All this Randy Moss excitement distracted us from bringing you normal Wednesday fare, like practice reports. So here’s your banged-up running back report, in small easy to digest bites:
1. Ravens running back Ray Rice returned for a rugged practice Wednesday. It looks like he’ll be healthy enough to have a bigger role this Sunday against the Broncos. Willis McGahee started for Baltimore last week.
2. Maurice Jones-Drew surprisingly missed practice with an ankle injury. He finished last week’s game, so this appears to be precautionary. MJD was yukking it up on NFL Network Wednesday, indicating this isn’t a big concern.
3. Pierre Thomas continues to miss practice with an ankle sprain. With Reggie Bush out, it could be another week of Chris Ivory and Ladell Betts for New Orleans.
4. Reigning NFC offensive player of the week Ahmad Bradshaw did not practice because of an ankle injury. He expressed full confidence he’d play this week, though.
5. Raiders running back Darren McFadden (hamstring) was held out of practice. A few of the local scribes predict McFadden will sit out Sunday against the Chargers. Michael Bush is in line to start.
6. Rams running back Steven Jackson (groin) was a limited participant in practice. The injury has improved since last week and Jackson looks to be in no danger of missing Sunday’s game.
7. Lions running back Jahvid Best (toe) was limited in practice. He sat out of practice early last week, so this is a good sign.
8. There have been some optimistic reports that Eagles running back LeSean McCoy could play this week despite a broken rib. He sat out of practice Wednesday.