NFL Player News

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday that Mixon (undisclosed) will not practice and could miss a few days but "will be fine," Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Mixon hasn't practiced the last two days, per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com, but it doesn't appear that he's facing a long absence. It remains undisclosed whether Mixon is dealing with an illness or injury, or whether his absence is of a personal nature, but in the meantime Dameon Pierce figures to handle the bulk of the first-team reps, while Dare Ogunbowale, Jawhar Jordan and new backfield addition Cam Akers (Achilles) also could benefit from increased opportunities.

Edwards-Helaire passed his physical Sunday after the Chiefs placed him on the active/non-football illness list Saturday, Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports.

Veterans reported to Kansas City's training camp Saturday, and after showing up with some sort of ailment, Edwards-Helaire was able to join his teammates on the practice field one day later. He's thus slated to serve as the primary backup to starting running back Isiah Pacheco in the coming campaign, which amounted to 88 touches in 10 regular-season games in 2022 and 87 touches in 15 such contests last season.

Estime (knee) avoided being placed on the active/PUP list by the Broncos prior to the start of training camp Tuesday, Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post reports.

Estime missed the majority of the team's offseason program while recovering from a knee scope, but as head coach Sean Payton said earlier in July, the running back appears to be on track to participate immediately at training camp. Estime was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft and will compete with the likes of Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine for touches out of the backfield this preseason.

Akers (Achilles) and the Texans agreed on a contract Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Akers worked out for Houston on Sunday, and the team must've seen enough from the running back, inking him to a contract ahead of their training camp beginning Tuesday. The 25-year-old suffered the second Achilles tear of his career in November, and it's unclear how close he is to being ready for full contact at practice.

The Texans hosted Akers (Achilles) for a workout Sunday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Akers tore his Achilles for the second time in his career last November and finished the season on IR. Prior to the injury, the veteran tallied 167 rushing yards and a touchdown on 60 carries and added 70 receiving yards on 11 receptions over seven games between the Rams and Vikings. Houston is looking to add running-back depth behind starter Joe Mixon and backup Dameon Pierce, among others.

Pierce has shown improvement in the first days of training camp, John Harris of the Texans' official site reports.

Pierce struggled to produce last season in a new offensive scheme and eventually lost his starting job to Devin Singletary. The new outside zone scheme required reading the defense to dictate where the back goes, which was different from the power-gap scheme, where backs can predetermine where they want to go. During the first two days of camp, Pierce has shown improved patience and decision-making after getting the ball. With Singletary gone, the Texans added Joe Mixon, who is expected to be the lead back in 2024, but Pierce could make this a 1-2 punch in the backfield.

The Patriots placed Jennings on the active/PUP list Friday with an undisclosed injury, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Jennings landed in New England as an undrafted free agent in May, and it looks like he picked up an injury somewhere along the way. He will be eligible to come off the PUP list once his health allows. Once he does that, the rookie will compete for a depth role in New England's backfield.

The Texans worked out Williams (knee) on Friday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Houston also worked out fellow running back Deon Jackson on Friday. Williams took 49 carries for 158 yards and three touchdowns at Ohio State in 2023 during a senior season that was marred by a knee injury, but he flashed some potential during the two seasons before that.

The Panthers placed Brooks (knee) on the active/non-football injury list Friday, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

Carolina saw rookies report for the start of training camp Friday, and despite early offseason reports that Brooks would be cleared for the start of camp, he will begin on the NFI list while continuing to recover from a torn right ACL suffered last November. Of course, Brooks can be activated at any time this summer, so he could still gain clearance to practice in at least a limited capacity without missing much of camp. The rookie second-round pick has just under three weeks to prepare for the Panthers' preseason opener against New England, and when ready to practice, he figures to compete for first-team reps with Chuba Hubbard, Miles Sanders and Rashaad Penny.

Mixon said Friday that he's spending training camp preparing to handle a large workload, which he expects will go hand in hand with his role in the Texans' offense, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Mixon said he's trained harder this offseason than ever before in his career, per Will Kunkel of Fox 26 Houston, and that he anticipates being near the top of the league in carries this season. While playing all 17 regular-season games for Cincinnati in 2023, Mixon ranked fifth in the league with 257 rush attempts, though his 1,034 rushing yards only ranked No. 8 and he also finished a meager 27th in YPC with a 4.0 average. Mixon did add a 52-376-3 receiving line on 64 targets and boasts a true three-down skill set, but with three star wideouts at the helm of Houston's offense, plus a capable receiving TE in Dalton Schultz, he'll likely have difficulty repeating those target numbers. Unless Mixon can manage to improve his efficiency heading into his age-28 season, he'll indeed likely need to rank close to the top five in carries to truly impress for fantasy purposes. On the plus side, he's well positioned to accomplish that in Houston, as 2022 fourth-rounder Dameon Pierce only profiles as a true backup option, and C.J. Stroud could help this team rank atop the NFL in total scoring opportunities with an improved offense surrounding him in Year 2.