NFL Player News

The 49ers elevated Walter from their practice squad ahead of Thursday's game against the Packers, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

With Jeff Wilson (ankle) joining Raheem Mostert (ankle) on injured reserve and Tevin Coleman (knee) sidelined for Week 9, Walter should serve as the 49ers' third running back behind the duo of JaMycal Hasty and Jerick McKinnon. Unless one of Hasty or McKinnon suffers an in-game injury or the contest becomes uncompetitive, Walter likely won't be a part of the backfield rotation.

The Colts listed Wilkins (groin) as a full participant on Thursday's estimated practice report.

Indianapolis held a walk-through session Thursday, but Wilkins looks like he would have been available to take every rep had the team held a traditional practice session. Now that his health apparently isn't a concern heading into Sunday's game against the Ravens, Wilkins will hope to earn a greater share of the carries out of the Indianapolis backfield after he outperformed starter Jonathan Taylor in last week's win over Detroit. With Taylor being limited to 22 yards on 11 carries in the contest, coach Frank Reich leaned more heavily on Wilkins, who rewarded the faith with season-high 89 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Wilkins also turned his lone target of the day into a 24-yard reception.

Jones (calf) is expected to suit up for Thursday's contest at San Francisco, pending a pregame workout, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Notably, Schefter stated the Packers intend to be "careful" with Jones and see how his calf reacts to the aforementioned warmup, but they also expect him to be available to the offense. If he indeed is active, Jones may only be used in an emergency with two other healthy bodies (Tyler Ervin and Dexter Williams) available to the backfield. However, Jones has averaged 110 yards from scrimmage per game and scored seven touchdowns in five appearances this season, so there's still a decent chance he contributes to the box score.

Harris (ankle) was limited at practice Thursday, Zack Cox of NESN.com reports.

Harris is one of 12 players listed as limited by the Patriots and we suspect that his status for Monday night's game against the Jets is in no danger. The 2019 third-rounder carried 16 times for 102 yards and a TD in this past Sunday's loss to the Bills, but it's worth noting that Sony Michel (quad) has returned to practice and could come off IR as soon as this week. In such a scenario, he'd be an immediate threat to cut into Harris' early-down workload.

Taylor (ankle) was a full participant during Thursday's walk-through practice.

Though Thursday's session was of the non-contact variety, Taylor's "full" listing implies that the rookie's reps wouldn't have been restricted had the Colts held a traditional practice. As such, Taylor looks ready to go for Sunday's game against the Ravens, but discerning what his role might look like is rather difficult after he was outplayed handily by backups Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines in the Week 8 win over the Lions. Taylor is still likely to start and take the Colts' first backfield reps, but game flow as well as how he fares with his initial touches may be the main determining factors in the extent of his usage on the day.

Kamara (foot) practiced fully Thursday.

Kamara made a surprise appearance on Wednesday's injury report, being listed with what was termed a bone bruise in his foot. He later clarified the reason for his limited practice, telling John Sigler of USA Today, "You ever stub your toe on the corner of a bedpost or something?" By elevating to a full participant one day later, Kamara has proved that the issue isn't serious and should be ready for his usual volume Sunday at Tampa Bay, whose Bucs contained him to a season-low 67 yards from scrimmage to go with two TDs back in Week 1.

The Packers are increasingly hopeful that Jones (calf), who is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the 49ers, will be able to play, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Listed as a limited practice participant on each of the Packers' three reports this week, Jones hasn't proven that he's completely moved past the calf strain that has sidelined him for the team's past two games. That being said, Jones has apparently shown improvement over the past few days, so the Packers will likely clear him to play if he can make it through an early warmup without issue. Clarification on Jones' status one way or the other should come approximately 90 minutes prior to the 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff, when the Packers release their inactive list. If Jones is available, Rapoport notes that the running back could be in store for a limited role, which supports what Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported earlier Thursday. With AJ Dillon and Jamaal Williams already ruled out for Week 9 after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Tyler Ervin -- who has lined up mostly out wide or in the slot this season -- and practice squad callup Dexter Williams are the only other healthy running backs on the roster.

Coach Matt Rhule believes McCaffrey (ankle) will play Sunday in Kansas City, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports. "Things are trending and moving in the right direction," Rhule said Thursday. "It's just a matter of no setbacks."

McCaffrey has put together a little more than a week of practice as he works his way back from a high right ankle sprain, including work at Wednesday's padded session. On Thursday, he looked like his usual self, too, showing burst and making good cuts during individual drills, according to David Newton of ESPN.com. So far, McCaffrey hasn't suffered any of the aforementioned "setbacks," but the Panthers will continue to be cautious and may not make his activation from IR official until the weekend. If he plays Sunday for the first time since Week 2, there's a chance McCaffrey yields the occasional rep to Mike Davis, who mostly has fared well in his absence.

Laird (ankle) was a full participant in Thursday's practice, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

With the Dolphins placing No. 1 back Myles Gaskin (ankle) on injured reserve earlier Thursday, top backup Matt Breida (hamstring) trending toward sitting out Sunday's game in Arizona and trade-deadline pickup DeAndre Washington (COVID-19 protocol) not available to make his debut until Week 9, Laird's ability to shake off the minor ankle injury takes on added importance. Assuming he avoids any further setbacks with his ankle heading into the weekend, Laird should be in line to serve as the Dolphins' top pass-catching back against the Cardinals, while Jordan Howard presumably operates as the team's top option on the ground. Laird has been mostly limited to special-teams work in 2020, but he had a degree of fantasy utility in PPR formats while seeing steady action on offense during the final quarter of the 2019 season. Over those final four contests, Laird averaged 56.7 scrimmage yards and four targets per game.

Breida (hamstring) didn't practice Thursday, Safid Deen of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Breida's Week 9 status gains more import with Myles Gaskin (knee) now on IR. With that in mind, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald relays that coach Brian Flores noted Thursday that Breida has a "chance" to suit up Sunday against the Cardinals. If he's unavailable this weekend, however, the Dolphins would turn to the the likes of Jordan Howard, Patrick Laird (ankle), Lynn Bowden and Salvon Ahmed to handle the team's rushing duties.