NFL Player News

Williams (back) is listed as questionable for Saturday's playoff opener against the Jaguars.

Though Williams didn't practice again Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network relays that the Chargers plan to give the wideout up to game time before a determination is made on his availability for Saturday night's 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff. If Williams ends up out or limited versus Jacksonville, however, Joshua Palmer and DeAndre Carter would be candidates to see added snaps alongside Keenan Allen.

Waddle (ankle) remained limited at practice Thursday, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

In the wake of back-to-back limited practice listings, Waddle probably will need to work fully Friday in order to approach Sunday's playoff game against the Bills minus an injury designation. That said, earlier this week, coach Mike McDaniel indicated that he would be "very surprised" if Waddle didn't play this weekend, per Adam H. Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com.

Evans (illness) was a full practice participant Thursday.

After hauling in 10 of 12 targets for 207 yards and three touchdowns to help the Buccaneers clinch the NFC South with a win against the Panthers in Week 17, Evans didn't log a snap before being ruled out due to an illness this past Sunday in Atlanta. With the benefit of three days to rest and recover, though, he managed to log every rep during Tampa Bay's first practice in advance of Monday's wild-card game against the Cowboys. As a result, Evans will join forces with Chris Godwin as the top wide receivers available to quarterback Tom Brady.

Williams (back) wasn't spotted during the initial portion of Thursday's practice, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

Williams logged DNP listings both Tuesday and Wednesday, and the wideout's absence from the early stages of Thursday's session suggests that he's no lock to be available for Saturday's playoff opener against the Jaguars. The Chargers' upcoming injury report is in line to add further context to Williams' status for the contest.

Higgins (illness) returned to practice Thursday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Higgins sat out Wednesday's session, but his return to the field a day later puts him on track to suit up for Sunday night's playoff game against the Ravens. The Bengals' upcoming injury report is slated to clarify Higgins' official participation level in his return to on-field work.

McKenzie (hamstring) wasn't spotted at practice Thursday, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

McKenzie was listed as limited at Wednesday's practice, so what he's able to do Friday will be a key indicator regarding his availability for Sunday's playoff opener against the Dolphins. If McKenzie is limited or out this weekend, added snaps would be available for Khalil Shakir and Cole Beasley, while the Bills could also choose to add WR depth via the team's practice squad.

Williams played 14 of the Lions' 60 snaps on offense and failed to reel in his lone target in Sunday's 20-16 win over the Packers.

Though he went without any official receptions in the Lions' regular-season finale, Williams provided a glimpse of his vast potential on what would have been a 66-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter that was ultimately wiped out by a holding penalty. On the play in question, Williams found an opening in the defense behind Packers safety Darnell Savage, then jetted past Green Bay safety Adrian Amos on his way to what would have been his second career touchdown and third 40-plus-yard play. After the rookie first-round pick was cleared to make his season debut Week 13 upon completing his recovery from an ACL tear suffered this past January, Williams played less than a quarter of the snaps on offense in each of his six appearances while hauling in just one of his nine targets. Despite Williams' light use coming off the knee injury, general manager Brad Holmes said Tuesday that he maintains high expectations for the No. 12 overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft heading into Year 2, per John Maakaron of SI.com. However, with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond all under contract for 2023 and with DJ Chark expected to work toward a new deal with Detroit, Williams will likely have to work his way up the depth chart in OTAs and training camp in order to claim a top-three role at receiver entering his second season.

Irwin played 12 of the Bengals' 64 snaps on offense and finished with one catch for 12 yards on two targets in Sunday's 27-16 win over the Ravens.

In his last outing Week 16 against the Patriots, Irwin registered three catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns, but his production predictably took a step back in the regular-season finale while Cincinnati had all of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd available and at full health. Heading into this weekend's rematch with the Ravens in the wild-card round of the postseason, Irwin will likely maintain a limited role as the Bengals' No. 4 wideout.

Morgan played five snaps on offense and 21 on special teams in Sunday's 27-16 win over the Ravens, accruing no statistics during the contest.

Morgan saw snaps on offense during all 14 of his appearances of the regular season, but never more than 10 on any occasion. He drew just one incomplete target over that stretch to finish without a reception for the season. Morgan will likely continue to see most of his playing time on special teams during Cincinnati's upcoming playoff run.

Taylor played all three of his snaps on special teams in Sunday's 27-16 win over the Ravens and took back two punts for 12 yards.

Since drawing a season-high four targets while playing 77 percent of the Bengals' snaps on offense Week 14 against the Browns, Taylor's role on offense has evaporated while Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd have returned to full health. Taylor played just two snaps on offense over the Bengals' last three regular-season games and finished the campaign with six catches for 62 yards on 10 targets. He'll likely be limited exclusively to a special-teams role during the Bengals' upcoming postseason run.