National Football League

Another rough day for RBs as rigors of camp wear on

Published Aug. 7, 2014 1:32 a.m. ET

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On the day 23-year-old Giants running back David Wilson tearfully bid farewell to the NFL because of injury, news also broke on injuries to a handful of other running backs around the league Wednesday, as the rigors of training camp begin to take their toll.

And the news actually began in New York, as the Giants received bad news on another RB. Peyton Hillis, officially listed as the Giants' No. 2 running back after neck injuries ended Wilson's budding career, will be out "a little while," head coach Tom Coughlin said.

Hillis is listed as having a sprained ankle, but according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, the injury may be more severe than that:

The good news for the Giants — and fantasy football players — perhaps is the strong performance by rookie Andre Williams in the Hall of Fame Game last Sunday. Rashad Jennings is Big Blue's starter, and Williams looks like the sure-fire No. 2 now.

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Another team who could use an infusion of youth in the backfield is the Jaguars. Jacksonville thought it was getting a bit of that when it replaced 29-year-old veteran Maurice Jones-Drew with Toby Gerhart, two years and four seasons his junior.

But on Wednesday, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley ruled Gerhart out of Friday's preseason opener against Tampa Bay with a hip flexor injury.

Gerhart, who signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Jags after backing up Adrian Peterson in Minnesota since 2010, will be replaced on the first team by Jordan Todman.

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The news was a little more mixed in Miami, where new running back Knowshon Moreno was activated from the physically unable to perform list, but remains out of practice.

Moreno, who signed as a free agent in the offseason after five seasons in Denver, underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery in June.

According to The Associated Press, Moreno did not participate in drills and is almost certain to miss the preseason opener in Atlanta on Friday.

Lamar Miller is the incumbent starter and has reportedly looked good in camp thus far, making the odds of Moreno earning the No. 1 spot a bit long right now.

"I can't really think about the depth chart," Moreno told The Associated Press. "I'm going to do every play, every practice, every game 100 percent. Whatever happens after that will happen."

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