NFL Player News

Williams (concussion) didn't participate in Thursday's practice, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

It's unclear if Williams was able to perform any work on the side under the supervision of trainers, but his inability to practice in even a limited fashion for the second straight day doesn't bode well for his chances of suiting up Sunday in Dallas. If Williams ends up being sidelined, Dexter Williams would likely dress for the first time this season as the top understudy to starting running back Aaron Jones.

The Giants are targeting their Week 6 game in New England for Barkley's (ankle) return to action, a source familiar with the team's plans for the running back told Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York.

Though Barkley hasn't registered a limited listing in any practice since suffering the right high-ankle sprain Sept. 22 at Tampa Bay, the running back has already advanced to the point of running at full speed and incorporating change-of-direction work into his workout regimen. His accelerated recovery has left coach Pat Shurmur reluctant to rule Barkley out for Sunday's game against the Vikings, but the Giants are ultimately expected to take a cautious approach with the star running back and hold him out for a second straight contest. If Barkley ends up gaining clearance to play in the Week 6 contest -- a Thursday night game -- he'll have beaten the short end of his estimated 4-to-8-week recovery timetable by about a week and a half.

Conner (ankle) remained sidelined at Thursday's practice, Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

That said, Lolley adds that the expectation is that Conner will be able to suit up Sunday against the Ravens, though what the running back is able to do (or not do) at Friday's practice will be telling in that respect.

Barner (knee) is not practicing Thursday, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

Barner has fully cleared the league's concussion protocol, but it appears as though his knee injury could still sideline him during Sunday's tilt against the Texans. He'll have one more chance to resume practicing. If Barner is forced to miss any more time, Kendall Sheffield will step up as Atlanta's top kicker returner while Mohamed Sanu will serve as the team's No. 1 punt returner.

Singletary (hamstring) logged another limited practice Thursday, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

Meanwhile, coach Sean McDermott commented on Singletary's progress after practice Thursday. "I thought he did some good things today. We'll see where it ends up. Friday we'll know a bit more. It's all about whether a guy comes in sore the next day after getting work." Based on that, Singletary seems to be trending toward being listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Titans, though if the running back feels/looks good during the Bills' final practice of the week, he could head into the weekend minus an injury tag.

Mack (ankle) didn't participate in Thursday's practice, Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star reports.

That said, Mack was on the practice field observing Thursday's session. That's something the running back also did when he was dealing with a calf injury two weeks ago before returning to practice that Friday and subsequently playing Sunday. We'll have to see if that pattern is repeated this time around, with the team's final Week 5 injury report bound to shed added clarity on Mack's status.

Barkley (ankle) was a non-participant at Thursday's practice, Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York reports.

Barkley officially has been listed as a DNP on both of the Giants' Week 5 injury reports. That said, he relayed that he upped his involvement on the side with the training staff Thursday, including running full speed and change-of-direction work, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. While there's little doubt that Barkley will miss a second straight game Sunday versus the Vikings as he recovers from a high right ankle sprain, coach Pat Shurmur has declined to rule out the running back, who also told Vacchiano on Thursday that "there's one more day" to prepare for the contest. As long as he's sidelined, Barkley will continue to yield backfield reps to Wayne Gallman and (to a lesser extent) Jon Hilliman.

Coach Anthony Lynn told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday that Gordon is "definitely going to be part of the game plan" Week 5 against the Broncos and "may even start" in the contest.

After Gordon ended his 64-day holdout and returned to practice Sept. 26, the Chargers made him active for the Week 4 win over the Dolphins, but he was only available in an emergency and ultimately didn't play any snaps behind Austin Ekeler and Troymaine Pope. With Justin Jackson (calf) trending toward missing another game, all three backs should suit up versus Denver, but expect Gordon to at least jump Pope on the depth chart now that he's had more time to get acclimated again. It's worth noting that Lynn said that Gordon's workload Sunday wouldn't be "too big" and added that he "can't give him 50 snaps," seemingly implying the 26-year-old won't definitively supplant Ekeler as the team's top option, at least for this week.

Jacobs (elbow) was a full participant in Thursday's practice.

Jacobs was limited in the Raiders' first session of the week Wednesday due to an elbow issue, but there was never much concern about his availability for Sunday's game against the Bears in London. Jacobs' upgrade to full work in practice supports the notion that he'll suit up this weekend and once again lead the Oakland backfield.

Williams (knee) practiced fully Wednesday.

Meanwhile, LeSean McCoy (ankle) was limited Wednesday. Based on his full participation Wednesday, Williams looks poised to return to action this weekend against the Colts, and in such a scenario, he'd likely return to a timeshare with McCoy (health permitting), with Darrel Williams a candidate to see touches in a complementary role.