NFL Player News

New York listed Slayton (hamstring) as a non-participant in Thursday's practice, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Both Slayton and Sterling Shepard (hamstring) were withheld from team drills for the second straight day and fifth consecutive practice overall, a discouraging sign for either receiver's chances of playing Sunday in Dallas. According to Tom Rock of Newsday, Shepard appeared to be further along in his recovery from the injury based on how he fared while taking part in individual drills on the side during the open portion of Thursday's practice, though Slayton seemingly took a step forward by donning full pads for his workout, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic. Even so, Slayton will likely need to upgrade to at least limited activity in team drills during Friday's practice if he's to have a legitimate chance at avoiding a second straight missed game Sunday in Dallas.

New York listed Shepard (hamstring) as a non-participant in Thursday's practice, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Shepard was sporting full pads while working out on the side during the portion of Thursday's practice that was open to the media, with Tom Rock of Newsday noting that the 28-year-old looked to be further along in his recovery from a hamstring injury than fellow wideout Darius Slayton. Ultimately, both receivers went down as non-participants on the injury report for the second straight day and the fifth consecutive practice session overall. Though Shepard appears to be progressing, he'll likely need to upgrade to at least limited activity in Friday's practice to have a shot at avoid missing his second straight game Sunday in Dallas.

Cooper (hamstring) was limited at practice Thursday, David Helman of the Cowboys' official site reports.

Cooper was contained to resistance training at Wednesday's session before moving on to individual drills Thursday, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. With progress being made through his right hamstring injury, Cooper is setting himself up to suit up Sunday versus the Giants, which the Cowboys may confirm as early as the release of Friday's practice report.

Brown (hamstring) practiced fully Thursday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

After logging a limited session Wednesday, Brown participated fully in Thursday's practice, which presumably puts him on track to play Sunday against the Jaguars, barring any setbacks. Friday's injury report will reveal whether Brown heads into the weekend with an injury designation, but at this stage his Week 5 status looks more promising that that of fellow wideouts Julio Jones (hamstring) -- who didn't practice Thursday -- and Nick Westbook-Ikhine (hamstring), who was limited.

Watkins (knee) was a full participant in Thursday's practice.

Watkins looks to be in the clear for Sunday's game at Carolina after he took every rep during Thursday's session after being listed as a limited participant a day earlier. The second-year player has been a steady complementary presence in the Eagles' Jalen Hurts-led passing attack, totaling 10 receptions for 219 yards on 14 targets through the team's first four contests.

Zaccheaus is expected to head into Sunday's game against the Jets in London as the Atlanta's No. 1 receiver after both Calvin Ridley (personal) and Russell Gage (ankle) were ruled out for the contest, Scott Bair of the Falcons' official site reports.

While Gage missed both of the past two contests, Zaccheaus had already enjoyed an elevated profile in the Atlanta offense, playing 96 of the Falcons' 130 offensive snaps (74 percent) during that stretch while collecting four receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. With Gage out for another week and Ridley's 10.5 targets per game now up for grabs, Zaccheaus looks like he'll have one of the best opportunities of his young career to produce a useful fantasy line. While Zaccheaus should absorb some of the vacated target volume, he shouldn't be expected to serve as a 1:1 replacement for Ridley. Instead, expect the likes of Zaccheaus and fellow pass catchers Kyle Pitts, Cordarrelle Patterson, Mike Davis, Hayden Hurst, Tajae Sharpe, Christian Blake and Frank Darby to all enjoy upticks in targets and snaps, to varying degrees.

Conley didn't practice Thursday for a reason unrelated to an injury, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The nature of Conley's absence isn't yet clear, but he didn't participate in practice for a second straight day. Whether he's able to suit up Sunday against New England remains to be seen.

Samuel (groin) didn't practice Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Samuel was spotted stretching prior to the session, but once individual drills kicked off he moved to a side field to get in some work, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic. With back-to-back absences following his only appearance of the season to date, Samuel appears to have aggravated the groin injury that has plagued him since the offseason program back in June. It's unclear if a DNP is on his docket this Sunday versus the Saints, but his position group also is banged up, with Dyami Brown (knee) and Cam Sims (hamstring) also joining Samuel as non-participants Thursday.

Sims (hamstring) didn't practice Thursday, Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic reports.

Sims sustained a hamstring injury in Sunday's Week 4 win over Atlanta, and he missed a second straight day of practice Thursday. DeAndre Carter could see a slightly increased role if Sims and Dyami Brown (knee) are held out Sunday against the Saints.

Gage (ankle) won't travel to London for Sunday's game against the Jets.

The same applies to fellow wide receiver Calvin Ridley (personal), which sets the stage for Olamide Zaccheaus and Tajae Sharpe to lead the Falcons' Week 5 WR corps, with Christian Blake and Frank Darby in reserve.