NFL Player News

Wilson was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice due to a hip injury.

Wilson is coming off his two highest snap shares of the campaign and notched eight catches (on 10 targets) for 85 yards and one touchdown between Weeks 6 and 7. With Rashid Shaheed out for the rest of the season due to meniscus surgery and Chris Olave in the concussion protocol, Wilson has an opportunity to continue being relevant in the Saints offense, but a health concern now puts a potential wrench in that expectation.

McConkey (hip) didn't practice Wednesday.

McConkey was a limited practice participant leading up to Monday's 17-15 loss to the Cardinals, but was able to play through his hip issue while recording an 86 percent snap share and catching five of his seven targets in the contest for 46 yards. With no reported setbacks since then, his listed absence for Wednesday's practice could have been maintenance-related.

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

Meyers didn't practice in any capacity last week before missing a second straight game in Sunday's loss to the Rams, but his presence at Wednesday's session is an encouraging sign for his chances of playing this weekend against the Chiefs. Once Meyers returns to the lineup, a high-volume role should await him, given that the Raiders' former top wideout, Davante Adams, is now with the Jets.

Olave (concussion) practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Making his first appearance on the field since suffering a concussion Oct. 13 against the Buccaneers, Olave was operating with a cap on his reps, indicating he still has a few hurdles to get past in the protocol for head injuries, including clearance from an independent neurologist. His activity level Thursday and Friday may be telling for his chances to return to action Sunday at the Chargers.

The Dolphins signed Black (undisclosed) to the practice squad Wednesday.

Black spent most of the 2023 regular season on the Ravens' practice squad. He signed with the Steelers during the offseason to compete for a roster spot during training camp, but he was waived with an injury settlement in mid-August due to an unspecified issue. Black appears to be over whatever was ailing him, and he'll provide the Dolphins some much-needed depth at wide receiver after Braxton Berrios (knee) was placed on injured reserve Monday and with Jaylen Waddle nursing a quadriceps injury.

Sims (back) was listed as a DNP on Wednesday's injury report.

Sims suffered a back injury in the leadup to the Texans' Week 7 game against the Packers, which was severe enough for him to be sidelined. He'll have two more chances to practice in some capacity this week ahead of Houston's Week 8 AFC South clash against Indianapolis on Sunday.

Whittington (shoulder) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Vikings, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Whittington earned some sway in a Rams passing game missing Puka Nacua (knee) since Week 1 and Cooper Kupp (ankle) since Week 2, culminating with 13 combined catches (on 18 targets) for 151 yards between Weeks 4 and 5. However, Whittington emerged from a Week 5 loss to the Packers with a shoulder injury, and even with the benefit of a Week 6 bye, he handled just nine offensive snaps and wasn't targeted this past Sunday versus the Raiders. Now that Whittington is out Week 8, Kupp will be available, Nacua is listed as questionable but remains on injured reserve, and Tutu Atwell, Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson and Xavier Smith all are healthy, which may not leave much work for Whittington once he gets healthy.

Douglas (illness) isn't listed on the Patriots' Week 8 injury report released Wednesday.

An illness limited Douglas to 20 snaps in this past Sunday's 32-16 loss to the Jaguars, but the wideout is evidently back at full strength, given that he avoided the injury report ahead of Sunday's game against the Jets. As a result, Douglas should return to his normal workload this weekend and serve as one of quarterback Drake Maye's preferred targets. While playing roughly six quarters of the two games that Maye has started, Douglas has turned in an 8-106-1 receiving line on 12 targets.

Waddle was a limited participant in practice Wednesday due to a quadricep injury, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Waddle still has two opportunities to upgrade to full practice participation, which would put him in position to avoid an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Cardinals. Meanwhile, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since Week 2, and the expectation is that he'll clear the five-step concussion protocol and return from injured reserve to start Sunday. Waddle would stand to benefit substantially from Tagovailoa's return under center. The receiver had 150 receiving yards across Tagovailoa's two starts this season, and just 119 receiving yards in the four games Tagovailoa missed.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Brown (shoulder) is "on schedule, or a little but ahead" in his recovery from September surgery, Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports.

That said, Reid cautioned that it's "going to be a while" before Brown plays, though the receiver is a "relentless worker" who seems to be doing well up to this point in his recovery. Around the time he had surgery, multiple reports suggested Brown was unlikely to play in the regular season, with any shot to return dependent on the Chiefs making another playoff run. The team's wideout corps has changed considerably since Week 1, first losing Rashee Rice to a season-ending knee injury and then adding DeAndre Hopkins via trade.