NFL Player News

McNichols (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday, Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports.

The running back suffered an ankle injury Monday night versus the Bills, causing him to leave the game early and also miss Wednesday's walkthrough. With his participation Thursday, his chances to play Sunday versus the Chiefs are a little higher. Friday's practice will offer a little more clarity on his availability. McNichols has operated behind Derrick Henry in the backfield this year, rushing the ball seven times for 38 yards while also making 17 catches for 160 yards and a score in six games.

Williams (illness) is unvaccinated, meaning he won't be able to clear the NFL's COVID-19 protocols until Saturday at the earliest, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Due to his status, Williams has a mandatory 10-day period in which he must remain away from the Bears. Only at that point will he be allowed to rejoin his teammates, if he's asymptomatic. He thus would seem very questionable to be available Sunday at Tampa Bay, which would allow Khalil Herbert to lead Chicago's backfield again.

Evans (hamstring) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Evans' reps were capped for the second straight day while he continues to tend to a hamstring injury in the aftermath of setting season highs in offensive snaps (16) and touches (seven) in last week's win over the Lions. He served as the Bengals' No. 2 back for that contest behind Joe Mixon, but if available Sunday against the Ravens, Evans could drop to third on the depth chart. After sitting out against the Lions, Samaje Perine (illness) was reinstated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday and could immediately reclaim the top backup role he held prior to testing positive for the virus.

Swift (groin) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

Swift may end up being listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams if he doesn't practice fully Friday, but fantasy managers shouldn't be too concerned about his availability for the Lions' Week 7 matchup. While being listed as questionable with the same injury ahead of each of the past three contests, Swift has played no fewer than 72 percent of the offensive snaps in any game while averaging 15.7 touches.

Edmonds (shoulder) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Edmonds has been a productive member of the Cardinals' sixth-ranked run offense this season and aided in the team's fourth-ranked scoring offense. But he's tending to a shoulder injury for a third straight week, which has contributed to his two lowest yards from scrimmage tallies of the season in Weeks 5 and 6 (16 combined touches for a combined 84 total yards). Edmonds may enter the weekend with a designation next to his name, but considering he hasn't missed any games to date he should be out there Sunday against the Texans as the 1A runner for Arizona with 1B James Conner.

Gibson (shin) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

After sitting out Wednesday's session, Gibson has begun a slow ramp-up as Washington prepares for Sunday's visit to Green Bay. It's a positive sign for the running back, who has been playing through a stress fracture in his shin since Week 4. Gibson's offensive snap share suffered this past Sunday against the Chiefs -- a season-low 40 percent -- but he still had 12 touches, while J.D. McKissic had 16 on the other 60 percent.

Murray (ankle) didn't practice Thursday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Back-to-back DNPs leave Murray's status for Sunday's game against the Bengals cloudy, though his outlook on that front would improve with a return to practice in any capacity come Friday. If Murray ends up out or limited this weekend, added backfield touches would be available for Devonta Freeman, Le'Veon Bell and perhaps Ty'Son Williams.

Barkley (ankle) remained sidelined at Thursday's practice, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

The same applies to Kenny Golladay (knee) and Kadarius Toney (ankle). While coach Joe Judge suggests that the trio "all made progress" Wednesday, it remains to be seen if any of them will be able to practice Friday. For his part, Raanan doesn't expect Barkley to play Sunday against the Panthers, and if that's the case Devontae Booker would continue to lead the Giants backfield this weekend.

Gibson (shin) was spotted participating in position drills Thursday, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

It remains to be seen how the team lists Gibson's participation level, but his presence at practice Thursday, in any capacity, is a step in the right direction for the running back after he sat out Wednesday's session. Though Gibson has been dealing with what's been described as as a stress fracture in his shin since Week 4, he's been able to suit up for Washington's three games since then.

The Bengals reinstated Perine (illness) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Perine had resided on the list since Oct. 11 after testing positive for the virus. Now that he's completed a quarantine and has cleared all health and safety protocols, Perine should be ready to go for Sunday's game against the Ravens. Chris Evans served as the top backup to Joe Mixon in last week's win over Detroit, but Perine could reclaim the No. 2 role Week 7, especially after Evans was limited in practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury.