NFL Player News

Taylor (illness) was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports.

Taylor dealt with an illness that landed him on the injury report, and it now appears that he's in danger of missing Green Bay's Week 6 matchup against the Bears. While it's not yet clear whether the 25-year-old has tested positive for COVID-19, the Packers could have limited depth at wide receiver Sunday since Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring) is on IR.

Ron Rivera acknowledged Friday that Samuel (groin) could be placed on injured reserve again, though the coach also said the wide receiver has been doing better the past few days, per John Keim of ESPN.com.

Samuel will miss at least one game, with Rivera suggesting he'll be evaluated again Monday after Washington faces the Chiefs on Sunday. It's the same groin injury that's been bothering Samuel since early June; the latest aggravation occurred during the Week 5 loss to New Orleans.

Slayton (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Duggan suggests Slayton, LT Andrew Thomas (foot) and LG Ben Bredeson (hand) are truly questionable, whereas WR Kadarius Toney (ankle, questionable) has the official designation but is expected to play. Slayton missed the past two games with hamstring injuries, in which time Kenny Golladay hyperextended his knee and Toney nearly had a 200-yard game. It makes for an interesting situation moving forward, but Toney and Sterling Shepard are safer bets than Slayton to see targets this week, especially now that the Giants also have John Ross as a deep threat outside the numbers.

Hopkins (illness) practiced fully Friday and doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game in Cleveland, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Hopkins didn't get on the practice field prior to Friday as he dealt with an illness, which almost certainly was unrelated to COVID-19 considering his standing heading into the weekend. He'll face off Week 6 against a Browns defense that has conceded 181.6 total yards per game (15th most in the NFL) and five touchdowns to wide receivers in five contests this season.

Shepard (hamstring) has no injury designation for Sunday's game against the Rams.

He returns to a tricky matchup after missing two games, as the Rams often use top cornerback Jalen Ramsey in the slot. Shepard never quite made it back to full practice participation, but he said Wednesday that he was ready to play, and he should see his share of targets with Kenny Golladay (knee) and Saquon Barkley (ankle) both sidelined. Kadarius Toney (ankle) is listed as questionable but expected to play, while Darius Slayton (hamstring) appears closer to truly questionable.

Toney (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams, though "all signs point to him playing," according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Toney and Sterling Shepard figure to take two of the top three receiver spots, with the other potentially going to Darius Slayton, who is listed as questionable after missing the past two weeks with a hamstring injury. Kenny Golladay (knee) is officially ruled out, while John Ross gives the team a deep-threat alternative if Slayton is out or limited (or even if he's not). It's a messy situation ahead of a difficult matchup with the Rams, but it's possible the chaos works in Toney's favor again, following a 10-189-0 receiving line on 13 targets in the Giants' Week 5 loss to Dallas.

Claypool (hamstring) was a full participant in practice Friday and doesn't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game against Seattle, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Claypool followed the same pattern as last week, when he upgraded to full participation Friday after a limited practice session Thursday. He produced 130 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos on game day, and Claypool is poised for another productive outing Week 6, this time in front of a national audience in primetime against the shaky Seahawks secondary.

Williams (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Ravens.

Williams didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday and then wasn't spotted at Friday's session either, but it looks like the Chargers are inclined to take a decision on the wideout's Week 6 availability down to game day. In any case, with the team kicking off against Baltimore at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Williams' status will be clarified prior to the first wave of kickoffs this weekend. If he ends up out or limited for the contest, added snaps behind Keenan Allen would be available for Jalen Guyton and Josh Palmer, and to a lesser degree KJ Hill.

Metcalf (foot) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Metcalf has been dealing with a foot issue for a few weeks now, which limited him Wednesday and kept him off the practice field entirely Thursday. Clearly, the Seahawks don't want Metcalf to take on any undue stress, though he could have used the reps to get up to speed with Geno Smith, who is taking over under center with Russell Wilson recovering from finger surgery. Despite it all, Metcalf has been his typical productive self this season, compiling a 25-383-5 receiving line on 38 targets through five games.

Washington (groin) was a full participant in practice Friday and doesn't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game against Seattle, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Washington should feature in three-receiver sets with JuJu Smith-Schuster (shoulder) done for the season, but he's already had opportunities to do so and failed to take advantage, with both Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool having missed a game this season. Now that he's back from the groin injury that kept him out of last week's win over Denver, Washington will look to add to his season totals of nine catches for 99 yards against the leaky Seattle secondary.