NFL Player News

Johnston (ankle) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Eric Smith of the Chargers' official site reports.

Johnston has missed two straight contests, but his ability to continue practicing in a limited fashion offers hope that he could return to action Sunday against the Browns. Once he's cleared to play again, Johnston will bolster a Chargers wideout corps that also features Ladd McConkey (hip) and Joshua Palmer. In the five games he's played this season, Johnston has hauled in 14 of his 22 targets for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

Rice (shoulder) was listed as a limited practice participant Wednesday.

Rice was a healthy scratch for the Chargers' Week 8 game against the Saints. It's unclear when he injured his shoulder, but it caused him to be limited during Wednesday's practice session. The rookie seventh-round pick will have two more chances this week to increase his practice participation before Sunday's game against the Browns.

Davis (hamstring) was listed as a limited practice participant on the Chargers' injury report Wednesday.

Davis has been sidelined for the Chargers' last two regular-season games due to a hamstring injury. He wasn't able to practice all of last week, so his ability to return to the field Wednesday -- albeit in a limited capacity -- is a step in the right direction. Davis will have two more chances this week to increase his practice participation ahead of Sunday's game against Cleveland.

Johnson (ribs) was a full practice participant Wednesday, Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official site reports.

Johnson missed his final game as a member of the Panthers this past weekend due to the rib injury, but after having been traded from Carolina to Baltimore on Tuesday, he's not listed on the Ravens' Week 9 injury report. The wideout is thus in a position to play Sunday against Denver, but with limited time to absorb the playbook, he may not be in store for a heavy snap count in his Ravens debut. Though Johnson will be moving from one of the NFL's worst offenses in Carolina to one of its best in Baltimore, the added competition he'll face for targets from wideouts Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely could make it difficult for Johnson to see enough volume in the passing game to remain a reliable weekly fantasy option.

Head coach Sean McVay said Whittington (shoulder) will be a limited participant at Wednesday's practice, Stu Jackson of the Rams' official site reports.

Whittington managed just one capped session last week before the Rams ruled him out for a Week 8 matchup with the Vikings. He'll thus aim to string together multiple practice appearances this week as the Rams prep for Sunday's visit to Seattle. Even when Whittington is cleared to return, he'll find snaps and targets difficult to come by with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua now healthy again after multi-game absences.

Meyers (ankle) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday.

In his return from a two-game absence due to the ankle injury, Meyers caught six of his seven targets for 52 yards and a touchdown while playing 81 percent of the snaps on offense in this past Sunday's 27-20 loss to the Chiefs. With no reported setbacks coming out of that contest, Meyers' listed limitations Wednesday may just have been maintenance-related.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said Wednesday that Burton deserves more playing time, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Burton played a career-high 41 percent of snaps in Sunday's 37-17 loss to Philadelphia, catching one of three targets for 41 yards while running 16 routes (42 percent share). The bump in playing time came while Tee Higgins (quadricep) was out of action, however, rather than a case of Burton taking playing time away from No. 3 receiver Andrei Iosivas, who has been targeted on just 11.7 percent of his routes while producing 7.0 YPT and 0.79 yards per route. Iosivas has been one of the least productive regulars in the league at his position, perhaps opening the door for Burton -- a rookie third-round pick -- to take on a larger role in the second half of the season. It's unclear if Higgins will be back for Sunday's home game against the Raiders.

Boyd didn't practice Wednesday due to a shoulder injury, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Fellow wideout Calvin Ridley (shoulder) also sat out practice, so both receivers' practice activity will be worth monitoring ahead of Sunday's game against the Patriots. With DeAndre Hopkins now with the Chiefs and with Treylon Burks (knee) on injured reserve, Boyd and Ridley are in line to maintain steady roles in Tennessee's passing attack along with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. After recorded three catches for 14 yards in a 52-14 loss to the Lions in Week 8, Boyd is maintaining a season-long receiving line of 21-184-0 on 30 targets through seven games.

Polk (concussion) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday.

Polk didn't practice in any fashion last week before being ruled out ahead of Sunday's win over the Jets, but he'll take a step forward in his recovery from the concussion by opening Week 9 prep as a limited participant. If the rookie second-round pick clears the five-step concussion protocol and is available Sunday against the Titans, he would be part of a New England wideout group that includes DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Kendrick Bourne.

Ridley missed Wednesday's practice with a shoulder injury.

Ridley handled an 80 percent snap share and a 92 percent route share in Sunday's 52-14 loss at Detroit, catching 10 of 15 targets for 143 yards. The Titans have offered no indication that his shoulder injury is serious, but another absence from practice Thursday would create some doubt about Ridley's availability for a home game against the Patriots this Sunday. Out of his 326 receiving yards this season, 36.2 percent came in the first quarter of the blowout loss to Detroit.