NFL Player News

Higgins was forced out of Sunday's game against the Steelers with a possible concussion.

With Higgins, who caught two passes for 27 yards prior to his exit, sidelined Sunday, Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd are slated to work as the Bengals' primary wideout options for the rest of Sunday's contest.

Higgins headed to the locker room during Sunday's game against the Steelers after absorbing a hit on a route down the middle, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Prior to his exit from the contest, Higgins had caught both of his targets for 27 yards. In his absence, Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd will serve as the Bengals' primary wideout options.

Johnson (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Colts.

Johnson joined the Texans on Aug. 31 after being claimed off waivers from the Buccaneers. The 24-year-old will continue to try to crack the roster on gameday, as he gets more familiar with Houston's playbook.

Gray (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game at Chicago, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

A rookie third-round pick, Gray saw plenty of action during the preseason, including a 76-yard connection with Trey Lance for a touchdown in the exhibition opener. Still, Gray won't make the cut for the 49ers in Week 1. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are the team's main options at wide receiver, while Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud and Malik Turner serve as depth.

Byrd (coach's decision) is a healthy inactive for Sunday's game against the Saints, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

With No. 1 wideout Drake London (knee) gaining clearance to make his NFL debut after being listed as questionable heading into the weekend, Byrd will be the odd man out of Atlanta's receiving corps for Week 1. Byrd, who signed a one-year, $1.19 million contract with Atlanta this offseason, suited up in all 17 games for the Bears a season ago and finished with a 26-329-1 receiving line on 38 targets. He looks as though he'll be ticketed for a smaller role with Atlanta in 2022.

Sims (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Bengals, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Sims is currently No. 6 on Pittsburgh's wide receiver positional depth chart, and behind Gunner Olszewski for return duties. The 25-year-old will have to wait until Week 2 to try and make his season debut.

Taylor (hamstring) is active for Sunday's season opener against the Steelers, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Taylor popped up on the injury report Thursday and was a limited participant in back-to-back practices, but he'll be good to go for the season opener. The 5-foot-8 wideout likely won't garner a major offensive workload (two receptions for 41 yards across four games last year), but he is expected to operate as the Bengals' primary punt returner.

Montgomery (knee) is listed as active for Sunday's season opener against the Dolphins, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

In his regular-season debut with the Patriots, Montgomery, who was a limited practice participant this week, will look to help fill the change-of-pace void (behind top early-down options Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson) in the team's offense created by the retirement of James White. It remains to seen how much volume that will initially yield for Montgomery, with Stevenson potentially factoring into the team's passing game as well, but Pierre Strong being made inactive Sunday suggests that Montgomery may not face limitations against Miami in Week 1.

Meyers (knee) is listed as active for Sunday's season opener against the Dolphins, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

After being a limited practice participant this week, Meyers will give it a go Sunday, which barring any in-game setbacks or limitations due to his knee issue, puts him in a position maintain a key pass-catching role in the Patriots offense alongside fellow wideouts DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor. The 25-year-old is coming off a 2021 campaign in which he led the team with 83 catches (on 126 targets) for 866 yards and two TDs in 17 games, and this year Meyers once again figures to see steady enough volume to yield decent fantasy utility in PPR formats when he's 100 percent.

Jones (hamstring) is inactive for Sunday's game against the 49ers.

Jones was limited to one appearance during exhibition season. He otherwise dealt with injuries before and after that showing in preseason Week 2, missing all three practices ahead of the opener due to a hamstring issue. In Jones' stead, Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown, Byron Pringle, Dante Pettis and Ihmir Smith-Marsette will man wide receiver for the Bears.