NFL Player News

Stevenson missed Wednesday's practice due to an illness, Zack Cox of NESN.com reports.

As a result, Stevenson's status is worth monitoring in advance of Sunday's game against the Bills. Meanwhile, fellow running back Damien Harris (hamstring) logged a limited practice Wednesday after missing the Patriots' Week 15 loss to the Colts. If Stevenson and Harris are both available this weekend, the would likely settle back into a timeshare arrangement.

The Panthers removed McCaffrey (ankle) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

McCaffrey already was ruled out for the season with the sprained left ankle, but he'll head back to injured reserve following a positive test for the virus last Tuesday. Chuba Hubbard and Ameer Abdullah will continue to split the Panthers' backfield reps for the rest of the campaign. According to Jonathan M. Alexander of The Charlotte Observer, McCaffrey won't need surgery to address the ankle injury, so he should be ready to go for OTAs after a few months of rest and rehab.

The Chargers placed Ekeler on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday after he tested positive for the virus, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Reports surfaced Monday suggesting that Ekeler was headed to the list, but it wasn't until Wednesday that the running back was officially deactivated. According to Daniel Popper of The Athletic noted Monday that Ekeler is day-to-day, which suggests that he's vaccinated and therefore has a chance to play Sunday in Houston if he can test out of the NFL's COVID-19 protocol. If not, Justin Jackson would be the top candidate to replace Ekeler as the Chargers' lead back.

Conner (heel) didn't practice Wednesday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Conner has yet to be listed as anything more than a non-participant on the Cardinals' first two Week 16 practice reports. There's been no word from the team whether he's in danger of sitting out Saturday against the Colts, but his status bears watching to get a sense of his availability. Conner split backfield reps with Chase Edmonds this past Sunday in Detroit, earning 42 percent of snaps and 10 touches to the latter's 40 and six, respectively.

Jones (knee) was limited at Wednesday's walkthrough, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

After the Packers listed Jones as limited on Tuesday's practice estimate, he maintained that activity during the team's first on-field work of the week. He surpassed AJ Dillon in terms of offensive snap share (64-36) and touches (15-8) this past Sunday at Baltimore for the first time since suffering a knee injury back in Week 10. The Jones-Dillon breakdown may remain that way moving forward as long as the former is available to the offense.

Pollard (foot) was limited at Wednesday's practice, Matthew Paras of The Washington Times reports.

Pollard was spotted doing his usual resistance training at the beginning of the session, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. Despite working through a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, Pollard churned out 74 yards on 12 carries and caught all three targets for 13 yards this past Sunday versus the Giants. Assuming he gets through Week 16 prep and is able to play Sunday against Washington, Pollard should take on a similar workload behind starting running back Ezekiel Elliott (knee).

Ekeler wasn't spotted at practice Wednesday, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Ekeler was absent from Monday's unofficial practice session, with head coach Brandon Staley seemingly hinting afterward that Ekeler was likely headed to the reserve/COVID-19 list, according to Popper. However, Ekeler wasn't among the players placed on the list that today, perhaps suggesting some uncertainty about a positive COVID-19 test result. Later Wednesday, Los Angeles will release its first Week 16 practice report, which will provide an explanation for Ekeler's absence.

Sanders was estimated as a non-participant on Wednesday's practice report due to a quadriceps injury.

Sanders previously has dealt with ankle issues this season, so this quad concern is a new one for the third-year running back. He is coming off back-to-back 100-yard efforts on the ground against the Jets and Washington in which he combined for 47 touches for 288 yards from scrimmage. The Eagles may be managing Sanders' activity due to the recent heavy workload, but his listing on their last two injury reports of Week 16 prep may provide some insight into his potential to play (or not) Sunday against the Giants.

Mixon (ankle) was a full practice participant Wednesday, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Mixon's full activity to begin Week 16 clears up any concerns about the health of his ankle, which he tweaked late in Sunday's win over the Broncos. Head Zac Taylor said Monday that he expected Mixon to begin the week as a limited participant in practice, but the running back instead managed to take part in the Bengals' first session without any restrictions. He'll lead the Cincinnati backfield this Sunday against the Ravens.

Gibson was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday's estimated practice report due to a toe injury, Matthew Paras of The Washington Times reports.

Gibson made a brief exit from Tuesday's loss at Philadelphia and played sporadically after his return to the game, finishing with 21 touches for 65 yards and one rushing touchdown. Meanwhile, reserve running backs Jaret Patterson and Jonathan Williams combined for five carries, 25 yards and one score. With a short week to prepare for Sunday's game in Dallas, Washington didn't hold a practice Wednesday, so Gibson's status could be clarified further once the team logs some on-field work Thursday and/or Friday.