic reports.

Given the new return rules in the NFL, teams are trying different personnel combinations to start training camp. Surprisingly, phenom running back Bijan Robinson isn't getting any looks as a return man to start training camp, with Williams and McCloud currently backed up by Mike Hughes and Rondale Moore. Williams has totaled 803 kick-return yards and 445 punt-return yards over his first two seasons in Atlanta.

Guerendo is expected to be sidelined multiple weeks due to the hamstring injury he sustained last week, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Based on Schefter's report, it seems likely that the rookie fourth-rounder will be unavailable for the 49ers' preseason opener, at a minimum. Once he's back in the mix, Guerendo will compete with Jordan Mason, Patrick Taylor and Cody Schrader for backfield slotting behind Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell.

Laube has been making a case to earn some playing time early on this coming season, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic.

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said the rookie sixth-round pick is "off to a great start," after head coach Antonio Pierce noted of Laube on Friday, "That dude is special. I like him...and he's gritty. he's a gritty RB. One thing - he surprises you with his speed." That said, Tafur acknowledges that Laube currently slots in behind fellow backs Zamir White, Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah. The rookie is a threat to take over Abdullah's role on third downs and could also get a look on kick returns.

Browns GM Andrew Berry said Monday that Chubb (knee) has "a little way to go" with his rehab, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Chubb was spotted Friday running sprints and doing agility work, with Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer noting that team owner Jimmy Haslam "looked very pleased" to see Chubb "cutting with tremendous agility." While the reports from other Cleveland beat writers weren't quite as glowing, Zac Jackson of The Athletic agreed that it was "impressive" to see Chubb's progress both on the field and in the weight room (a viral video shortly before training camp showed the RB squatting more than 500 pounds). Neither player nor team has mentioned a timeline for Chubb coming off the active/PUP list and returning to practice, leaving him uncertain for the early part of the season despite a general sense of optimism. He had surgeries in September and then November to address ACL and MCL tears in his left knee.

Davis and Ty Johnson shared first-team reps Sunday when James Cook was absent from practice for personal reasons, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports.

Buscaglia described it as a "pretty close to even split... with Johnson having the slight edge over Davis." It doesn't sound like either RB made the most of his opportunity; Johnson dropped a would-be TD, and Davis lost a fumble. In any case, Cook returned to practice Monday, with Johnson then exiting early due to an apparent lower-body injury. The main takeaway for now is that Davis and Johnson are competing for the second spot on the depth chart, although it's possible they could have unique/different backup roles given that the rookie is more of a power runner and the veteran more of a speed/receiving threat. The Bills drafted Davis in the fourth round, 128th overall, this spring following a prolific college career in which he ran for more than 1,000 yards for three different programs (and played 13-to-16 games at each school).

Johnson left Monday's practice early after an apparent injury, Alex Brasky of the Batavia Daily News reports.

Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports that Johnson and rookie Ray Davis had a "pretty close to even split" of first-team reps Sunday when starter James Cook was absent for personal reasons. Cook returned Monday, with Johnson then suffering an apparent lower-body injury not long after.

Mixon (hamstring) didn't practice Monday, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Mixon was healthy at the start of training camp but has now missed more than a week of practice, allowing Dameon Pierce to get regular work with the first-team offense. There are still questions about Pierce's fit in a zone-blocking scheme after he struggled mightily last season, potentially setting up Mixon for workloads that rival (or even surpass) what he typically handled in Cincinnati. That said, a summer hamstring injury is far from ideal, even if the Texans mostly have downplayed it to this point.

Cook (personal) is returning to practice Monday, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

Cook missed one practice to attend to a personal matter. He's locked in as the lead back in Buffalo, leaving Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Darrynton Evans and Frank Gore to compete for backup roles.