NFL Player News

Brown (groin) was a non-participant in Thursday's practice.

After opening Week 5 prep Wednesday as a limited participant, Brown's downgrade to no activity a day later creates more uncertainty about his status for Sunday's game against the Browns. The Commanders will wait and see what, if anything, Brown can do at Friday's practice before potentially handing him a designation heading into the weekend.

Woods (foot) didn't practice Thursday.

Woods practiced fully Wednesday, so his DNP a day later is notable. On the plus side for the Texans, Tank Dell (chest) has logged back-to-back limited sessions. If he's able to play Sunday against the Bills, Woods, if available, presumably would move back to a reserve role behind Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Dell.

Hardman (knee) was a limited participant in practice Thursday.

Hardman will open the week on the team's injury report, but with the Chiefs not playing until Monday night against the Saints, he still has a few days to recuperate. If he's ultimately unable to play Skyy Moore and Xavier Worthy would be candidates to fill in as Kansas City's return men.

Robinson (heel) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Robinson now has opened Week 5 prep with back-to-back capped sessions, giving him just one more opportunity to get back to full participation before the Giants potentially tag him with a designation ahead of Sunday's game at Seattle. Meanwhile, fellow WR Malik Nabers (concussion) seems to be trending in the wrong direction with no practice reps to speak of so far this week, so if Robinson is available Sunday, he likely would serve as the top pass catcher available to QB Daniel Jones. Through four contests on the campaign, Robinson has hauled in 26 of 38 targets for 194 yards and one touchdown.

Carter (ribs) was a limited participant in practice Thursday.

Carter logged a DNP on Wednesday, so this is a step in the right direction for the veteran wideout and return man. However, his status for Sunday's game against the Panthers remains in question. If he's unable to play, the team may make Velus Jones active for the first time since Week 1 to handle return duties in the kicking game.

The Chiefs placed Rice (knee) on injured reserve Thursday.

Rice is slated to undergo testing on his right knee next week, after which the Chiefs will have a better idea regarding the severity of the injury he suffered in this past Sunday's win over the Chargers. At the very least, Rice's move to IR ensures that the wideout will miss at least the team's next four games. In Rice's absence, tight end Travis Kelce could take on a heightened role in the passing attack on short and intermediate routes, while wideouts Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Skyy Moore are all candidates to see their involvement on offense expand.

Watson (ankle) didn't participate in Thursday's practice, Ryan Wood of USA Today reports.

Though head coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday that Watson will avoid a stint on injured reserve after suffering a high-ankle sprain in this past Sunday's loss to Minnesota, the injury will almost certainly force the wideout to miss at least a game or two. Unsurprisingly, Watson has missed the Packers' first two Week 5 practices, and if he remains sidelined again Friday, he'll likely be ruled out in advance of Sunday's trip to Los Angeles against the Rams.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that Doubs didn't practice Thursday due to a "personal reason," Ryan Wood of USA Today reports.

LaFleur said that while he hopes Doubs will be back with the team for their final practice of the week Friday, the coach acknowledged that the wideout's status for Sunday's game against the Rams is uncertain for the moment. If Doubs rejoins the Packers and suits up Sunday, he could be in store for a slight uptick in snaps with fellow wideout Christian Watson (ankle) trending toward sitting out against the Rams. After Watson was limited to just nine snaps in this past Sunday's 31-29 loss to the Vikings due to the injury, Doubs drew a season-high eight targets, finishing the day with four catches for 39 yards.

Coker (foot) did not practice Thursday.

Coker was a full participant Wednesday, suggesting he may have injured his foot in practice. A late-week downgrade isn't typically a good sign for a player's weekend availability, but the Holy Cross product will try and get back on the field Friday ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Bears.

Johnson (ankle) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.

Johnson took a step forward from Wednesday, when he opened the practice week as a non-participant due to the ankle issue. The wideout will look to upgrade to full activity Friday, and if he does, Johnson will likely head into Sunday's game against the Bears without an injury designation. Johnson has demonstrated a strong rapport with Andy Dalton through the latter's first two turns as Carolina's starting quarterback, stringing together a 15-205-2 receiving line on 27 targets between a Week 3 win over the Raiders and a Week 4 loss to the Bengals.