NFL Player News

Shepard (hamstring) isn't participating in Friday's practice, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Shepard will have another opportunity Saturday to potentially get in some practice reps before the Buccaneers determine whether he carries a designation into Monday's game at Kansas City. With Chris Godwin (ankle) on injured reserve and with Mike Evans (hamstring) already ruled out for the Week 9 contest, the Buccaneers' depleted receiver room would take another hit if Shepard is also sidelined against the Chiefs.

Jeudy (knee) was limited at practice Thursday.

Jeudy practiced fully Wednesday, so his addition to the Browns' injury report a day later makes his status worth tracking. The team's upcoming injury report will relay whether the wideout approaches Sunday's game against the Chargers with an injury designation or cleared for Week 9 action.

Higgins (quad) wasn't spotted at practice Friday, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

With Higgins also having missed Wednesday and Thursday's practices, his status for Sunday's game against the Raiders looks cloudy. The Bengals' upcoming injury report will reveal whether Higgins has any chance of playing this weekend, but if he remains sidelined versus Las Vegas, added Week 9 snaps would be available for Jermaine Burton and Trenton Irwin.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Friday that Samuel (pectoral) will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

After sitting out the Week 8 win over the Seahawks, Samuel was a limited participant in the Bills' first two practices of the week and evidently isn't in line to do enough work at Friday's practice to fully convince the coaching staff that he'll be ready to go Sunday. Provided Samuel is able to maintain at least limited practice activity Friday, he should still have a decent chance at playing against the Dolphins, though the 28-year-old wideout probably won't be in store for a significant role on offense if he suits up. Through his first seven games with the Bills, Samuel has played more than 50 percent of the offensive snaps on just one occasion (in Week 5), and he's yet to earn more than four touches in any of his appearances.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Cooper (wrist) will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

He'll be one of two Bills receivers who will take a designation into Sunday, as Curtis Samuel (pectoral) will join Cooper as questionable after both wideouts were limited participants in practice Wednesday and Thursday. The fact that Cooper was able to practice in some fashion this week seemingly bodes well for his chances of suiting up Sunday, but official word on his status may not arrive until closer to the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff. If Cooper ends up inactive Week 9 or is able to play only limited snaps, more targets could be in the offing for wide receivers Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Corley rushed once for 18 yards and lost a fumble in Thursday's 21-13 win over the Texans.

Corley's first NFL carry was memorable for a different reason than he would have liked, as he got into the open field and raced into the end zone but flipped the ball out of his hand as he was crossing the goal line, and a review revealed that the ball left his hand prior to crossing the goal line. It then rolled out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. The 2024 third-round draft pick has just one target in his NFL career, and while Corley showed some promising ability in the open field on his lone touch Thursday, careless mental errors won't ingratiate him with the Jets' coaching staff.

Sims returned four kickoffs for 106 yards and one punt for zero yards in Thursday's 21-13 loss to the Jets in Week 9.

Sims was the main returner for the night, as Houston was without Dameon Pierce (groin) and didn't want to expose Robert Woods in a game where the team's top two wideouts were not available. Sims played just six snaps on offense and has not yet been targeted in 2024.

Metchie failed to catch either of his two targets in Thursday's 21-13 loss to the Jets in Week 9.

With the team's top wideouts sidelined, Metchie was in line to take on a greater role, but it didn't work out that way. Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud spent much of the night running away from or getting hit by Jets defenders, which made a mess of the passing attack. Metchie, who played a season-high 50 snaps, and fellow wideout Xavier Hutchinson (59 snaps, three targets, no catches) were non-factors in the loss.

Hutchinson did not catch any of his three targets in Thursday's 21-13 loss to the Jets in Week 9.

Houston's passing attack was expected to be challenged with both Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (knee) unavailable, which made the possibility of Hutchinson or John Metchie having a productive game. However, the offensive line put an end to any such notion. Quarterback C.J. Stroud was was sacked eight times, hit on another 11 attempts and was running for his life all game. Beyond Tank Dell's 126 yards, there was little else happening for receivers. Hutchinson, who led the wideouts with 59 snaps, and Metchie (two targets, no catches) were shut out in the loss.

Woods caught two of three targets for 44 yards in Thursday's 21-13 loss to the Jets in Week 9.

Woods got the start with both Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (knee) unavailable. He played 39 snaps and contributed a 32-yard reception to Houston's lone touchdown drive in the second quarter. If Collins returns as expected for Week 10, then Woods would likely return to a depth role. He has seven catches (on 10 targets) for 90 yards in seven games played.