NFL Player News

Rice brought in three of five targets for 29 yards and a touchdown and rushed once for minus-3 yards in the Chiefs' 21-20 loss to the Lions on Thursday night.

The rookie found a way to make an immediate impact, recording a one-yard touchdown grab early in the second quarter for the Chiefs' first points of the new season. Rice finished tied for second in receptions and for the lead in targets on a night where Patrick Mahomes spread the ball around to 11 different players in the absence of Travis Kelce (knee). Therefore, it's difficult to gauge exactly how much volume he might see during a Week 2 road matchup against the Jaguars a week from Sunday if the All-Pro tight end suits up for that contest.

McCloud (wrist) was a limited participant at the 49ers' practice Thursday, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

McCloud suffered a broken wrist in early August, but he's been recovering ahead of schedule and opened the week with consecutive limited practices. The wide receiver will have one more chance to practice Friday before the team makes a decision on his official status for Sunday's regular season opener versus the Steelers.

Waddle (oblique) practiced fully Thursday, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Waddle -- who was limited Wednesday -- previously noted that he expected to suit up for Sunday's season opener against the Chargers, and his return to a full practice session Thursday solidifies that outcome. As the coming season approaches, Waddle and Tyreek Hill are slated to form a dynamic 1-2 WR combo in Miami's Tua Tagovailoa-helmed offense.

Jeudy (hamstring) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.

Jeudy's right hamstring injury resulted in his reps being capped for the second straight day, but he still believes he'll be able to suit up Sunday against the Raiders, per Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. At the same time, Jeudy acknowledged that his availability for Sunday will be contingent on him continuing to show improvement, so the Broncos may need to see the wideout put in a full practice Friday in order to feel comfortable making him active Week 1. If Jeudy ends up sitting out Sunday, rookie Marvin Mims would be in store for a larger role alongside starting wideout Courtland Sutton. Head coach Sean Payton could also make frequent use of two tight end formations featuring second-year player Greg Dulcich and offseason pickup Adam Trautman.

Philadelphia cut Ngata from its practice squad Thursday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

A little over a week after bringing him onto their practice squad, the Eagles have already decided to cut ties with Ngata. The undrafted rookie will now have to look for another opportunity to make an impression elsewhere.

Beckham was listed as limited by an ankle injury during Thursday's practice.

Beckham wasn't mentioned on Wednesday's injury report, so his addition to it Thursday is worth monitoring. Friday's final report of the week should add further context to the wideout's chances of suiting up for Sunday's season opener against the Texans.

Hodge (ankle) was a full participant at practice Thursday ahead of Sunday's game versus Carolina, Scott Blair of the Falcons' official site reports.

After progressing from missing practice Monday to registering a limited practice Wednesday, Hodge was back up to full speed Thursday. He figures to run primarily out of the slot for Atlanta again in 2023 and will try to improve on the 20 targets he drew a season ago.

Bateman avoided the Ravens' Week 1 injury report and reiterated Wednesday that he's fully recovered from last year's Lisfranc foot surgery and ready to go for Sunday's season opener versus the Texans, Clifton Brown of the Ravens' official site reports.

Bateman has been snakebitten on the injury front through his first two NFL seasons, missing the first five games of his rookie campaign while recovering from groin surgery and then playing just six games in 2022 before sustaining the foot injury. The 23-year-old has at least looked like a foundational piece for the Baltimore passing attack when healthy, compiling a 61-800-3 receiving line on 96 targets through his first 18 career games. He'll face more competition for targets at receiver in 2023 with the Ravens adding veterans Odell Beckham and Nelson Agholor and first-round draft pick Zay Flowers to the position group, but Bateman still boasts the sort of speed and athleticism to emerge as the No. 1 option among the quartet.

Parker (knee) remained limited at practice Thursday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

After having logged back-to-back limited sessions, Parker probably needs to practice fully Friday in order to avoid a Week 1 injury designation. If he's available Sunday against the Eagles, Parker would be in line to play a key role in a New England WR corps that also features JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne.

Hardman (finger) wasn't listed Thursday on the Jets' first Week 1 injury report, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Hardman and Allen Lazard (shoulder) were both nursing minor injuries coming out of the preseason finale, but the Jets will enter Monday's season opener versus the Bills with their receiving corps at full strength after all seven members of the position group logged full practices Thursday. Garrett Wilson and Lazard should be locked in as the Jets' No. 1 and 2 receivers heading into Monday's game, while Hardman had been battling Randall Cobb for the No. 3 role for much of training camp and the preseason. Cobb had been seeing more first-team work as of last week, but regardless of whether Cobb or Hardman serves as the Jets' starting slot man against the Bills, both players could end up splitting the snaps.