NFL Player News

Williams (knee) was held out of practice Thursday, but head coach Vic Fangio expects him to play Sunday against the Bengals, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports. "His leg just kind of swelled up a little bit, and so we're going to give him the day off," Fangio said of Williams.

Williams was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, so he'll presumably need to log a full session Friday in order to avoid a Week 15 injury designation. Though he didn't log any practice activity Thursday, he was present for the Broncos' workout, with Troy Renck of Denver 7 News noting that Williams was taking part in some conditioning work. Melvin Gordon (thumb/hip) was a limited participant in practices Wednesday and Thursday, so both of Denver's top two running backs could be at risk of carrying injury designations into Sunday's game against the Bengals.

Harris (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Saturday night's game against the Colts.

Harris, who injured his hamstring during the Patriots' Week 13 win over the Bills, no doubt benefited from his team's bye and was listed as a limited practice participant this week. With an official 'questionable' designation, however, his Week 15 status won't be cemented until New England's inactives are submitted in advance of Saturday night's 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff. Assuming he's available versus Indianapolis, Harris would be in line to continue to share backfield duties with Rhamondre Stevenson, with Brandon Bolden (knee) a candidate for change-of-pace touches.

Conner (ankle) didn't practice Thursday, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

Since Chase Edmonds went down early with a high-ankle sprain in a Week 9 win at San Francisco, Conner has averaged 21.8 touches for 114.4 yards from scrimmage per game while scoring eight total TDs over five contests. Conner's workload has ranged between 76 and 96 percent of offensive plays during that span as the Cardinals' unquestioned lead back, but he also sustained an ankle injury while getting tackled near the conclusion of Monday's loss to the Rams, per Darren Urban of the team's official site. Arizona designated Edmonds for return from injured reserve last Thursday, so the Cards could be status quo in the backfield as early as Sunday in Detroit if he's activated and Conner is able to gut out his current health concern.

Johnson is expected to serve as the top backup to starting running back Nick Chubb with Kareem Hunt (ankle) ruled out for Saturday's game against the Raiders, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Johnson had moved down to the third spot on the depth chart for the Browns' past two games following Hunt's return from injured reserve, but the former should have a clear path to the No. 2 role after the latter picked up another injury in Cleveland's Week 14 win over Baltimore. Chubb is still likely to see the majority of the snaps and touches out of the backfield, but Johnson and Hunt still managed to earn six carries and three receptions between them last week. A touch count in the high single digits or low double digits could be enough to keep Johnson on the radar in deeper PPR leagues this week.

Sanders (ankle) practiced on a limited basis Thursday.

With back-to-back limited listings on Eagles injury reports so far this week, Sanders is getting some on-field work out of the team's bye. Prior to the respite, he noted that he aggravated the ankle issue that forced him sit out Weeks 8-10 in Philly's last game Dec. 5 at the Jets. In that contest, he took on his largest workload of the season -- 27 touches for 142 yards from scrimmage -- and with Jordan Howard (knee) also banged-up, Sanders could be in line for significant reps if available this weekend. Friday's practice report could clear Sanders outright in advance of Sunday's game against Washington.

Pollard (foot) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Pollard was unable to mix into drills to begin Week 15 prep, but he ended up taking part in individual drills during the open portion of Thursday's session, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The result was a limited listing, which followed coach Mike McCarthy telling Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News that the torn plantar fascia in Pollard's left foot is "getting better." Pollard is aiming to miss just one game as a result of the injury, but he still seems poised to enter the weekend with a designation for Sunday's road contest against the Giants.

Barkley (ankle) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Barkley's ability to get back on the practice field in some fashion Thursday suggests that his absence from Wednesday's session was maintenance-related. So long as he maintains limited activity Friday or upgrades to full participation, Barkley should be on track to fill a lead role out of New York's backfield Sunday against Dallas. In his four outings since returning from a four-game stay on injured reserve due to an ankle sprain, Barkley is averaging 16.3 touches for 69.5 yards from scrimmage and 0.25 touchdowns per contest.

Chubb could have a clearer path to more passing-down and goal-line work Saturday against the Raiders with top backup Kareem Hunt (ankle) ruled out for the contest, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

After a five-game absence from Weeks 7 through 11 due to a calf strain, Hunt had appeared in both of the Browns' last two games. Though Hunt saw lighter snap counts in both contests than he had earlier in the season, his absence for Week 15 at least removes one possible obstacle in Chubb's way for more high-value work. D'Ernest Johnson has proven to be a capable change-of-pace option in the opportunities he's received this season and should have a role in the game plan, so Chubb could still struggle to get more than 70 or 80 percent of the offensive snaps this weekend. Chubb's season-high snap share (66 percent) came in last week's win over the Ravens, but Baltimore did a good job of bottling him up on the ground (17 carries for 59 yards) and as a receiver (three catches for six yards on four targets).

Jones (knee) wasn't seen at the media-access portion of Thursday's practice, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The Packers appear to be managing Jones' health at the moment after he was listed as limited on Wednesday's estimated injury report. If he ultimately ends up a non-participant Thursday, he'll have just one more chance to mix into an actual practice before week's end.

Pollard (foot) was present for Thursday's practice, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Per Todd Archer of ESPN.com, Pollard went through some individual drills during the media-access portion of the session, which is a step in the right direction for the running back as Sunday's game against the Giants approaches. Thursday's injury report will add clarity with regard to Pollard's official level of participation.