NFL Player News

Cook (shoulder) is expected to sit out the Vikings' next two games with the aim to return Monday, Dec. 20 at Chicago, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

This isn't official by any means, especially considering coach Mike Zimmer termed Cook "day-to-day" earlier Monday, per Eric Smith of the Vikings' official site. But Cook is reportedly dealing with a torn labrum in relation to the dislocated left shoulder he sustained during Sunday's loss at San Francisco. Overall, the injury isn't seen as season ending, but he appears to be trending toward absences in Week 13 at Detroit and Week 14 against the Steelers. As long as Cook is sidelined, Alexander Mattison will lead the Vikings backfield, with Kene Nwangwu on hand for complementary work.

Sermon has been diagnosed with an ankle sprain, and coach Kyle Shanahan said the rookie third-round pick could land on injured reserve, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Sermon left Sunday's eventual win over the Vikings and was unable to return. Prior to his departure, he managed to play four snaps on special teams but none on offense as Elijah Mitchell (finger) was back in the fold following a one-game absence. Expect Jeff Wilson and JaMycal Hasty (ankle) to split whatever backfield work remains behind Mitchell.

Evans is dealing with an ankle injury and should be considered questionable for Sunday's game against the Chargers, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Evans won't have much of a role with Joe Mixon being fully healthy, and the best example of this is the fact that he has racked up just nine carries all season long, tallying 41 yards. This ankle issue hurts his upside even more, though, and if he can't recover in time for Sunday's matchup, Samaje Perine might see a bit more work as Mixon's lone backup.

Coach Mike Zimmer indicated Monday that Cook is viewed as "day-to-day" with a shoulder injury, Eric Smith of the Vikings' official site reports. "We'll just see how Dalvin is doing," Zimmer noted of the running back's Week 13 status. "It will be day-to-day and see where it goes."

While Zimmer declined to reveal the exact nature of Cook's shoulder issue, he did refute a report that the running back suffered a torn labrum Sunday, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. That said, Cook's status for this weekend's game against the Lions remains cloudy and if he's unable to play, Alexander Mattison would be in line to fill in as the Vikings' top back for any length of time Cook is sidelined.

Taylor (undisclosed) has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Zack Cox of NESN.com reports.

Taylor has been a healthy scratch for four of the Patriots' last five games, including Sunday's win over the Titans. It remains to be seen if he'll be cleared to play for next Monday's game against the Bills, but unless one of the team's other backs is unavailable, Taylor figures to remain the odd man out Week 13 even if he's activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Elliott (knee) was a full participant in Monday's practice, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Elliott's ability to take every rep in the Cowboys' first official Week 13 practice clears the way for him to start Thursday's game against the Saints, but that doesn't mean the 26-year-old will be in store for his normal role. According to Nick Eatman of the Cowboys' official site, Elliott acknowledged that the knee injury has been bothering him since an Oct. 3 game against the Panthers. While he has no plans to sit out games to fully heal up from the injury, Elliott acknowledged that his workload could become managed more carefully in the contests to come. The Cowboys already have been doing that to some degree over the past four games, as he hasn't played more than 70 percent of the snaps in any of those contests while averaging 15 touches per game. In his preceding seven appearances, Elliott topped 70 percent of the snaps on five occasions and averaged 19.7 touches per game.

Kamara (knee) was a limited participant in Monday's practice.

Mike Triplett of ESPN.com previously reported that Kamara was back on the field for the Saints' unofficial practice session Sunday, but Monday marked the first time he appeared on New Orleans' practice report as a limited or full participant since Nov. 17. He missed one game prior to that date and two afterward due to an MCL sprain, but he could have a realistic shot at putting an end to his three-game absence Thursday against the Cowboys. In order to suit up this week, Kamara may need to maintain at least limited participation in practice sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, and even if he does, there's a chance he ends up ceding more work than normal to Mark Ingram (knee), who practiced fully Monday after joining Kamara on the inactive list for the team's Thanksgiving Day loss to the Bills. Along with the presence of Ingram, Kamara's Week 13 fantasy outlook is further affected by a change at quarterback. Trevor Siemian is expected to move into the backup role to clear the way for the more mobile Taysom Hill, who will be a threat to poach goal-line carries from both Kamara and Ingram.

Nwangwu ran once for seven yards and added a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown during Sunday's 34-26 loss to the 49ers.

With the Vikings trailing 31-20 in the third quarter, Nwangwu exploded 99 yards down the right sideline for his second kick-return touchdown of the season. The return specialist also saw his first two offensive snaps of the season in the fourth quarter, which could be a sign of things to come with Dalvin Cook (shoulder) expected to miss an extended period of time. Alexander Mattison is expected to once again take over the primary running back duties with Cook out, but Nwangwu's explosive kick returns may be enough for him to carve out an offensive role as well.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday that Sanders is "heading in the right direction" after suffering an ankle/foot injury in Sunday's 13-7 loss to the Giants, Tim McManus of ESPN.com reports.

Sanders departed in the second half with the injury, finishing the day with nine carries for 64 yards and one reception for no yards while playing 32 percent of the Eagles' offensive snaps. The Eagles haven't revealed whether Sanders' ankle injury is related to the one that required a three-game stint on injured reserve earlier this season, but in any case he appears to be dealing with a less significant concern this time around. Sirianni didn't definitively say that Sanders would be available for the Eagles' Week 13 game against the Jets, however, so the running back's progress will need to be monitored in practices Wednesday through Friday.

Wilson had two carries for five yards and caught his lone target for two more yards in Sunday's 34-26 win over the Vikings.

Elijah Mitchell (finger) returned from a one-game absence and reestablished himself as the best running back in San Francisco's rotation (32 touches for 168 yards and a touchdown). This left Wilson as a pure backup after he failed to capitalize on Mitchell's absence (19 carries for 50 yards last week). The 26-year-old doesn't carry any fantasy value so long as Mitchell is healthy.