Team news: Arizona Cardinals | Page 20

The Seattle Seahawks fear running back Rashaad Penny will miss this weekend's game against the Tennessee Titans and possibly longer because of a calf injury, coach Pete Carroll said Monday.

Related players: Chris Carson, Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer.

Carroll added it's going to take some time to figure out how long Penny will be out. Carson will continue to carry the big workload but the question is who takes over the RB2 job. Collins was inactive Week 1 and it's expected the job will go to Dallas. With Penny likely to miss multiple weeks, Dallas may be worth a stash if you have room on your roster.

Colts WR Parris Campbell was a limited participant at practice Wednesday because of an Achilles injury.

Related Player: Zach Pascal

Campbell lost majority of his rookie season to injury and is already off to a dismal start. His practice participation the next two days will weigh heavily on his availability Week 1.

Colts GM Chris Ballard told reporters Wednesday that WR T.Y. Hilton will go on Injured Reserve but will be designated to return if healthy.

Related Players: Michael Pittman Jr., Parris Campbell, Mike Strachan, Zach Pascal, Nyheim Hines

The longtime Colt is in the sweet spot of the aging curve for declining play and injuries have not been kind to him. This is an immediate boost for the rest of the Colts wideouts and allows more work for running backs out of the backfield.

The Indianapolis Colts continue to be hit hard by COVID-19 issues.

The team announced Monday it has placed quarterback Carson Wentz, center Ryan Kelly and wide receiver Zach Pascal on the COVID-19 list. They will miss an undetermined amount of time depending on the reason they were placed on the list.

Wentz is in a race to get ready for the season opener on Sept. 12. We just head a beat writer report Monday it looked like Wentz should be ready to go for Week 1. But there was no word how being placed on the list could hinder Wentz's progress as he tries to recover from a foot injury.

And no sooner did I tweet this and it was announced that Travis Homer has passed his physical and can practice starting today. So, Seattle's RB competition gets a little more interesting.

Related players: DeeJay Dallas, Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny

We had a great story on this a week or so ago from the Athletic and it broke down the Seattle RBs: Carson will be the main back with Penny his backup and a change of pace, perhaps a second half closer situation. Dallas and Homer look to be the third down backs, but Homer is a much better blocker while Dallas is the pass catcher.

The emphasis on getting Rashaad Penny outside the tackles reinforces the team’s belief in him as a home-run hitter. The change-of-pace, potential game-breaker they plan to deploy after they open games using Chris Carson to smash the defense in the face.

Related players: Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas

This story does a nice job of breaking down the roles for Seahawk RBs: Carson will be the main back with Dallas and Homer the third down backs. Dallas looks to be the main receiver while Homer is the better pass blocker. That leaves Penny as the primary backup to Carson, who will see that change of pace role, perhaps especially in the second half or later in games when Carson has worn down the defense. Penny also seems to have handcuff value to Carson based on these roles.

The Cardinals announced several roster moves on Monday, notably activating running back James Conner off the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Related players: Chase Edmonds

Conner went on the list on Aug. 12 as a high-risk close contact. This season, only players who have not been vaccinated are placed on the COVID-19 list for being in proximity with someone who has tested positive. Conner is expected to split the workload with Edmonds this season.

Chase Edmonds, the fourth-year pro out of Fordham, who will get every opportunity to prove he can be Arizona’s bell cow and primary running back.

Related players: James Conner

The story said Conner will get his share of carries as well, but it looks like the team will at least give Edmonds a chance to be the primary back. The story added there has been speculation from outside critics that he won’t be able to last a full season as a No.1 running back because of his smallish, 5-foot-9 stature. Edmonds added a few pounds of muscle this offseason, bulking up his legs and upper body. Even in a split, it should be Edmonds getting the passing down work giving him the edge in fantasy leagues.

The @AZCardinals continued to pick up veteran free agents as they have signed former Steelers RB @JamesConner_ one day after he flew in for a visit.

This signing certainly takes some of the wind out of Chase Edmonds' sails. Conner has missed 12 games over the last three seasons, but when he's been healthy, he's been effective, averaging 4.0-4.5 YPC and averaging at least 71.5 total yards per game in each of the last three seasons. He's a dual-threat, soon-to-be 26-year-old back who is still in his prime. We'll see if he'll have a shot at the starting job, but at a minimum, he's going to be a headache for Edmonds' owners.