NFL Player News

Brown (rest/knee) was a limited practice participant Thursday.

The Eagles have held back-to-back walkthroughs this week, for which Brown has had a cap on his reps. Josh Tolentino of The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Brown was donning a compression sleeve on his left leg as he went through drills. Considering 'rest' was added next to Brown's name on Thursday's injury report, he may not be in any danger of sitting out Sunday against the Saints. Friday's report will reveal whether he has a designation ahead of that contest.

Samuel (knee) was spotted on the field for the open portion of Thursday's practice, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Samuel hasn't logged any recorded practice activity since spraining his left knee and ankle in a Dec. 11 win over Tampa Bay, but he looks poised to go down as either a limited or full participant on the 49ers' second Week 17 injury report, which will be released later Thursday. Samuel looks like he'll have a chance to put an end to a two-game absence and suit up this Sunday in Las Vegas, but his availability for that contest will be contingent on how he fares in practice Thursday and Friday.

Johnson (hip) was a full practice participant Thursday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Johnson, who managed a toe issue ahead of Week 16 action, was limited during Wednesday's practice, but the wideout's full participation Thursday puts him on track to suit up Sunday night against the Ravens. In his team's 13-10 win over the Raiders last Saturday, Johnson recorded an 88 percent snap share while catching five of his seven targets for 64 yards. This time around, he'll be facing a Baltimore defense that is allowing an average of 239.5 passing yards per game to date.

Olave (hamstring) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday.

With back-to-back capped sessions under his belt to begin Week 17 prep, Olave is in a better spot than a week ago, when he didn't practice at all before he was sidelined this past Saturday at Cleveland with a hamstring issue. It remains to be seen if he'll enter this weekend with a designation for Sunday's game in Philadelphia, something that will become known once the Saints release their final injury report of the week Friday.

Pettis (ankle) didn't practice Thursday.

According to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, Pettis hurt his ankle at Wednesday's session, which was the reason he went down as limited. Pettis has just one more chance to mix into drills this week, but on a positive note fellow injured wide receivers Chase Claypool (knee) and Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) both returned Thursday as limited participants, so the Bears appear to be inching toward better health at the position.

St. Brown (concussion) was limited at Thursday's practice.

Making his first appearance on the practice field since suffering a concussion Week 15 against the Eagles, St. Brown still has multiple phases to complete before the Bears can clear him from the protocol for head injuries. As for the rest of Chicago's injured wide receivers, Chase Claypool (knee) returned Thursday with a cap on his reps, while Dante Pettis (ankle) didn't log any activity, leaving question marks in the position group ahead of Sunday's game at Detroit.

Claypool (knee) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday.

After missing the last two games due to a knee injury, Claypool made his return to practice for the first time since Week 13. This marks his first visible sign of progress in his recovery effort, but it remains to be seen if he'll gain clearance to play Sunday at Detroit. Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) also was limited Thursday, while Dante Pettis (ankle) sat out, so the Bears have a number of question marks in the receiving corps in the midst of Week 17 prep.

Cooper (rest/hip) returned to a limited practice Thursday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Cooper has been managing a hip issue of late, but his presence at practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday's session has him trending in the right direction ahead of Sunday's game against the Commanders. Friday's injury report will reveal whether the Browns' top wideout heads into the weekend with an injury designation or cleared to play, but assuming he's available, Cooper should remain busy versus Washington on the heels of catching six of his 10 targets for 72 yards in this past Saturday's loss to the Saints.

Hinton (hamstring) will be a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

After not practicing in any capacity the past two weeks while sitting out a win over the Cardinals and a loss to the Rams, Hinton has now turned in a pair of limited practices to begin Week 17 prep. Fellow receivers Courtland Sutton (hamstring) and Jerry Jeudy (ankle) have joined Hinton as limited participants in both of the Broncos' first two practices of the week, but since those two played in the Christmas Day loss to Los Angeles, they both appear to be good bets to suit up Sunday in Kansas City. Hinton, on the other hand, may need to graduate to full participation at Friday's practice to prove his injury is behind him and guarantee his availability for Sunday.

Jeudy (ankle) will remain a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

Each of Denver's top three receivers will have their reps capped for the second day in a row, with Courtland Sutton (hamstring) and Kendall Hinton (hamstring) joining Jeudy as limited participants. Considering both Jeudy and Sutton played north of 75 percent of the snaps on offense in Sunday's 51-14 loss to the Rams and neither is believed to be dealing with any reported setbacks with their respective injuries, the two are likely having their practice participation managed for maintenance-related reasons. Hinton, meanwhile, has sat out Denver's last two games and may need to advance to full participation to get cleared for Sunday's game in Kansas City.