NFL Player News

Mixon (foot) won't participate at Friday's practice, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The 24-year-old is trending in the wrong direction, as he was unable to practice in any capacity this week. Mixon appears poised to miss his second straight contest, and his status will be confirmed when Cincinnati releases its injury report later Friday. Assuming he's unavailable, Giovani Bernard is in line to lead the Bengals backfield again Sunday versus the Titans.

Homer (knee) was held out of practice Thursday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Homer came out of Sunday's defeat at Arizona with a knee contusion, but the second-year back was "moving better" by Wednesday, as coach Pete Carroll noted to Dugar. Still, the injury has kept Homer off the field so far this week, and position mates Chris Carson (foot) and Carlos Hyde (hamstring) also didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday. Clearly, the Seahawks backfield is in flux, with just one healthy RB (rookie fourth-round pick DeeJay Dallas) on the active roster.

Patterson (quadriceps) did not practice Thursday.

Patterson's status for Sunday's contest against the Saints appears to be in legitimate jeopardy now that he's missed back-to-back practices. If Patterson can't go Sunday, Darnell Mooney will stand to take over as the Bears' top return man. Ryan Nall would also slot in as the No. 2 option behind David Montgomery in the backfield.

Jacobs (knee) remained limited at practice Thursday.

With back-to-back limited sessions under his belt, what Jacobs is able to do at practice Friday should determine whether he approaches Sunday's game against the Browns listed as questionable or minus a Week 8 injury designation.

Sanders (knee) was a non-participant at Thursday's practice.

Sanders has yet to step on the field since the end of a 74-yard run Week 6 against the Ravens, the result of a knee injury suffered on the play. On Wednesday, coach Doug Pederson termed Sanders "day-to-day," per Mike Kaye of The Newark Star-Ledger, so the running back still may have a chance to suit up Sunday night against the Cowboys. Ultimately, Friday's injury report likely will be telling with regard to Sanders' ability to play this weekend.

Harris (ankle) remained limited at practice Thursday.

Harris logged 21 of a possible 52 snaps on offense in this past Sunday's 33-6 loss to the 49ers, en route to recording a team-high 10 carries for 58 yards and adding one catch for 12 yards. With back-to-back limited sessions in the book, there's a pretty solid chance that he'll end up officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Bills.

The Panthers didn't activate McCaffrey (ankle) from injured reserve ahead of Thursday's game against the Falcons, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

After the Panthers cleared him to practice Tuesday for the first time since suffering his high-ankle sprain Week 2, McCaffrey had some hope of returning from a five-game absence this week. While McCaffrey is believed to have avoided any setbacks with his ankle in his first two practices, head coach Matt Rhule stressed that the standout back wouldn't be reinstated to the 53-man roster unless the Panthers were convinced he was 100 percent healthy. Evidently, Carolina felt McCaffrey needed some extra time to get back to full speed, though Alaina Getzenberg of The Charlotte Observer relays that the 24-year-old should be ready to go for a Week 9 matchup with the Chiefs on Nov. 8. In the meantime, Mike Davis should handle a three-down workload once again this week before likely settling into a low-usage complementary role once McCaffrey is cleared to play again.

Cook (groin) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.

Though Cook's limited activity matched his participation level from Wednesday, he appears to be trending toward returning from a one-game absence Sunday in Green Bay. As Tom Pelissero of NFL Network notes, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer already said he expects Cook to play against the Packers, so at this point, the bigger question appears to be not if the 25-year-old suits up this weekend, but whether he faces any restrictions with his workload. According to Chad Graff of The Athletic, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak said he doesn't think Cook will require a "pitch count" to manage the groin injury, though Kubiak noted that any decision on the extent of the running back's usage would come from position coach Kennedy Polamalu.

Jones (calf) didn't practice Thursday, Olivia Reiner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

As coach Matt LaFleur mentioned Wednesday, the Packers will be "very careful" with Jones as he recovers from the strained calf he suffered in practice last week. Jones didn't suit up Week 7 at Houston, yielding the backfield to Jamaal Williams (114 yards from scrimmage, one TD) and rookie second-rounder AJ Dillon (11, zero). With no practice reps under his belt this week, Jones is trending in the wrong direction for Sunday's divisional matchup with the Vikings, but he still has one more practice to make his case for active status.

Mixon (foot) won't participate in Thursday's practice, Tyler Dragon of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

After he was sidelined for the first time all season in last week's 37-34 loss to the Browns, Mixon hasn't created much optimism about his chances of returning to action Sunday against the Titans. With Mixon absent from practice for the second day in a row, he may need to get back on the field in at least a limited capacity Friday just to carry a questionable designation into the weekend. If Mixon is inactive for a second straight game, Giovani Bernard would be in store for another turn as Cincinnati's lead back.