NFL Player News

Jones (knee) was a limited participant in practice Wednesday, Mia O'Brien of 1010 XL 92.5 FM Jacksonville reports.

Prior to the session, head coach Doug Pederson labeled Jones as day-to-day, after the receiver had missed the Jaguars' previous two games with the knee injury, per Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union. Jones at least seems to be trending in the right direction for Week 5, as he failed to practice in any capacity last week. Jacksonville will be playing a second consecutive game in London this Sunday, taking on a high-powered Bills squad that put up 48 points against the Dolphins in Week 4. Jones will have two more opportunities to practice in full and further bolster his chances of returning to game action.

St. Brown was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday's estimated practice report due to an abdominal injury.

Head coach Dan Campbell was non-committal about St. Brown's availability for Week 5 earlier Wednesday due to a health concern, which now has been clarified. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, St. Brown was spotted at Tuesday's unofficial practice running at full speed on the side, which generally would be a decent sign that he'll be able to play through the pain. Still, St. Brown wouldn't have taken part Wednesday if the Lions had held a session, so his status will be one to watch as the week goes on to get a sense of his availability for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

Beckham (ankle) is taking part in practice Wednesday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

Beckham got injured Week 2 and Rashod Bateman (hamstring) went down Week 3, allowing Nelson Agholor and Devin Duvernay to take on larger-than-usual roles in a 28-3 win over the Browns this past Sunday. Zay Flowers leads the team in targets, routes and receiving yards -- and was well ahead of Beckham and Bateman even before their injuries -- but there might be room for a second wide receiver to put up decent numbers if Lamar Jackson starts to get more pass attempts (26.3 per game through four weeks). Beckham drew seven targets and two long defensive pass interference calls in six quarters of action pre-injury, while Bateman mostly was limited to slot snaps in three-receiver formations and managed only 59 yards over the first three weeks. The Ravens should get at least one of the wideouts back in the lineup -- if not both -- for Sunday's road game against the Steelers

Shakir (head) wasn't listed on Buffalo's initial Week 5 injury report Wednesday, Chris Brown of Bills Radio Network reports.

Shakir was evaluated for a head injury during Sunday's 48-20 win over the Dolphins, but he has evidently avoided a concussion and practiced fully with the rest of his healthy teammates to begin Week 5 prep. The second-year wideout should be available this Sunday for the Bills' game against the Jaguars in London, but he holds only a minor role in the Buffalo passing attack. He's played fewer than 30 percent of the snaps on offense in each of the team's first four games and has cobbled together a modest 2-16-1 receiving line on three targets.

Mingo (concussion) wasn't listed on the Panthers' first Week 5 injury report Wednesday.

Mingo sustained a concussion during a Week 3 loss at Seattle and proceeded to be listed as a limited participant on all three practice reports last week. Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site relayed Sunday that Mingo officially cleared the concussion protocol, but the rookie wide receiver was inactive against the Vikings because he didn't log a full session prior to the contest. Now that he's able to take part in all on-field work to begin Week 5 prep, Mingo will return as a regular contributor to Carolina's offense for this Sunday's game in Detroit.

Claypool (non-injury) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against Washington.

Head coach Matt Eberflus said as much Monday, and the Bears then made it official Wednesday by ruling Claypool out on the final Week 5 injury report with "other" being listed as the reason behind his absence. The wideout was a healthy scratch ahead of Sunday's 31-28 loss to Denver, two days after intimating to reporters that the Chicago coaching staff hadn't been using him correctly. Equanimeous St. Brown filled in as the No. 3 receiver Week 4, drawing just one target in what continued to be a low-volume role. The Bears likely will trade or release Claypool in the coming weeks.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll said that Shepard is likely to receive more playing time Sunday against the Dolphins, Art Stapleton of The Record Sports reports.

Shepard has yet to play more than 20 percent of New York's offensive snaps in any of his four appearances this season. Daboll said Wednesday that the team had more packages featuring Shepard in its playbook for Monday's 24-3 loss to Seattle, but the Giants weren't able to get those play calls due to the flow of the game. Shepard was on the field for only five snaps Monday, catching his lone target for six yards. With the Giants getting underwhelming production from their other wide receivers, Shepard could carve out a larger role moving forward if Daboll follows through with his plan.

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

Burks sat out this past Sunday's win over the Bengals with the knee injury, and with another missed practice to start Week 5 prep, his status for this Sunday's game against the Colts is cloudy. If Burks remains sidelined for another game, Chris Moore and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine would be in line for expanded roles behind No. 1 wideout DeAndre Hopkins.

Samuel (quadriceps) doesn't have an injury designation for Thursday's game against the Bears.

Samuel was listed as a non-participant for Monday's walk-through session and was limited in practices Tuesday and Wednesday, but he'll be good to go Thursday. Washington usually has a package of short throws and jet sweeps in place for the shifty Samuel, who has 17 catches on 20 targets for 178 yards to go with 20 yards and a touchdown on three rushing attempts through four games. He'll look to make the most of those touches against a porous Chicago defense that has given up 34.3 points per game through four weeks.

Dotson (ankle) doesn't have an injury designation for Thursday's game against the Bears.

Dotson is good to go for a favorable matchup against a Chicago defense that has allowed 34.3 points per game through the first four weeks of the season. The 2022 first-round draft pick finally scored his first touchdown of the season in last week's loss to the Eagles after finding the end zone seven times in 12 games as a rookie. Dotson has drawn a healthy 25 targets through four games but has yet to exceed 40 yards in any week.