NFL Player News

Smith was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday's estimated injury report due to an illness.

Fortunately for Smith's fantasy managers, the illness isn't related to COVID-19, per EJ Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Smith has two sessions remaining this week to put the ailment behind him and ready himself for Sunday's road game against the Jets.

Shepard (quadriceps) didn't practice Wednesday, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Shepard and Kadarius Toney (quadriceps) remain limited to working out on the side field with the training staff, while depth wideout John Ross sat out Wednesday's session with an illness. The Giants have two experienced starters healthy in Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton, but they would surely love to have at least one of Toney or Shepard back in the lineup. It's unclear if that'll happen this Sunday at Miami.

Toney didn't practice Wednesday due to quadriceps and oblique injuries, Zack Rosenblatt of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

The same goes for fellow wide receivers Sterling Shepard (quadriceps) and John Ross (illness), while starting quarterback Daniel Jones (neck) was a limited participant. It's a typically busy week for the Giants' injury report, with the team coming off a 13-7 win over the Eagles in which Toney, Shepard and depth tight ends Kyle Rudolph (ankle) and Kaden Smith (knee) all were inactive. It's unclear which of the bunch, if any, will be ready for Sunday's game in Miami.

Hopkins (hamstring) was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Along with Hopkins, quarterback Kyler Murray (ankle) was also a limited participant coming out of the Cardinals' Week 12 bye. Both players have sat out the Cardinals' last three games with their respective injuries, but both should have decent odds of returning to action Sunday in Chicago. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury noted Wednesday that the statuses of Hopkins and Murray for this weekend will hinge on how things go for them in the next two days of practice.

Cooper (illness) was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday and appears on track to play in Thursday's game in New Orleans, David Helman of the Cowboys' official site reports.

After missing the Cowboys' last two games while he completed a 10-day quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test, Cooper reported back to the team facility Monday and looks on track to get in at least some practice activity Wednesday now that he's officially been added back to the 53-man roster. Though Cooper is expected to play Thursday, his workload could be scaled back given that he reportedly dealt with virus symptoms for over a week and hasn't been on the field for nearly 12 days. If Cooper looks good in his return to practice, he could still handle his usual role, in which case quarterback Dak Prescott will have a healthy receiver trio of Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup for just the third time this season.

Samuel (groin) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Samuel took two touches for 13 yards in Monday's 17-15 win over Seattle, playing 20 snaps on offense (24 percent) in his first appearance since Week 5. Assuming he's not dealing with any setbacks coming out of that contest, he could have larger role this Sunday in Las Vegas, though it's possible he'll remain a part-time player all year while managing the lingering groin injury.

Cooper (illness) is expected to travel to New Orleans and play in Thursday's game against the Saints, Ed Werder of ESPN reports.

Cooper remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list as of Wednesday morning, but Werder's report seems to imply the wideout has seen his symptoms improve and may just be awaiting approval of a team physician before being activated and rejoining the Cowboys for practice. Whatever the case, the Cowboys apparently now expect Cooper to play Thursday, even after he missed another practice Tuesday. It's possible his workload is scaled back Thursday if the illness has impacted his conditioning.

Pittsburgh activated McCloud from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

McCloud sat out the Steelers' Week 12 loss to the Bengals after being placed on the list, but he'll be back in action for Sunday's contest against the Ravens. During the Steelers' loss to the Lions in Week 10, McCloud saw a surprising 12 targets, but he came back down to earth with just two targets Week 11 following Chase Claypool's return to the lineup.

Davis (groin) won't practice Wednesday.

Davis, who was inactive for this past Sunday's game against the Texans, has two more chances to practice in advance of this weekend's game against the Eagles. Meanwhile, fellow wideout Keelan Cole is on the reserve/COVID-19 list and is unlikely to be available versus Philadelphia.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Cole isn't in line to be available for Sunday's game against the Eagles after having been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Connor Hughes of The Athletic reports.

The Jets will be down Cole for Week 13, but Denzel Mims' expected return from the reserve/COVID-19 list will help restore depth at receiver. Assuming Cole is able to clear the NFL's COVID-19 protocols on a normal timeline, he should be available for the Jets' Week 14 game against the Saints on Dec. 12.