NFL Player News

Mitchell (concussion/knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Cincinnati, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

With the knee injury not considered serious, it would seem Mitchell hasn't made enough progress in the concussion protocol to practice or play. His upcoming absence leaves Jeff Wilson and JaMycal Hasty to man the San Francisco backfield Week 14, with Trey Sermon (ankle) still on IR and Trenton Cannon (concussion) ruled out for Sunday.

Evans (ankle) won't play in Sunday's game against the 49ers, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Evans will remain sidelined for a second consecutive game due to this injury. Samaje Perine will back up Joe Mixon and could see more work than usual with Mixon listed as questionable due to an illness.

Swift (shoulder) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Denver, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

With Swift officially missing back-to-back games and Jamaal Williams landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, it appears the Lions will deploy Jermar Jefferson and Godwin Igwebuike in their backfield this Sunday. Swift's next chance to play will be Sunday, Dec. 19 when the Lions host NFC frontrunner Arizona.

Boone was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, Ryan O'Halloran of The Denver Post reports.

Boone was pulled from Friday's practice after reporting that he wasn't feeling well. While he hasn't been officially ruled out for Sunday's game against Detroit, it's highly unlikely that Boone will clear the COVID-19 protocol in time to suit up. The Broncos are optimistic that Melvin Gordon (hip/shoulder) will be able to play, but if Gordon and Boone both end up sitting, Damarea Crockett would be left as the lone backup to Javonte Williams.

Williams (undisclosed) was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

With D'Andre Swift (shoulder) officially ruled out, the Lions may be down to Jermar Jefferson and Godwin Igwebuike in the backfield for Sunday's game in Denver. Even Jefferson hasn't been healthy this week, missing one practice with a flu bug that's been going around the locker room, though he did return Friday as a full participant.

Mixon (illness) is listed as questionable for Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET game against the 49ers.

Though an illness prevented Mixon from practicing this past week, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site relays that coach Zac Taylor anticipates the running back being able to play this weekend. Look for added clarity with regard to Mixon's Week 14 availability to arrive no later than late Saturday/early Sunday when national reporters such as ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport issue their weekly injury/status updates. If Mixon ends up limited or out, however, added backfield work would be available for Samaje Perine.

Robinson (heel/knee) isn't listed with an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Titans, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

The 23-year-old was able to avoid the questionable tag after putting in a full practice Friday. Robinson has been nursing the knee and heel injuries over the past few weeks, but according to John Shipley of SI.com, he practiced Wednesday for the first time in a while and had a good session. The tailback was briefly pulled last week against the Rams after losing a fumble, and Carlos Hyde took over and out-touched Robinson, 10-9, and scored a one-yard touchdown, despite losing a fumble of his own. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence made clear to the coaching staff this week how he feels about Robinson, and per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com the signal-caller said, "James [Robinson] is one of our best players, and he's got to be in the game." Lawrence is right, and perhaps his plea to the coaches will result in a longer leash for Robinson down the stretch because the second-year running back is clearly the most productive weapon in Jacksonville's struggling offense.

Though Gordon (hip/shoulder) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Lions, coach Vic Fangio believes the running back will be available for the contest, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Assuming the running back (who was limited at practice this week) is available, look for him to reenter a timeshare with rookie Javonte Williams, who carried 23 times for 102 yards and caught six passes (on nine targets) for 76 yards and a TD while handling a lead role in Gordon's absence during the Broncos' Week 13 loss to Kansas City. Though things appear to be trending in the right direction for Gordon, it still will be worth checking back on his status as Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff approaches.

Coach Sean Payton indicated Kamara should be able to handle his typical workload in Sunday's road game against the Jets, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

In his return from a four-game absence this weekend, Kamara may be operating out of the backfield without Mark Ingram and Ty Montgomery due to the pair testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. If the preceding comes to pass, Kamara's primary competition for snaps will be special teamer Dwayne Washington, second-year pro Tony Jones and fullback Adam Prentice. Kamara acted as the Saints' lead runner Weeks 1 through 9, when he averaged 22.3 touches for 105 yards from scrimmage per game while scoring seven TDs in eight contests.

Mitchell (concussion/knee) wasn't spotted at the media-access portion of Friday's practice, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Mitchell hasn't made any notable progress through the concussion protocol this week, which has coincided with him dealing with "knee irritation" as well. The pair of injuries may conspire to keep him sidelined for a fourth time this season, something that could be confirmed as early as the release of Friday's practice report. In the event he does sit out Sunday in Cincinnati, Mitchell will hand off backfield duties to some combo of Jeff Wilson and JaMycal Hasty.