NFL Player News

Denver cut Davis from its practice squad Wednesday, Mike Klis of 9News Denver reports.

After a brief stint with the organization to start November, Davis re-signed with Denver's practice squad at the beginning of December and has remained there since. However, he never saw any elevations and has been let go following the regular season. The undrafted wideout out of Northwest Missouri State has yet to make his NFL debut.

The Steelers signed Fitzpatrick to a reserve/future contract Wednesday, Teresa Varley of the team's official site reports.

Fitzpatrick spent the majority of the campaign on the Steelers' practice squad, but he saw one elevation in Week 5, through he failed to garner a target across five offensive snaps. With his new contract, the 2021 fourth-round pick will have a chance to compete for a roster spot throughout the offseason.

McCloud went without a target across 12 snaps on offense in Sunday's win over the Cardinals.

McCloud had played north of 40 percent of the snaps on offense in each of the 49ers' previous four games, but with Deebo Samuel (ankle/knee) returning to action for the regular-season finale, McCloud saw his role get downsized. The 26-year-old is slated to serve as a depth piece within the 49ers' receiving corps heading into the postseason, with McCloud most likely to provide his biggest impact in the return game for the duration of San Francisco's postseason run. He appeared in all 17 games during the regular season, logging 243 receiving yards, 78 rushing yards, two total touchdowns and 955 combined return yards.

Wilson (hip/groin) was limited during Wednesday's practice, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

Wilson returned to practice Wednesday, albeit in a limited fashion, for the first time since he suffered the hip injury in Week 17. He'll have two more chances to practice before Miami needs to make a decision on his status for Sunday's wild-card matchup against Buffalo, though it appears he's trending in the right direction to begin prep.

Waddle (ankle) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

Per Adam H. Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com, head coach Mike McDaniel said earlier this week that he would be "very surprised" if Waddle is unable to play in Sunday's wild-card game against the Bills. That said, the wideout will likely need to return to a full practice by Friday in order to avoid approaching the contest with an injury designation.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Higgins didn't practice Wednesday due to an illness, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Higgins now has two more chances to practice as Sunday's wild-card round matchup against the Ravens approaches, but the wideout's absence from Wednesday's session makes his status work tracking. He's coming off a quiet effort in the Bengals' 27-16 win over Baltimore this past Sunday, when he caught just one of his seven targets for seven yards.

Hodge caught 13 of 20 targets for 202 yards and a touchdown across 17 appearances during the 2022 campaign.

Hodge caught five of six targets for 95 yards over the first two games of the season, but he failed to provide consistent production the rest of the way. He was held without a catch 10 times across his next 15 appearances and caught just one pass over the final six games of the campaign, four of which came with Desmond Ridder at the helm. Nonetheless, Hodge still posted a career-high 202 receiving yards during the campaign and may have interest in re-signing with Atlanta in free agency this offseason, though the Falcons may elect to completely overhaul their wideout corps behind Drake London.

Byrd caught 13 of 23 targets for 268 yards and two touchdowns across 14 appearances during the 2022 campaign.

From Weeks 7 through 11, Byrd caught nine of 14 targets for 229 yards and two touchdowns, displaying major big-play ability. However, he saw two or fewer targets in his other nine appearances and was held without a catch in five of those games. The veteran wideout has played for five different teams in as many campaigns and will be a free agent again this offseason.

McKenzie was listed as a limited practice participant Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports.

It's unclear if the hamstring issue is something McKenzie picked up during the Bills' Week 18 win over the Patriots or during Wednesday's practice. Either way, the wideout's status is now worth tracking ahead of the Bills' wild-card game against the Dolphins on Sunday.

Williams (back) isn't participating in Wednesday's practice, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

Williams failed to take the field for Tuesday's walk-though session, so what the wideout is able to do during Thursday's practice should be telling with regard to his chances of suiting up for Saturday's wild-card game against the Jaguars. On Monday, head coach Brandon Staley noted that Williams, who sustained a back contusion in Week 18, is expected to practice at some point this week before the Chargers take on Jacksonville.