NFL Player News

Cooks was listed as a non-participant for Wednesday's practice due to a wrist issue.

Cooks was inactive for last Thursday's game against the Eagles because of personal reasons, per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com with the wideout reportedly frustrated that he wasn't dealt ahead of the NFL's trade deadline. That said, Cooks is expected to practice Thursday, with Bien-Aime suggesting that the pass catcher -- who was present for Wednesday's practice, but didn't participate -- was getting a veteran's day off in advance of Sunday's game against the Giants. If Cooks takes part in practice Thursday in any capacity, he would seemingly be on track for a return to the lineup this weekend.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Samuel (hamstring) is expected to be a full participant at Wednesday's practice, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Samuel's listing on the 49ers' first Week 10 injury report will confirm as much, but after sitting out Week 8 due to a hamstring issue, the team's Week 9 bye appears to have him on the precipice of a return. With the arrival of Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco and Elijah Mitchell (knee) potentially coming off injured reserve this week, Samuel's opportunities out of the backfield may be few and far between moving forward. Still, when healthy, Samuel is the top option in the passing game for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Dorsett (ankle) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.

Dorsett filled in as a starter last Thursday against the Eagles, catching three of five targets for 69 yards in a 29-17 loss with both Brandin Cooks (personal/wrist) and Nico Collins (groin) inactive. Collins returned to practice Wednesday as a limited participant, while Cooks is back with the team but didn't practice. If at least one of the top two wideouts suits up this Sunday against the Giants, Dorsett would be in store for a reduced role.

Collins (groin) returned to practice Wednesday as a limited participant.

Collins is hoping to play in Sunday's road game against the Giants after missing the past two contests. Fellow wideout Phillip Dorsett (ankle) was also a limited participant Wednesday, while Brandin Cooks (wrist/personal) is back with the team but didn't practice.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Wednesday that James cleared the concussion protocol, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

James suffered a concussion during the Giants' Week 8 loss at Seattle, but with the benefit of the team's Week 9 bye, he's good to go in advance of Sunday's game against the Texans. As evidence, after he was spotted without a red non-contact jersey at Wednesday's practice, he was deemed a full participant, per Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site. Consequently, James will join Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson, Marcus Johnson, David Sills and potentially Kenny Golladay (knee) as New York's available wide receivers Week 10.

Allen (hamstring) isn't expected to practice Wednesday, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

At this stage, head coach Brandon Staley views Allen as day-to-day, but if the wideout is unable to suit up Sunday against the 49ers, Joshua Palmer, DeAndre Carter and Michael Bandy would be in line to continue seeing added snaps.

Reynolds (back) isn't practicing Wednesday, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

While Reynolds was sidelined for Sunday's win over Green Bay, the Lions turned to Kalif Raymond and Tom Kennedy for most of the receiver reps behind top target Amon-Ra St. Brown. None of the three wideouts did much, in part because Jared Goff tied a season low of 26 pass attempts. Reynolds looks iffy for the Lions' game in Chicago this Sunday as he starts the week off with a missed practice.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday that Watson (chest) won't need to be held out of practice for any precautionary reasons this week, Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports.

After clearing the concussion protocol in advance of the Packers' Week 9 game against the Lions, Watson checked out of the game at one point during the 15-9 loss to be evaluated for a concussion. Though he remained sidelined the rest of the way, LaFleur noted after the game that the rookie cleared the concussion protocol and was instead dealing with a chest injury after taking a shot from a defender. Watson looks like he'll be a full participant when Green Bay returns to the field Wednesday, and he should have a fair chance at avoiding the Week 10 injury report entirely. With fellow rookie wideout Romeo Doubs (ankle) in danger of missing multiple weeks due to a sprain, Watson's availability on offense will be key for the Packers as the team prepares for Sunday's matchup with the Cowboys.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Hardman won't practice Wednesday due to abdominal soreness, Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star reports.

Hardman is banged up coming out of the Chiefs' Week 9 overtime win over the Titans, during which he recorded six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown on nine targets while logging 54 of Kansas City's 91 snaps on offense. If Hardman ends up out or limited this weekend, added snaps would be available for some combination of Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson.

Benson was signed by the Lions off of the Broncos' practice squad Wednesday, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

Benson was added by the Lions on Wednesday and will be a part of their active roster Sunday versus the Bears. The wide receiver appeared in eight games with Detroit in 2021, reeling in 10 catches for 103 yards on 22 targets. Benson has yet to play in a game this season and will have little to no impact offensively in Week 10.