NFL Player News

Barkley (ankle/COVID protocol) doesn't seem likely to be available for Sunday's game against the Raiders, Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York reports. "I wouldn't eliminate it," coach Joe Judge said Thursday. "But it's not moving in a direction to give us a definite answer in a positive way."

Barkley wasn't ready to return for Week 8 action in Kansas City due to lingering swelling and soreness in his left ankle. Another hurdle was placed in his path this week when he tested positive for COVID-19. The Giants remain hopeful that Barkley merely had a false positive, as he'll be retested Thursday and Friday to attempt to appease league protocols to return to the active roster, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. But as Judge intimated, missing back-to-back practices could be the biggest reason Barkley remains sidelined for a fourth straight game this weekend. Assuming Barkley is inactive or still on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Giants again will turn to Devontae Booker and Elijhaa Penny on Sunday.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy confirmed Thursday that Montgomery (knee) has been designated to return from injured reserve, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

The move clears Montgomery to return to practice and gives the Bears a 21-day window in which they can either add him to back to the 53-man roster or keep him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Since Montgomery hasn't been on the field since suffering a left knee sprain Oct. 3, he could be a limited participant in his return to practice. The Bears will track his progress in practice over the next three days before determining whether he'll be ready to go for Monday's game in Pittsburgh, but if Montgomery remains on IR for another week, Khalil Herbert and Damien Williams (knee) -- if healthy -- will share backfield duties for Chicago.

Ward (concussion) didn't participate in practice Thursday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Ward sustained a concussion in last week's loss to Green Bay and has been held out of practice for two consecutive days. He'll likely need to return to the field in some capacity Friday if he hopes to play in Week 9.

Barkley's (ankle) placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday may have been the result of a false positive test for the virus, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

In addition to Barkley, safety Xavier McKinney was placed on the list Wednesday as the result of a positive test, while left guard Matt Skura tested positive but wasn't placed on the list. The Giants apparently have some hope that all three players' results were false positives, and Barkley is scheduled to get retested Thursday and Friday as the team looks to gain further clarity on the matter, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic. Even if Barkley exits the COVID-19 protocol ahead of the team's final practice of the week Friday, he looks destined to miss his fourth straight game Sunday against the Raiders while he continues to contend with swelling and soreness in his sprained left ankle. Expect Devontae Booker to once again serve as New York's lead back this weekend.

The 49ers designated Wilson (knee) for return from the reserve/PUP list Wednesday.

Wilson has reached the final stages of his recovery from May surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He'll now have three weeks to practice and put himself in a position to return to game action. The 49ers backfield has been bombarded by injuries this season, with Raheem Mostert ruled out of the season after he suffered chipped cartilage in his left knee Week 1, Elijah Mitchell missing Weeks 3 and 4, and JaMycal Hasty spending time on IR from Weeks 3 through 5. Mitchell didn't practice Wednesday due to a rib injury, so Hasty, Trey Sermon and Trenton Cannon are the healthy backs on the active roster.

Jacobs, who sustained a chest contusion in the Raiders' Week 7 win over the Eagles, is not listed on the team's Week 9 injury report.

The Raiders were on bye last week and the time off evidently allowed Jacobs to recover from his chest issue. As a result, he's in line to retain his lead RB role Sunday against the Giants. In five games thus far this season, Jacobs has logged 60 carries for 204 yards and five TDs while adding 14 catches (on 16 targets) for 110 yards.

Edmonds was limited at Wednesday's practice due to a shoulder injury, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

Edmonds left last Thursday's eventual loss to the Packers after a six-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but he was back on the field three plays later and finished out the game. He paced Arizona runnings backs with a 59-percent snap share and 10 touches, while James Conner was on the field for 37 percent of the Cardinals' plays and logged five touches. Such a breakdown has been the norm for this backfield this season, but it'll be interesting to see if Edmonds' injury will result in role reversals for the two, which happened back in Week 6 when Edmonds was banged up.

Murray (ankle) didn't practice Wednesday, Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official site reports.

Murray hasn't practiced since being forced out of the team's Week 6 win over the Chargers, so his absence from Wednesday's session isn't especially encouraging with the team coming off a Week 8 bye. That said, head coach John Harbaugh suggested Monday that Murray still has a chance to play this weekend against the Vikings. If that doesn't happen, Devonta Freeman, Le'Veon Bell and Ty'Son Williams would once again form a committee backfield for the Ravens.

The Giants placed Barkley on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday after he tested positive for the virus, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

Due to an outbreak among 13 Giants players and staffers, retesting was done to see if there were any false positives. With Barkley's placement on the list, he thus is subject to league protocols before he can return to team facilities, let alone the practice field. He was listed as a non-participant anyway Wednesday due to his left ankle sprain, which he told Lisa Salters oF ESPN still was too swollen and sore to allow him to play in Monday's loss to Kansas City. Barkley may be in store for a fourth consecutive absence this weekend against the Raiders, only this time for a different reason.

Evans (hamstring) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Evans' ability to begin Week 9 on the field in any capacity is a promising sign, but he'll likely need to graduate to full activity by Friday to avoid taking an injury designation into Sunday's game against the Browns. While Evans was sidelined for the Bengals' Week 8 loss to the Jets, Samaje Perine had the No. 2 running-back reps all to himself, but he played only 26 percent of the offensive snaps while Cincinnati leaned more heavily than usual on top option Joe Mixon (76 percent).