NFL Player News

Mixon (ankle) is participating at practice Friday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mixon sat out Thursday's practice to help manage his ankle issue after working as a limited participant Wednesday, and he's returned to the field for Friday's session. The 25-year-old played only 28 percent of the offensive snaps during last week's loss to the Packers, while Samaje Perine -- who had 15 touches for 83 yards and a touchdown -- tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Mixon appears to be trending in the right direction for Sunday's game at Detroit, while rookie Chris Evans is currently the only fully healthy tailback on the Bengals' active roster.

Sanders carried nine times for 56 yards and secured two of four targets for 10 yards in the Eagles' 28-22 loss to the Buccaneers on Thursday night.

Sanders once again logged a relatively modest amount of touches, failing to see double-digit carries for the third time in the last four games. The 24-year-old did record multiple receptions for the fifth time in six games as well, but as long as his usage remains as capped as it has, Sanders' fantasy managers will be left with significantly less return than they expected for the draft capital that was typically invested in him. The third-year back will shoot for better production in a Week 7 road battle against the Raiders a week from Sunday.

Jacobs didn't practice Thursday due to an illness, Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Jacobs just can't avoid the injury report this season. While he avoided it entirely Wednesday, he made yet another appearance Thursday, only this time for non-injury reasons. It's unclear whether the illness is related to COVID-19, but his status should be watched closely to get a sense of his potential to play Sunday at Denver. If Jacobs sits out for the third time this season, Peyton Barber likely would got most of the work on early downs, with Kenyan Drake and Jalen Richard serving as change-of-pace options out of the Raiders backfield.

McNichols was a limited participant in Thursday's practice due to an ankle injury, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

Since McNichols is at least on the practice field in some capacity to begin the week, his ankle injury more than likely won't prevent him from playing Monday against the Bills. Instead, the greater threat to McNichols' outlook both this week and beyond is the potential return of Darrynton Evans (knee), who resumed practicing Oct. 6 and could be reinstated from injured reserve Monday. Whenever he's deemed ready to go, Evans could unseat McNichols as the top change-of-pace option behind Derrick Henry. McNichols has at least made a strong bid to keep the third-down role after averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 7.0 yards per target through the first five weeks of the season.

Mixon (ankle) was a non-participant in Thursday's practice in what may have amounted to a maintenance day, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

After the ankle injury contributed to Mixon handling his lightest workload of the season in Sunday's overtime loss to the Packers, he opened Week 6 prep as a limited participant during Wednesday's practice. The fact that Mixon took a step back in terms of activity a day later would normally be cause for concern, but his listing as a non-participant Thursday looks as though it may have been a pre-planned arrangement rather than the result of a setback. As Hobson notes, "the way [Mixon] was bouncing around" while working off to the side Thursday points to him getting more of a rest day, which may have had the secondary purpose of opening up more reps with the offense for backups Chris Evans and Trayveon Williams. Neither Evans nor Williams has logged a carry this season, and both will move up a spot on the depth chart Week 6 with Mixon's top understudy, Samaje Perine (illness), expected to miss Sunday's game in Detroit after testing positive for COVID-19.

Jones (ankle) was a limited practice participant Thursday.

Operating under a cap in his practice reps for a third straight week, Jones continues his recovery from an ankle injury that he's been able to gut out the past two games. During that stretch, he combined for 36 touches for 208 yards from scrimmage and no TDs. At the same time, No. 2 RB AJ Dillon has received a bit more work en route to 28 touches for 176 total yards and one score. The Packers may continue to operate with somewhat of a split workload out of the backfield as long as Jones is less than 100 percent, but the team first will have to clear his designation on the final Week 6 injury report, as it's done the previous two weeks.

Williams is on track to make his first career start Sunday against Washington after the Chiefs placed Clyde Edwards-Helaire (knee) on injured reserve Tuesday, Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports.

While head coach Andy Reid hasn't officially named a starter in place of Edwards-Helaire, Williams is in position to draw the assignment after he played 77 percent of the Chiefs' offensive snaps in last Sunday's loss to the Bills once Edwards-Helaire checked out of the contest midway through the third quarter. It's worth noting, however, that a negative game script may have played a factor in Williams dominating the running-back snaps over Jerick McKinnon, who was on the field for only 23 percent of the plays after Edwards-Helaire departed. If the favored Chiefs can establish an early lead against Washington and hold it for most of the contest, Williams could end up ceding more work to McKinnon this week, but the fantasy outlooks for both players are brighter in any case with Edwards-Helaire at least temporarily out of the picture.

Mattison (shoulder) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday.

A shoulder issue is impacting Mattison's practice reps during Week 6 prep, keeping him out of Wednesday's session entirely before returning to the field one day later. While Mattison increased his activity level, Dalvin Cook (ankle) did the same, as he went from limited to full in the same time span. The development would appear to set Cook up to retain the No. 1 role out of the Vikings backfield, meaning Mattison would be his top reserve, at best, if he's able to suit up Sunday at Carolina.

Harris (ribs) returned to a limited practice Thursday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Harris didn't take part in Wednesday's full-pads practice, but his return to the field Thursday suggests that he has a chance to play through his rib issue Sunday against the Cowboys. We'll circle back on the running back's status Friday, but chances are Harris will approach New England's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff listed as questionable. If he's limited or out this weekend, Rhamondre Stevenson and Brandon Bolden would be in line for added Week 6 touches.

Cook (ankle) practiced fully Thursday.

Cook has operated with limitations on his practice reps since Week 2 prep due to a right ankle sprain suffered in that contest. He made just one appearance over the past three games -- 11 touches for 44 total yards Week 4 against the Browns -- while Alexander Mattison earned spot starts in the other two games. Mattison himself is dealing with a shoulder injury, which didn't allow him to practice Wednesday before he returned as limited Thursday. Cook is poised to retake the reins of the Vikings backfield Sunday in Carolina, but it remains to be seen if Mattison will be his primary backup.