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NFL NationESPN
Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback of the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers, leads the list of players whose status is in doubt entering Week 10 of the NFL season. Roethlisberger is on the reserve/COVID-19 list and his availability likely won’t be known until Saturday.
Elsewhere, the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Football Team have questions at running back, while the Cleveland Browns could get a boost at running back with the return of Nick Chubb.
Here’s a roundup of the biggest injuries from ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters:
Jump to:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
AFC EAST
How serious is cornerback Tre’Davious White‘s ankle injury? The first-team All-Pro left Sunday’s game against the Seahawks early and did not practice when the Bills hit the field Wednesday. With arguably the best receiver in the league awaiting them Sunday in Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins, the Bills will need White if they want to keep the Cardinals’ offense under control. If he can’t play, Levi Wallace likely takes over as the Bills’ de facto No. 1 corner, with either Josh Norman or Dane Jackson filling in on the other side. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Running back Matt Breida missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury, and his status for Sunday’s game vs. the Chargers is uncertain. “Hamstrings are tricky,” coach Brian Flores said. Breida, who would be the Dolphins’ lead back with Myles Gaskin on injured reserve, was estimated to be a limited participant during Wednesday’s walk-through and it looks like this one could go down to game day. — Cameron Wolfe
Starting running back Damien Harris was knocked out of Monday’s win over the Jets in the fourth quarter with a chest injury, and his status could lead the Patriots to activate Sony Michel off injured reserve. Michel began practicing last week but has yet to be added to the 53-man roster. The Patriots won’t have their first physical practice until Thursday, which should provide more clarity on Harris’ potential availability. He is scheduled to speak with reporters on Friday, which could be an indication that the injury isn’t serious. — Mike Reiss
2:10
Bart Scott says he believes this is Bill Belichick’s “swan song” with the Patriots and that he could see him going to the Giants as general manager.
The Jets are on their bye week, which gives quarterback Sam Darnold extra time to rehab his injured throwing shoulder. After hurting it twice, Darnold sounds like he will proceed with caution. The team’s hope is that he will play Nov. 22 against the Chargers, but it’s hardly a guarantee. — Rich Cimini
AFC NORTH
Two of the Ravens’ top players in their defensive front seven — end Calais Campbell and outside linebacker Matthew Judon — didn’t practice Wednesday because of calf injuries. Campbell is expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Patriots, which makes Baltimore more vulnerable to the run. “Obviously, losing a guy like Calais, that sucks because he’s one of the all-time greats playing the defensive line,” defensive end Derek Wolfe said. “I do think I have to step up.” Judon has a better shot at playing, but he was limping while watching practice off to the side. — Jamison Hensley
Bengals running back Joe Mixon missed Wednesday’s practice with a nagging foot injury. However, Mixon was spotted on the side during practice and doing acceleration drills with the Bengals’ training staff. That’s a good sign for the star tailback who has missed the past two games. Mixon’s status has been hard to predict, but Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he was encouraged by Mixon’s progress, which could bode well for his chances to play on Sunday against the Steelers. — Ben Baby
Running back Nick Chubb, out since Week 4 with a knee injury, returned to practice Monday after being designated for return from injured reserve. Coach Kevin Stefanski said this week that Chubb looks like his healthy self again. And while they’re still deliberating on what his workload will be Sunday, Chubb clearly is on his way back to spearheading a ground attack that led the league in rushing before his injury. — Jake Trotter
All eyes are on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week. Two starters — QB Ben Roethlisberger and LB Vince Williams — are on the list for being “high-risk close contacts” of Vance McDonald, who tested positive. Both are eligible to come off the list Saturday if they continue to test negative and don’t develop symptoms. The Steelers are facing a progressing Cincinnati Bengals team, and while they beat the Bengals last season with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback, the Steelers would much rather attempt to maintain a perfect record with Roethlisberger calling the shots and making the throws. Without Roethlisberger, quarterbacking duties will fall to either Rudolph or Josh Dobbs. — Brooke Pryor
AFC SOUTH
Running back David Johnson did not practice on Wednesday after leaving Sunday’s game with a concussion. Duke Johnson, who took over for him after the injury, had a career-high 20 touches and will take the majority of the carries if David Johnson does not play against the Browns on Sunday. Duke Johnson had 41 yards, a touchdown and a fumble on 16 carries and four catches for 32 yards. — Sarah Barshop
Tight end Mo Alie-Cox was a full participant in practice Wednesday, but he’s still listed as questionable for Thursday’s game at Tennessee. The Colts need Alie-Cox because fellow tight end Jack Doyle has already been ruled out for the game with a concussion suffered in last week’s loss to Baltimore. Coach Frank Reich said early in the week that it was unlikely Doyle would play because he wasn’t expected to clear the concussion protocol in time. — Mike Wells
Defensive tackle Doug Costin won’t play this week because of a concussion, which means more reps for former first-round pick Taven Bryan. The Jaguars took Bryan out of the starting lineup last week and started Costin instead and he played the best game of his career. “I don’t know about more reps, but I definitely love what I saw from him,” coach Doug Marrone said. “I saw a player that was able to make plays, play square to the football, had good control over the line of scrimmage.” Now the Jaguars have to rely on Bryan again. He has been disappointing since being taken 29th in the 2018 draft. — Mike DiRocco
Titans pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney (knee) was a full participant in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday after being held out of last week’s game against the Bears. Clowney was on the field without a knee brace and moved fluidly during individual period. There was some concern that he would need to have a procedure done or possible surgery to repair a meniscus injury, but for now Clowney appears to be good to go. Clowney doesn’t have an injury designation for Thursday’s game against the Colts, and that’s a good sign. — Turron Davenport
AFC WEST
Rookie wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who leads the team in receiving yards (484) and targets (61), did not practice Wednesday because of a shoulder injury. Broncos coach Vic Fangio did not reveal Jeudy’s injury when he discussed injured players on a Zoom call before Wednesday’s practice, so there is at least some uncertainty about the severity of the injury. Jeudy was on the practice field, without a helmet, during practice, standing on the side during wide receiver drills and 11-on-11 team drills instead of remaining inside the team’s complex with the training staff. Jeudy leads all Broncos wide receivers this season in snaps played — 406, or just over 74% of the team’s plays on offense. — Jeff Legwold
The Chiefs, who are on their bye this week, could get cornerback L’Jarius Sneed back for their Week 11 game against the Raiders. Sneed, a rookie, was playing well before breaking his collarbone and going on the injured reserve list. His speed would be welcome against a fast set of Las Vegas receivers. Between injuries and a suspension, the Chiefs haven’t had their top three corners available for any game this season. — Adam Teicher
1:19
Ryan Clark joins Scott Van Pelt to discuss which AFC team is projected to be the Super Bowl front-runner.
Three days after watching the Raiders’ last-second win at the Los Angeles Chargers from a hospital bed with injured ribs, fullback Alec Ingold was back at practice on Wednesday. “He’s like [Mark] van Eeghen and Marv Hubbard … throwback guys,” Gruden said of Ingold. “He will not come off the field. He insists on playing. He’s been cleared to play and he did practice today, and I’d be shocked if he’s not ready to play great on Sunday.” Ingold is a triple threat as a blocker, rusher and pass-catcher. He was injured Sunday as the lead blocker on Josh Jacobs‘ 14-yard run in which Chargers’ 295-pound defensive tackle Jerry Tillery landed on a fallen Ingold with a knee to his left ribs. — Paul Gutierrez
The Chargers got a big lift last week when running back Justin Jackson got into the game against the Raiders. But now he’s likely to sit out the game against Miami to rest his knee. So look for Joshua Kelley and Kalen Ballage to pick up where Jackson left off. Ballage was especially good after being called up from the practice squad, saying, “I never feel like a practice squad player.” He rushed 15 times for 69 yards vs. Las Vegas. Against Miami — the team that drafted him in 2018, before he joined the Jets — it should be extra sweet for Ballage to get reps. — Shelley Smith
NFC EAST
The Cowboys are on a bye and not practicing this week because of COVID-19 protocols, but they would not have quarterback Andy Dalton this week anyway. Dalton is on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which has prevented him from finishing the return-to-play guidelines from a concussion suffered Oct. 25 at Washington. While the Cowboys have not given much of an update on Dalton’s health, they have hopes he could play Nov. 22 at Minnesota. If he can, he starts. If he can’t, the Cowboys will stick with Garrett Gilbert at quarterback. — Todd Archer
Running back Devonta Freeman (ankle) was listed as limited during Wednesday’s walk-through after missing the previous two games. Freeman is making progress. He seemed to be moving well at practice at the end of last week, and he should be back in some capacity Sunday against Philadelphia. — Jordan Raanan
Receiver Alshon Jeffery appears on track to make his season debut Sunday against the New York Giants. Jeffery, who has been recovering from Lisfranc surgery and suffered a subsequent calf injury, delaying his comeback, was a full participant at Wednesday’s practice. Running back Miles Sanders (knee) and tackle Lane Johnson (ankle) were limited and could also be back in Philadelphia’s lineup following its Week 9 bye. — Tim McManus
Running back Antonio Gibson worked off to the side during practice Wednesday because of a shoulder injury suffered against the New York Giants on Sunday. It was uncertain what his status will be for Sunday. Washington does have Bryce Love on injured reserve and started practicing him Wednesday; it has 21 days to determine whether to activate him. The team does not want to rush him, so the timing of Gibson’s shoulder and Love’s return might be more coincidental. But, soon, Love could be an option for them. — John Keim
NFC NORTH
Running back David Montgomery‘s (concussion) status looms over preparations for Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. Montgomery, who sat out the final two drives of Sunday’s loss at Tennessee, entered the NFL’s concussion protocol on Monday, head coach Matt Nagy announced. The Bears next practice on Thursday. Chicago can ill afford to be without Montgomery, the team’s only reliable threat in the backfield. Montgomery leads the Bears with 472 rushing yards and also has 30 receptions for 212 yards. — Jeff Dickerson
For the second straight week, the Detroit Lions have to be concerned about the status of their top wide receiver, Kenny Golladay, as he continues to miss practices with a hip injury. While Golladay was at practice Wednesday, he was standing off to the side in sweats watching his teammates work out. Losing Golladay would mean Detroit is again without its big-play, contested-catch receiver. Detroit used a combination of Marvin Hall and Quintez Cephus to replace Golladay in Week 9, but they weren’t nearly as effective. — Michael Rothstein
Wide receiver Allen Lazard: You won’t find him on the injury report because he’s not back on the active roster just yet, but things are looking good for the Packers’ No. 2 receiver to make his return Sunday against the Jaguars. The Packers could technically wait until next week to activate him off injured reserve because he didn’t start practicing until Oct. 28 — meaning the 21-day practice window goes into next week — but this is his third week of practice since returning to the field following core muscle surgery. Lazard hasn’t played since his eight-catch, 146-yard game in Week 3 against the Saints. “I’m excited about the possibility of getting Allen back, based on what he accomplished early in the season, the start that he got off to,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday. — Rob Demovsky
0:33
Brett Favre has no doubt that Aaron Rodgers will do everything he can to help the Packers win another Super Bowl.
The Vikings are down another cornerback after moving Holton Hill to injured reserve. Almost weekly, Minnesota has signed DBs off the street or from other teams’ practice squads to fill out depth in the secondary. The team won’t begin practicing for Chicago until Thursday, so we’ll see at that point whether Cameron Dantzler (concussion) is able to return. It’s slim pickings between Jeff Gladney, Chris Jones, Kris Boyd and Harrison Hand as the team’s only healthy cornerbacks. — Courtney Cronin
NFC SOUTH
A foot injury kept Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley from playing last week against the Denver Broncos. The Falcons have a bye this week, which should provide Ridley with much-needed time so he can keep nursing the foot injury. Ridley’s status should be monitored. His “mid-foot” injury caused Ridley to be listed as day-to-day leading up to last week’s game. — Turron Davenport
Now that we know running back Christian McCaffrey likely is out with a shoulder injury, all eyes turn to rookie Jeremy Chinn. The outside linebacker/safety appears on target to play Sunday against Tampa Bay after missing this past week’s game against Kansas City with a knee injury. Coach Matt Rhule said it would take multiple players to replace all the things Chinn does, and he was right. That tight end Travis Kelce had 10 catches for 159 yards was one area in which Chinn’s absence showed. With Rob Gronkowski up next, having Chinn available is huge. — David Newton
Maybe none, for a change. Saints quarterback Drew Brees, receiver Michael Thomas, center Erik McCoy and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk were all listed as limited in Wednesday’s practice. But everyone was in attendance. And Brees and Thomas both looked perfectly fine after playing through their injuries last week. This team is at its healthiest and playing its best football at the same time right now. — Mike Triplett
Bucs left guard Ali Marpet returned to practice but was limited Wednesday. He suffered a concussion against the Giants and missed Week 9 against the Saints. “Ali is in the final phases of the [concussion] protocol,” coach Bruce Arians said. “We’ll wait and see to evaluate, but it looks like he came out fine. [We will] wait and see if he gets any recurring headaches.” The Saints exploited Marpet’s absence with a lot of stunts, so getting him back should mean improved offensive line communication. — Jenna Laine
NFC WEST
2:54
Lindsey Thiry, Brady Henderson, Nick Wagoner and Josh Weinfuss break down their biggest surprises and disappointments for each NFC West team so far this season.
Safety Budda Baker has a groin injury that kept him out of Wednesday’s practice. If Baker can’t play, the Cardinals will be down one of the best defensive players in the league against a Bills team that’s flying high after a big win over the Seattle Seahawks. If Baker can’t go Sunday, the Cardinals will have Jalen Thompson available for the second straight week, although another safety, Deionte Thompson, also missed Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury. — Josh Weinfuss
Wide receiver Cooper Kupp suffered a wrist injury and “just got banged up overall” in a Week 8 loss to the Dolphins, Rams coach Sean McVay said. The Rams are being cautious with Kupp in practice, but McVay said he is “on track to play” Sunday against the Seahawks. Running back Darrell Henderson is nursing a quad injury and his status for Sunday is unknown. If Henderson is unable to play, watch for rookie Cam Akers to get a significant amount of carries. — Lindsey Thiry
There’s still at least a glimmer of hope for the 49ers to get receiver Deebo Samuel back from a hamstring injury for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. Samuel has missed the past two games because of that ailment and did not practice Wednesday, but coach Kyle Shanahan said Samuel will be reevaluated on Thursday before any decisions are made. The Niners are woefully thin at receiver and could certainly use Samuel against the Saints, but with a bye coming up, they might be better served to let him get the extra time to heal and come back ready for the Nov. 29 game against the Rams. — Nick Wagoner
The Seahawks are hoping to get running back Chris Carson and/or Carlos Hyde back this week from the injuries that have kept their top two backs out of the past two games. Carson (foot) sounds more likely than Hyde (hamstring), based on what coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday: “Chris is running, more so than Carlos is able to at this time. Chris is ahead of Carlos coming back. He’s going to run today and tomorrow. We’ll see how he handles that. I can’t tell you anything more than that right now.” The Seahawks have DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and Alex Collins as backup options. Bo Scarbrough just joined Collins on their practice squad. — Brady Henderson
