NFL Player News

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

Sutton hasn't graduated to full practice activity since suffering his hamstring injury in the Broncos' Week 13 loss to Baltimore, but it didn't prevent him from putting an end to a two-game absence and playing Christmas Day in Los Angeles. In the Broncos' 51-14 loss to the Rams, Sutton played 79 percent of the snaps on offense and finished with five catches for 64 yards on seven targets. The Broncos haven't indicated that Sutton suffered a setback with the hamstring in that game, and his continued participation in practice in any capacity suggests he's trending toward suiting up this weekend in Kansas City.

Hardman (abdomen) wasn't spotted at practice Thursday, Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports.

After being designated for return from injured reserve Dec. 14, Hardman has been practicing for the past two-plus weeks, with head coach Andy Reid suggesting Wednesday that the receiver would likely be activated ahead of Sunday's game against the Broncos. Hardman's absence from practice suddenly makes his availability for Sunday less of a sure bet, though he could put to rest some of the concern about his status by getting back on the field Friday in some capacity. Since the Chiefs have a full 21-day window to evaluate Hardman before he would need to be added back to the 53-man roster, the team can wait until next week to activate him if there's any concern he won't be ready to play against Denver.

Smith (foot) practiced in full Thursday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Smith was forced out of this past Saturday's win against Detroit with a foot injury, which forced an MRI on Tuesday. While the results of that test are unknown, he followed up Wednesday's capped session by logging all on-field work one day later. Smith thus is good to take on his tertiary role in the Panthers' passing game Week 17 at Tampa Bay, which has contained him to less than 30 yards in all but one of his 15 appearances this season.

Dulin (concussion) is not practicing Thursday, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star reports.

Dulin remains in the league's five-step concussion protocol due to a hit sustained during Monday's loss to the Chargers. His last chance to get back on the practice field prior to Sunday's game against the Giants will be Friday. If Dulin isn't available Week 17, depth wideout Mike Strachan could see a slightly increased role.

Watson (hip) wasn't spotted at Thursday's practice, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

It was previously noted that the wideout was in line to practice in a limited fashion, but Watson -- who didn't practice Wednesday -- could end up going down as a 'DNP' after all. If that's the case, what Watson does Friday will be key with regard to his prospects of playing Sunday against the Vikings.

The Falcons placed Emezie (undisclosed) on the practice squad injured list Thursday.

Emezie's 2022 campaign comes to an early close due to the timing of his placement on practice squad IR. The rookie wideout will have to wait until 2023 for his next opportunity to push for an NFL debut.

Parker (concussion) wasn't spotted at practice Thursday, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Parker didn't practice Wednesday, so at this stage his status for Sunday's game against the Dolphins is cloudy. If Parker, who last played Week 14, remains out this weekend, Jakobi Meyers, Tyquan Thornton (knee), Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor would be in line to lead New England's wideout corps Week 17.

Diggs won't practice Thursday due to an illness, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott told Getzenberg that he hopes to have the wideout back on the field later this week, but Diggs' status is now worth monitoring as Monday's game against the Bengals approaches. In his last outing in the Bills' Week 16 win over the Bears, Diggs caught both of his targets for a season-low 26 yards.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Watson (hip) will return to practice Thursday as a limited participant, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

After missing the entire second half of Sunday's 26-20 win in Miami with the hip issue, Watson was a spectator Wednesday in the Packers' first Week 17 session. The rookie wideout looks like he'll be able to go through at least a handful of drills Thursday, a positive development with regard to his chances of playing Sunday against the Vikings. Ultimately, the Packers will wait until after Friday's practice before deciding whether Watson approaches the Week 17 contest with an injury designation.

New York signed Taylor to the practice squad Thursday, Ethan Greenberg of the team's official site reports.

Taylor takes the spot of linebacker Kai Nacua on the practice squad. Taylor logged 25 total appearances with the Packers over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, in which span he secured seven of nine targets for 80 yards and one touchdown. Now with the Jets, Taylor will provide some emergency depth at wide receiver.