NFL Player News

Dotson missed practice Wednesday for personal reasons but is expected to return Thursday, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Dotson's two best fantasy games of the season came in the past two weeks, both featuring touchdowns and his top two yardage totals (108 and 69). Assuming he rejoins the team Thursday, Dotson should be ready to fill his usual starting role Sunday at Seattle.

Chase (back) isn't present for Wednesday, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Head coach Zac Taylor already said earlier this week that Chase would be a limited participant Wednesay, if the wideout was able to practice at all. Chase looks like he'll go down as a non-participant on the Bengals' first Week 10 injury report, though he seemingly still has decent odds to play this Sunday at the Texans. He was able to return to this past Sunday's 24-18 win over the Bills shortly after taking a hard fall, ultimately playing 90 percent of the available snaps.

The Vikings designated Jefferson (hamstring) for return from injured reserve Wednesday.

Jefferson will resume practicing Wednesday, opening a 21-day window in which he can be reinstated to the active roster. A report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network earlier Wednesday suggested the wideout won't necessarily play this Sunday against the Saints, though it's certainly possible Jefferson suits up if he looks good on the practice field the next few days. Jefferson will return to an offense led by quarterback Joshua Dobbs, after Kirk Cousins suffered a torn Achilles' tendon Week 8 and Jaren Hall entered concussion protocol Week 9. Dobbs led the Vikings to a comeback victory following Hall's departure, and Dobbs has since been tabbed as Minnesota's starter for Week 10 against the Saints, and likely beyond.

Woods (foot) isn't practicing Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Woods hasn't played since Week 6 and didn't practice in any fashion last week, so the wideout's continued absence Wednesday clouds his availability for Sunday's contest against the Bengals. If Woods remains out for a third consecutive game, Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Noah Brown would continue to headline the Texans' receiving corps.

Jefferson (hamstring) is expected to practice this week but won't necessarily play Sunday against the Saints, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The Vikings appear poised to designate Jefferson for a return from injured reserve --possibly as soon as later Wednesday -- a transaction that would open a 21-day window in which he can be evaluated before being reinstated to the active roster. His fantasy value has taken a hit with quarterback Kirk Cousins (Achilles) out for the season, but any thought of shutting Jefferson down or resting him longer than necessary seems to have gone out the window with Minnesota winnings four straight games and currently in position for the No. 7 seed in the NFC. His talent and dominant target share should allow Jefferson to remain a high-end fantasy starter with Joshua Dobbs (or Jaren Hall) at quarterback, though he probably won't be quite as efficient as he was with Cousins under center.

Chark (elbow) is listed as doubtful for Thursday's game against the Bears.

Chark has missed three straight practices leading up to Thursday's road contest, despite getting in some limited practice sessions the week prior and even managing to suit up versus the Colts this past Sunday. At this point, Chark looks to be trending toward an absence for the Week 10 matchup. His status will be made official when the Panthers release their inactive list 90 minutes prior to Thursday's 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff.

Burks (concussion) won't practice Wednesday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Per Wyatt, head coach Mike Vrabel previously relayed that Burks remains in the NFL's concussion protocol and isn't expected to be available Sunday against the Buccaneers. If Burks is in fact sidelined this weekend, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Chris Moore and Kyle Philips would be in line to fill snaps at receiver behind No. 1 wideout DeAndre Hopkins.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said that London (knee) will be back on the practice field Wednesday, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

London wasn't able to practice in any capacity last week en route to being listed as inactive ahead of the Falcons' loss to the Vikings, but Smith says the wideout is now "trending in the right direction." If London is indeed able to practice in even a limited capacity Wednesday, it will represent a notable step toward him being available to play this Sunday in Arizona.

Jones (thumb) was designated to return from IR on Wednesday.

Jones will now have a 21-day window to practice with the team before he needs to be added to the 53-man roster. However, the 2023 fourth-round selection could return as soon as Sunday against the Texans. Although he only played three snaps on offense in three contests before he suffered the thumb injury, the 25-year-old was operating as the team's punt returner, a role he'll work to get back once he retakes the field.

Thompkins was not targeted over nine snaps but returned three kickoffs for 54 yards and ran back three punts for 22 yards in the Buccaneers' 39-37 loss to the Texans on Sunday.

Thompkins was once again way behind No. 3 wideout Trey Palmer (48 snaps) in terms of playing time and logged just one more snap than fellow reserve Rakim Jarrett, although the latter joined Thompkins in going without a target. The diminutive Thompkins does have 13 receptions on the campaign, but he's now gone without a target in back-to-back games and only carries fantasy value in deep formats that count return yards.