NFL Player News

Hill (hip) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday.

Hill is coming off his most-productive outing of the season Week 8 at Indianapolis, where he had nine carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns, tallied a 14-yard catch and completed one of two passes for 44 yards. With a hip injury impacting him this week, he may have to return to all on-field work Friday in order to avoid a designation for Sunday's game against the Bears.

Allen (right shoulder) practiced fully Thursday.

After being deemed a non-participant Wednesday, Allen upgraded to full participation Thursday, which sets the stage for the QB to be available to start Sunday night's game against the Bengals in the absence of any setbacks. Friday's final injury report will confirm whether Allen heads into the weekend with a Week 9 injury designation or fully cleared to play.

Fields (thumb) didn't participate in Thursday's practice.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus hinted Monday that Fields may be able to practice in some fashion this week, but the quarterback has remained sidelined for the team's first two sessions of Week 9 while he continues to recover from a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. Eberflus has already announced that Tyson Bagent will start his third consecutive game this Sunday at New Orleans, so expect Fields to be formally ruled out for that contest following the release of Friday's injury report.

DeVito will serve as New York's backup quarterback Sunday, Art Stapleton of USA Today reports.

Daniel Jones (neck) is expected to return as the Giants' signal-caller this Sunday, and with Tyrod Taylor (ribs) missing time, DeVito will serve as the team's second-string QB. The 25-year-old was thrust into action for an injured Taylor during the Giants' Week 8 loss to the Jets, completing two of his seven pass attempts for minus-1 yard while adding 12 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Thursday that Taylor (ribs) won't be available for Sunday's game against the Raiders, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

With Taylor out this week, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports that Tommy DeVito is likely to serve as the Giants' No. 2 quarterback Sunday. Meanwhile, Matt Citak of the team's official site previously noted that top signal-caller Daniel Jones (neck) returned to a full practice Wednesday, which seemingly puts Jones on track to return from a three-game absence to start Sunday's contest.

Coach Sean McDermott noted that Allen (right shoulder) is in line to participate in practice Thursday, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

The report adds that Allen -- who didn't practice Wednesday -- is expected to mix into some team drills Thursday, which suggests that the QB will likely be deemed a limited participant. Per Getzenberg, McDermott also relayed that he feels "confident" in what the Bills' medical team shared with him in terms of whether Allen will be ready to play Sunday night against the Bengals.

Watson (shoulder) acknowledged Thursday that he's "not sure" if he'll be able to play Sunday against the Cardinals, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

Per Trotter, Watson said that whether his status for Sunday's contest is decided after Friday's game or turns into a game-time decision is up to head coach Kevin Stefanski. Watson was officially listed as a limited participant in his return to practice Wednesday, after he spent Week 8 off the practice field focusing on rehabbing the rotator cuff injury in his throwing shoulder. PJ Walker will be in line to start against Arizona if Watson doesn't get the green light to play.

Murray (knee) was a full practice participant Wednesday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

For a second consecutive week, Murray doesn't have any practice limitations, but his on-field work continues to occur solely with members of the Cardinals' practice squad, per Howard Balzer of GoPHNX.com. Meanwhile, rookie fifth-round pick Clayton Tune took snaps from starting center Hjalte Froholdt, and practice-squad quarterback Jeff Driskel also threw passes to players on the team's active roster. There's a chance Murray progresses enough to prove to Arizona's coaches, trainers and medical personnel that he's good to go for Sunday's game at Cleveland. Head coach Jonathan Gannon even told Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com on Wednesday that Murray is "fired up" and "ready to go." Still, Tune appears to be getting the reps consistent with the player who will get the start this weekend, leaving Murray somewhat behind the eight ball.

Mayfield (knee) practiced fully Wednesday.

Mayfield told Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site on Wednesday that he initially banged up his left knee Week 4 at New Orleans and aggravated the injury Week 7 against the Falcons. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Mayfield is dealing with a contusion, but the quarterback relayed that his knee is feeling better by the day, and he intends to play through the injury. Mayfield's activity level to begin Week 9 prep indicates that he's good to go for Sunday's visit to the Texans.

Watson (shoulder), who was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, didn't appear to be restricted with his throwing and took every rep with the first-team offense in the portion of the session that was open to the media, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

Watson has sat out three of the Browns' past four games due to a rotator cuff strain in his right shoulder, with his lone appearance coming in a Week 7 loss to the Colts and lasting less than one quarter after he was shut down for the day when his ability to throw at full velocity appeared to be compromised. After sitting out all three of the Browns' Week 8 practices while focusing on rehabbing his throwing shoulder, Watson is seemingly in much better condition physically as Cleveland begins Week 9 prep. Jackson was one of several Browns beat writers that came away convinced about Watson's health in his return to practice Wednesday, with Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram going as far to say that Watson "threw with more zip than at any point since he was injured Sept. 24 during a win over the Titans." Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that he wasn't yet ready to make a decision on Watson's status for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, though Stefanski noted that PJ Walker will draw a second straight start if Watson remains sidelined this weekend. The Browns will likely wait and see how Watson fares during practices Thursday and Friday before providing an update on their plans at quarterback for Week 9.