NFL Player News

Ridley won't travel with the Falcons to London for Sunday's game against the Jets due to a personal matter, Scott Bair of the team's official site reports.

Along with Ridley, the Falcons will be without Russell Gage, who also won't make the trip due to an ankle injury. With his top two wide receivers out, Matt Ryan may just use his tight ends and running backs more than usual, but Atlanta's available wide receivers will be Olamide Zaccheaus, Tajae Sharpe, Christian Blake and Frank Darby.

Cooper (hamstring/rib) participated in individual drills at Thursday's practice, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Cooper appears to be doing more than he did Wednesday, when he was called a non-participant and only did resistance work on the side. He's dealing with hamstring and rib injuries at the moment, but he was able to play through them this past Sunday versus the Panthers on his way to three catches (on as many targets) for 69 yards and one touchdown. The Cowboys will unveil Cooper's level of activity later Thursday.

Brown (knee) won't participate in Thursday's practice, Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic reports.

Since he's starting the week with a pair of absences from practice, Brown will presumably need to take part in Friday's session in at least a limited capacity just to take a questionable designation into Sunday's matchup with the Saints. With all of Brown, Curtis Samuel (groin) and Cam Sims (hamstring) tending to injuries and having yet to fully practice this week, DeAndre Carter or Dax Milne could see added reps in three-receiver sets alongside Terry McLaurin and Adam Humphries if none of the three banged-up wideouts are able to suit up this weekend.

The Bears re-signed Webster to the practice squad Thursday, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Webster handled a special-teams role for Chicago during the first four games of the season, but the team opted to waive him Tuesday. Sticking around via the practice squad will provide Webster a chance to continue his development with the Bears.

Ridley wasn't in attendance during the open portion of Thursday's practice for an unspecified reason, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Ridley didn't appear on the Falcons' initial Week 5 injury report released Wednesday, so the nature of his absence likely won't be known until the team reveals its second report later Thursday. Given that Thursdays tend to be the most rigorous session of the week for teams that play Sunday games, Ridley's absence wouldn't seem to be the result of a pre-planned maintenance day. The Falcons are scheduled to fly to London following Thursday's session and will hold their final practice of the week overseas Friday before playing the Jets on Sunday.

Woods is in line to receive more opportunities in the offense moving forward, according to head coach Sean McVay, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.

After averaging 132 targets per season over the past three years with the Rams, Woods has logged just 25 through the first four games of the 2021 season. The veteran WR has turned his looks into a respectable 15 receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, so it's not surprising that McVay is talking up Woods while suggesting the receiver will be more involved in the offense moving forward. It's also worth noting the Seahawks have allowed the fifth most passing yards per game in the league this season, so Thursday's Week 5 matchup against Seattle projects as favorable for Woods and the Los Angeles passing attack.

Gage (ankle) wasn't present for the open portion of Thursday's practice and is expected to go down as a non-participant on the Falcons' official report, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

With back-to-back absences at practice to begin Week 5 prep, Gage is trending toward missing a third straight contest Sunday against the Jets. While Gage was out the past two weeks, Olamide Zaccheaus was the primary beneficiary for added reps at receiver, while Hayden Hurst also benefited with head coach Arthur Smith using more two tight end sets featuring Hurst and Kyle Pitts.

Eskridge (concussion) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Rams, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Eskridge hasn't played since suffering the concussion in the season opener. The 24-year-old returned to practice earlier this week as a limited participant, but he was downgraded to a non-participant the past two days.

Parker was limited at practice Wednesday due to a shoulder injury.

Parker's status will be revisited Thursday, but so far there's nothing to suggest that his status for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers is in danger. Assuming Parker is good to go this weekend, he'll look to build off the 4-77-1 stat line he recorded on nine targets in Miami's Week 4 loss to the Colts. With fellow wideout Will Fuller (finger) heading to injured reserve Wednesday, Parker and Jaylen Waddle seem destined for solid shares of targets for the foreseeable future as the Dolphins' clear-cut top two wideouts.

Mooney (groin) was limited at Wednesday's practice.

Mooney has been a regular on Bears injury reports this season, first with a back issue and now a groin injury. The latter concern has lingered into a third consecutive week of prep, but he's coming off his most productive performance of the season this past Sunday, when he hauled in five of seven passes for 125 yards in a win over the Lions. Assuming he gets through this week unscathed as well, Mooney will look to continue to his recent success with Justin Fields under center moving forward.