NFL Player News

Boone is drawing closer to his first career start Monday against the Packers with Dalvin Cook (chest) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) still unable to practice Friday, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.

On Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the Vikings are considering shutting down Cook for the final two regular-season games to get him healthy for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Mattison continues to deal with swelling and pain due to a sprained ankle that hasn't allowed him to stretch with his teammates before practice the past two weeks. The needle thus is pointing toward the Vikings starting Boone, who has averaged 4.5 YPC on 32 career rushes. While the sample size is small, he'll have a nice matchup on tap versus a Green Bay defense that has yielded 152 yards from scrimmage per game and 15 touchdowns to running backs in 14 contests this season.

Barner (shoulder/knee) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's matchup with the Jaguars.

Barner began the week not practicing but put in two consecutive limited sessions to avoid the questionable tag. The 30-year-old should serve his usual role as the Falcons' primary return man Sunday.

Williams (rib) has been cleared to play in Sunday night's contest against the Bears, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.

Williams heads into the contest minus a Week 16 injury designation after practicing fully Friday. That removes the risk in terms of him being potentially being a Sunday night scratch, but it remains to be seen how much work he'll see in his first game action since Week 11. With that in mind, LeSean McCoy, Spencer Ware and Darwin Thompson -- who formed a Week 15 backfield timeshare -- are also in the mix, a context that makes Williams' volume Sunday difficult to project.

Henry (hamstring) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game against the Saints, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

In advance of each of the past four contests, the Titans have imposed some limitations on Henry's practice reps. This week, he followed an LP/DNP/FP regimen, leaving him free to take on a New Orleans defense that has allowed just 101 yards from scrimmage per game and 10 touchdowns to running backs in 14 outings this season.

Mattison, who missed another practice Friday, is still dealing with swelling and pain in his sprained ankle, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Neither Dalvin Cook (chest) nor Mattison is looking good for Monday's game against Green Bay, potentially leaving Mike Boone as the lead runner. Cook and Mattison do have one more chance to get on the practice field this week, as the Vikings won't need to release their final injury report until Saturday afternoon/evening.

Mixon (calf) practiced fully Friday, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Mixon was limited at practice Thursday, but his return to a full session Friday puts him in line to play on the road Sunday against the Dolphins. Per the report, Mixon, who has logged 48 carries for 282 yards and a TD and caught six passes for 60 yards over his last two games, "is expected to have no issues" ahead of Sunday's contest. Barring any in-game setbacks, he figures to remain busy against 3-11 Miami.

Henry (hamstring) returned to practice Friday, Erik Bacharach of The Tennessean reports.

Henry, who was limited at practice Wednesday, sat out Thursday's session, but he's expressed no doubt that he'll be available Sunday against the Saints. We'll revisit his status once the Titans' final injury report is released to see if he's officially listed as questionable -- which seems likely -- or free of a Week 16 injury designation.

Mattison (ankle) isn't practicing Friday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The same is true of Dalvin Cook (chest), leaving Mike Boone and Ameer Abdullah as Minnesota's healthy running backs. The Vikings haven't announced any decisions, but the early signs point to Boone handling the lead role Monday night against the Packers. A return to practice Saturday would give Mattison (or Cook) a chance to play.

Cook (chest) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) both are absent from Friday's practice, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Most signs point to Mike Boone handling the lead role Monday against Green Bay, though the Vikings haven't ruled out the possibility of Cook and/or Mattison playing. A Thursday report from Adam Schefter of ESPN suggested the Vikings were leaning toward shutting Cook down for the next two weeks, hoping to get him healthy before the playoffs. On the other hand, Cook did say he'll go through his normal routine of team meetings and work with the training staff, preparing as if there's at least some chance for a Week 16 appearance. Back-to-back absences from practices suggest he's worse than 50/50 to play.

Mixon (calf) was spotted warming up for Friday's practice, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

It's uncertain how much Mixon was able to do after getting warm, but it's a good sign that he was on the field after landing on the injury report Thursday. The Bengals will provide an official update on Mixon's status when they release their final injury report of the week after Friday's session.