NFL Player News

Barkley (ankle) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Head coach Brian Daboll told Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News earlier Wednesday that Barkley was slated to take part in team drills for the first time since suffering a high right-ankle sprain Week 2. Even so, Barkley operated with a cap on his reps, as he did on all three practice reports last week. He likely will need to get back to full practice participation by Friday in order to avoid a designation ahead of Sunday's game at Miami.

Rodriguez (illness) is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Bears.

The Commanders listed Rodriguez as a limited practice participant Monday through Wednesday, prompting the team to give him a designation for the Week 5 contest. The rookie running back's status will be established when the Commanders release their inactive list approximately 90 minutes before Thursday's 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff. Even if he's active for the contest, Rodriguez isn't a good bet to see any touches on offense behind Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson.

Brightwell (undisclosed) will be limited in practice Wednesday, Bob Brookover of NJ.com reports.

It's not clear what the injury Brightwell is dealing with is, but the Arizona product will be unable to participate in full to the start the week. He'll try to ramp up his activity ahead of Sunday's game against Miami on Thursday or Friday.

Mitchell (shoulder) practiced Wednesday, opening a 21-day window in which he can be evaluated for a return from injured reserve, Clifton Brown of the Ravens' official site reports.

Mitchell averaged 6.0 yards per carry during the preseason, so the speedy undrafted rookie out of East Carolina could be an intriguing addition to a Baltimore backfield that consists of Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and Melvin Gordon after losing J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 1. Before being eligible to play, Mitchell will need to be activated from IR and added to the 53-man roster, but such a move could happen at any point in the next three weeks. If Mitchell turns in a healthy and productive week of practice from Wednesday through Friday, he could even be available as soon as Sunday's game in Pittsburgh.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said that Dowdle (hip) won't practice Wednesday, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Dowdle suffered a hip contusion in Sunday's 38-3 win over the Patriots and will spend the Cowboys' first Week 5 practice session rehabbing the injury. He'll likely need to get back on the field Thursday or Friday to have a chance to suit up Sunday against the 49ers. If Dowdle is unable to play through the hip injury, Deuce Vaughn would be in line to work as the top backup to Tony Pollard.

Wilson (midsection) won't practice Wednesday and appears on track to remain out for the Dolphins' Week 5 game against the Giants, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

After being placed on injured reserve Aug. 31, Wilson is eligible to resume practicing this week, but the running back doesn't seem to have made enough progress in his recovery for the Dolphins to clear him for on-field reps. Whenever the Dolphins deem Wilson ready to practice, the team will then have up to 21 days to evaluate him for a return to the 53-man roster. With Raheem Mostert and rookie De'Von Achane excelling out of the backfield through the team's first four games, Miami has little reason to rush Wilson back if he's still less than 100 percent healthy.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Cook has been showing improved speed in practice, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports.

Cook has been dreadful through four games, rushing for just 74 yards on 30 carries while adding 44 yards on eight catches. According to Saleh, Cook is still getting his legs underneath him after signing with the Jets in mid-August, but the numbers on the running back's GPS tracker in practice are improving. Saleh also said that fellow running back Breece Hall will no longer be on a pitch count after being eased in early in the season, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. With that in mind, unless Cook picks up the pace in games, he's likely to cede the more work to Hall in the near future.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Hall has "no pitch count anymore," perhaps implying that the running back will take on a larger workload moving forward, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The Jets managed Hall's touches over the first four weeks of the season so as not to put as much strain on his surgically repaired knee after he tore his ACL last October. After being limited to 32 carries and 10 targets through four games, Hall should see a substantial increase in usage beginning with Sunday's game in Denver, as he had 111 combined carries and targets in seven games last season (15.9 per contest). Hall is averaging 6.6 yards per rushing attempt in 2023, while Dalvin Cook has mustered just 2.5 YPC on his 30 totes and will likely be relegated to a lower-volume change-of-pace role in the weeks to come.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Barkley (ankle) is slated to take part in team drills during Wednesday's practice, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.

Per Leonard, Barkley will be involved in team work for the first time since suffering a right high-ankle sprain late in the Giants' Week 2 win over Arizona. While Barkley is expected to be listed as a limited participant in the Giants' first Week 5 practice session, his presence in team drills offers hope that he could return to action Sunday against the Dolphins.

Harris rushed six times for 29 yards in Sunday's 48-20 win over the Dolphins.

Harris continued to be a disappointment for fantasy Sunday, playing the fewest snaps (16) of any Bills running back behind James Cook (23) and Latavius Murray (19). With such limited usage, Harris will be difficult to trust for consistent fantasy production, barring injuries to either Cook or Murray. Harris should face an uphill battle for carries in a Week 5 matchup with the Jaguars.