NFL Player News

Jackson (knee/illness) was seen participating at Friday's practice with no apparent limitations, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

The 23-year-old sat out practice the past two days while battling an illness and a minor knee issue, but his presence on the field Friday offers reassurance about his availability for Sunday's game against the Bengals. Jackson wasn't seen with a knee brace, which confirms the minor nature of the injury. It's still unclear if he'll be able to completely avoid an injury designation heading into the weekend, but there seems to be little doubt about Jackson's status for the divisional game.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday that he expects Garoppolo (ankle) to start Sunday against the Dolphins if he successfully makes it through Friday's practice, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

The 28-year-old practiced as a limited participant the past two days and is on track to return from the two-game absence if he can avoid a setback during Friday's session. Garoppolo's status will receive more clarity when the 49ers release their final official injury report of Week 5 later in the day.

Tannehill and the Titans are now reportedly slated to face the Bills this coming Tuesday night, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The game was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, and this reported postponement occurring as planned hinges on no further positive COVID-19 tests within the Titans organization.

Allen and the Bills are now scheduled to face the Titans on Tuesday instead of Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The game will only be played this week if there are no more positive tests among the Titans, who have still yet to open up their practice facility following numerous positive COVID-19 tests. As for Allen, at least managers still have a chance of being able to use him this week, though the game being played in Week 5 is still far from a certainty. Still, we should have a better idea of the likelihood of that happening by the time the first wave of games kicks off Sunday, pending the next few days of test results.

Jackson (knee/illness) is expected to suit up against the Bengals on Sunday despite having missed Thursday's practice due to a stomach ache, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Neither Jackson's current ailment nor the knee injury that caused him to miss Wednesday's practice are expected to be enough to seriously endanger his readiness for Sunday's game against the Bengals, though it is notable that he's now missed back-to-back practices for the first time in his young career. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network notes that the Ravens consider both issues to be minor, so if Jackson is at least able to upgrade to 'limited' participation Friday it'll bode well for his Week 5 availability.

Lock (right shoulder) remained limited at practice Thursday, Ryan O'Halloran of the Denver Post reports.

While Lock is clearly moving in the right direction, coach Vic Fangio isn't quite ready to sign off on the QB returning to action in Week 4, noting that "besides just the throwing, which is the obvious evaluator, you also have to know if he's capable physically and mentally to take a hit or go to the ground." With that in mind, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News believes that Brett Rypien is trending toward starting Sunday's game against the Patriots. Added clarity on that front should arrive no later than Friday's final Week 5 injury report.

Garoppolo (ankle) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Keiana Martin of the 49ers' official site reports.

Garoppolo appeared to participate in his second consecutive limited practice without a brace or extra padding on his right ankle, per Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area. The starting quarterback has one more opportunity to prove his health at practice before the 49ers tag him with an official injury designation for Sunday's game against the Dolphins. In the event that Garoppolo were forced to miss a third straight game, the team would have to decide between Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard under center for another week.

Jackson, who missed practice Thursday, is dealing with both a knee issue and an illness, per the Ravens' injury report, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Jackson's back-to-back absences from practice now have added context, with Tom Pelissero noting during an appearance on NFL Network that both of the QB's issues are considered minor and that his status for Sunday's game against the Bengals shouldn't be impacted.

Coach Anthony Lynn has announced that Taylor (ribs/chest) will back up Justin Herbert once he's cleared to play, Gilbert Manzano of The Orange County reports.

The Chargers had originally planned to ease Herbert -- who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft -- into his anticipated role as the team's franchise QB, but that process was accelerated when he played very well after Taylor suffered a punctured lung while receiving a pain-killing injection to his rib area just before Los Angeles' Week 2 kickoff. If Taylor is unable to bounce back in time for Monday night's game against the Saints, Easton Stick will continue to serve as Herbert's backup in Week 5.

Burrow has connected on only one of his 20 attempts on passes thrown 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage through four games, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

It's a historically low percentage of completions of that type, since the stat first started being tracked, but it's not all attributable to Burrow's failings. He has missed on some of those throws, but he's also not been helped by his receivers in hauling those passes, plus opposing defenses have been trying to force him to throw more intermediate passes.