NFL Player News

Bradford (knee) was a limited participant at Friday's practice.

While he has yet to return to a full practice, Bradford did manage back-to-back limited sessions and said Friday his knee is feeling much better. Per Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com, the quarterback used the term "night and day" when comparing how his injury feels now to how it felt two weeks ago. Despite the clear optimism, Bradford stopped shy of making any proclamations regarding a return to action Monday against the Bears. He did acknowledge that he'll play before the pain completely subsides, saying that he doesn't expect his knee to fully heal any sooner than Minnesota's Week 9 bye. Bradford could come down to a game-time decision Monday.

Carr (back) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Ravens, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.

It looked like a foregone conclusion that Carr would be held out Sunday after it was announced earlier this week that he suffered a transverse process fracture in his back that would require a 2-to-6-week recovery timetable, but the quarterback's limited participation in practices Wednesday through Friday has apparently left the window open for him to suit up in Week 5. Though it appears Carr is progressing faster than expected, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio wasn't willing to confirm as much, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic Bay Area. Further updates on Carr's health should be made available heading into Sunday, but in the event he's sidelined for the first time this season, EJ Manuel would step in as the Raiders' starter under center.

Carr (back) is making good progress and could return as soon as Week 6 against the Chargers, ESPN.com's Stephania Bell reports.

Recovering from a transverse process fracture in has back, Carr will be held out for Sunday's game against the Ravens. He nonetheless joined Thursday's practice as a limited participant, stretching with teammates and even throwing a football around. EJ Manuel will face the Ravens on Sunday, while Carr's practice availability will need to be closely monitored next week.

Titans head coach Mike Mularkey indicated that a determination on the status of Mariota (hamstring), who is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest against the Dolphins, will come down to a game-time call, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

The Titans will kick off at 1:00 p.m. EDT this weekend, affording those considering Mariota in Week 5 lineups a degree of flexibility in the event that he's unable to suit up Sunday. Veteran Matt Cassel is on hand to start at quarterback for the Titans in such a scenario. Per Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com, Mariota was able to do a "little more" Friday than he had been able to do during the Titans' first two practices of the week, but at this stage, the franchise signal caller "hasn't truly tested" out his hamstring this week.

Winston completed 26 of 46 passes for 334 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in Thursday's 19-14 loss to the Patriots. He also gained 11 yards on three rushes, fumbled twice and recovered a fumble.

Winston's stat line was once again aesthetically pleasing by game's end, but the end result was still disappointing from the Bucs' perspective. It was a rollercoaster contest for Tampa even with the relatively low score, as despite three Nick Folk missed field goals, Winston still had a chance to pull out a win on the game's last play. However, he was unable to connect with 2017 first-rounder O.J. Howard on the last-gasp attempt, sealing the hard-fought win over the Patriots. Winston did lead the Bucs on an impressive nine-play, 74-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown throw to Cameron Brate, the signal caller's sixth of the season. The 23-year-old has three consecutive 300-yard efforts and has thrown at least one touchdown in each game, while all three of his interceptions came in a Week 3 loss to the Vikings. He'll look to get the Bucs back in the win column in a tough Week 6 road matchup against the Cardinals.

Carr (back) was officially listed as a limited practice participant Thursday.

While that's a promising development for the QB, who suffered a transverse process fracture in his back in Week 4, it's assumed that Carr is in line miss Sunday's game against the Ravens, at a minimum. EJ Manuel is thus on track to draw the start at QB for the Raiders this weekend.

Carr (back) was able to go through some stretching and threw the football prior to the start of the Raiders' practice Thursday, Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Raiders have to be happy that Carr was able to go through a workout in a jersey just days after being diagnosed with a transverse process fracture in his back, but it's still quite likely that the signal caller was a nonparticipant in Thursday's session and therefore isn't a candidate to suit up Sunday against the Ravens. Since head coach Jack Del Rio announced days earlier that Carr could miss 2-to-6 weeks with the injury, it's conceivable that the 26-year-old could make his return to action in the team's subsequent contest Oct. 15 against the Chargers, but the Raiders will be forced to turn to backup EJ Manuel to helm the offense for at least one game.

The Vikings listed Bradford (knee) as a limited participant at Thursday's practice.

As head coach Mike Zimmer promised prior to the session, Bradford was on the field for the Vikings' first practice of the week, though the quarterback didn't receive clearance for full activities. Since Bradford has been sidelined since the season opener with the left knee issue -- which has been diagnosed as a bone bruise -- the Vikings may want to see him put in a full practice before feeling more confident about his ability to play in a game. He'll have two more opportunities this week to increase his involvement in practice, and if he's able to do so, his odds of suiting up for the Monday night matchup with the Bears would increase. Case Keenum has commanded the Vikings offense the past three contests, completing 61 percent of his passes for 755 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Titans coach Mike Mularkey indicated that Mariota (hamstring) remained limited at Thursday's practice, but did "a little bit more" than he had in the team's first practice of the week Wednesday, Jason Wolf of The Tennessean reports.

While it's reassuring for the Titans to see Mariota on the field in any capacity for both of their first two practices of the week, it sounds as though the hamstring is still hindering the quarterback's mobility, which could prompt the team to take a cautious approach with his workload in Friday's session. Once that practice concludes, Mariota appears destined to enter Sunday with a questionable tag, leaving his status for the Titans' Week 5 game against the Dolphins very much up in the air. Matt Cassel would presumably start that contest if Mariota can't go, resulting in a downgrade in fantasy appeal for all of the team's receiving options.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said that Bradford (knee) would likely practice in some capacity Thursday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. "If [Bradford is] ready to play, he'll play," Zimmer said, regarding the quarterback's status for Monday's game against the Bears.

Bradford has been held out of the Vikings' last three games while managing the knee injury, but Zimmer described the signal caller as day-to-day earlier this week, leaving open the possibility that Bradford could make his return Monday night. At this point in the recovery process, it appears Bradford's knee issue will come down to a matter of pain tolerance, so if he's able to put in a few practices this week without any complications, his chances of returning to action would increase. Zimmer didn't indicate if he expects Bradford to face any restrictions during Thursday's practice, but his level of involvement will be clarified when the Vikings formally release their injury report later in the day.