NFL Player News

Smith was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday.

The wide receiver missed Sunday's season finale against the Buccaneers after being placed on the COVID list Thursday. Smith finished his rookie campaign with six catches for 104 yards while appearing in six games in 2021.

Evans (hamstring) was listed as a limited participant at Wednesday's walk-through practice, Carmen Vitali of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Evans picked up the injury in the Bucs' Week 15 loss to the Saints and subsequently was sidelined Week 16 at Carolina. Shortly thereafter, he had a stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but he was able to clear league protocols in time to play Week 17. Still, Evans has been bothered by the hamstring in practice, only to suit up for the final two games of the regular season. He hasn't appeared compromised in either of those contests, turning 14 targets into 10 catches for 136 yards and three touchdowns between those games. In a receiving corps that is now down Chris Godwin (knee) and Antonio Brown, Evans enters the postseason as the primary wide receiver for Tom Brady. Evans will aim to put in a full practice Thursday and/or Friday, which will clear him for Sunday's playoff opener against the Eagles.

Perriman (hip) is listed as a limited participant for Wednesday's walk-through practice.

Fellow wide receiver Cyril Grayson (hamstring) was held out, hours after head coach Bruce Arians deemed him doubtful for Sunday's game against Philadelphia. Assuming Perriman's hip issue is minor, he'll likely join Mike Evans and Tyler Johnson as a regular in three-receiver sets, with the other options being Scotty Miller, Jaelon Darden and possibly Justin Watson (quadriceps).

Boyd isn't listed on the Bengals' injury report for their upcoming wild-card game against the Raiders on Saturday, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Boyd technically was active for the Week 18 loss to Cleveland, but he ultimately was one of a few veterans Cincinnati rested for the contest, finishing the afternoon without playing a single snap. He should return to his usual workload this Saturday against Las Vegas, and Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer adds that Boyd looked "especially sharp" at Wednesday's practice. The week of rest might have done Boyd some good, though he could face a tough matchup Saturday against Raiders slot corner Nate Hobbs, who has graded out well during his rookie season. Hobbs was part of the effort to limit Boyd to a 6-49-0 receiving on eight targets Week 11, when the Bengals beat the Raiders, 32-13.

Higgins was listed as a limited participant at Wednesday's practice due to a foot injury, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Higgins practiced fully Tuesday, so it's unclear whether his limitations a day later were maintenance-related or indicated of an in-practice setback. For his part, Ben Baby of ESPN.com noted that Higgins looked fine during the media-access portion of the session, but either way, Thursday's injury report should add a degree of clarity with regard to the wideout's status ahead of Saturday's wild-card game against the Raiders.

Hill (heel) practiced fully Wednesday.

Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com previously noted that Hill looked good during the media-access portion of Wednesday's practice, a notion echoed by head coach Andy Reid, per Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star. With a full session under his belt, Hill is slated to play in Sunday's wild-card game against the Steelers. He should be in line for a full workload after the heel injury contributed to his snaps being limited in the Chiefs' Week 18 win over the Broncos.

Hodge logged eight offensive snaps during Sunday's 37-30 win over the Packers.

After a big day in Seattle in Week 17, Hodge returned to more of a special-teams role with Josh Reynolds reinstated from the COVID list. This was nothing new for him, considering he only topped 13 percent of the offensive snaps in one game following Detroit's Week 9 bye. As a result, Hodge will finish the 2021 campaign with 13 receptions on 27 targets for 157 scoreless yards. The Alcorn State product is now set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the league year with no certainty that he will return to Detroit in 2022.

Benson caught 10 of 22 targets for 103 receiving yards over eight games in 2021.

The Lions acquired Benson from the Broncos in the preseason, but the 24-year-old missed nine of the final 12 games due to coach's decisions and COVID protocols. His future with Detroit seems uncertain despite Benson technically having one year left on his contract.

Reynolds caught one of three targets for 11 yards during Sunday's 37-30 win over the Packers.

Reynolds was back in the starting lineup after missing Week 17 while he was on the reserve/COVID-19 list. As per usual, he logged a majority of the available offensive snaps. However, Amon-Ra St. Brown remained the focal point of the passing game, while Reynolds experienced a dip from the six targets he averaged in his previous five games. Even though Reynolds had a quiet end to his season, he still proved to be a solid fit with Detroit upon being granted his release from Tennessee mid-season. He'll finish his campaign with 19 catches with 306 yards and two scores over seven games with the Lions after managing 90 scoreless yards in five games with the Titans. A reunion in 2022 seems like a mutually beneficial outcome for both Detroit and the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.

Hill (heel) was present for Wednesday's practice, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

The Chiefs will reveal the extent of Hill's participation later Wednesday, when the team issues its first injury report ahead of the team's wild-card matchup Sunday versus the Steelers. Based on his observation of the session, Sweeney suggested that Hill looks good to go for the postseason opener. In the Chiefs' regular-season finale against the Broncos this past weekend, Hill's heel issue limited him to just 14 snaps on offense.