NFL Player News

Henry was downgraded to questionable for Sunday's game against the Saints with a hamstring injury, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

This certainly isn't great news, made worse by the fact Dayln Dawkins was called up from the practice squad to act as a depth running back. Considering Henry, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue all week, initially didn't have an injury designation following Friday's practice, it's clear the powerful back has suffered some sort of setback, although the team did opt to rule him as questionable as opposed to something more serious. Still, fantasy owners will want to monitor his status heading into Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff against the Saints.

Mattison (ankle) is listed as questionable for Monday's game against the Packers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Dalvin Cook has been officially ruled out, and Mattison remains uncertain for Monday, which could open the door for Mike Boone to get the start in the Minnesota backfield. Mattison went through individual drills in Saturday's practice and a final decision on his status will come in the hours before kickoff.

Cook (chest) has been ruled out for Monday's game against the Packers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Minnesota will be without its starting running back for a vital divisional matchup in Week 16 with Cook unable to go due to his chest injury. Schefter adds that Alexander Mattison (ankle) is questionable, meaning that Mike Boone should be in line for an elevated role against the Packers.

Mattison tested his ankle out during individual drills Saturday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

We'll have to see how the Vikings officially list Mattison's practice participation level, but his presence on the field Saturday is at least a step in the right direction following back-to-back missed sessions Thursday and Friday. We'll look for added clarity with regard to his status for Monday night's game against the Packers once the Vikings' final Week 16 injury report is released, but at this stage Mattison remains iffy for the contest, while fellow back Dalvin Cook (chest) is trending toward being out.

Cook (chest) wasn't spotted at practice Saturday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

We'll circle back on his status once the Vikings' final injury report of the week is revealed, but Cook is expected to be out Monday night against the Packers. Meanwhile, Alexander Mattison was seen testing things out with his ankle during individual drills Saturday, but he's still looking iffy for Week 16 action. If both Cook and Mattison can't play Monday, Mike Boone will be in line to head Minnesota's rushing attack against Green Bay.

Boone is drawing closer to his first career start Monday against the Packers with Dalvin Cook (chest) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) still unable to practice Friday, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.

On Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the Vikings are considering shutting down Cook for the final two regular-season games to get him healthy for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Mattison continues to deal with swelling and pain due to a sprained ankle that hasn't allowed him to stretch with his teammates before practice the past two weeks. The needle thus is pointing toward the Vikings starting Boone, who has averaged 4.5 YPC on 32 career rushes. While the sample size is small, he'll have a nice matchup on tap versus a Green Bay defense that has yielded 152 yards from scrimmage per game and 15 touchdowns to running backs in 14 contests this season.

Barner (shoulder/knee) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's matchup with the Jaguars.

Barner began the week not practicing but put in two consecutive limited sessions to avoid the questionable tag. The 30-year-old should serve his usual role as the Falcons' primary return man Sunday.

Williams (rib) has been cleared to play in Sunday night's contest against the Bears, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.

Williams heads into the contest minus a Week 16 injury designation after practicing fully Friday. That removes the risk in terms of him being potentially being a Sunday night scratch, but it remains to be seen how much work he'll see in his first game action since Week 11. With that in mind, LeSean McCoy, Spencer Ware and Darwin Thompson -- who formed a Week 15 backfield timeshare -- are also in the mix, a context that makes Williams' volume Sunday difficult to project.

Henry (hamstring) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game against the Saints, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

In advance of each of the past four contests, the Titans have imposed some limitations on Henry's practice reps. This week, he followed an LP/DNP/FP regimen, leaving him free to take on a New Orleans defense that has allowed just 101 yards from scrimmage per game and 10 touchdowns to running backs in 14 outings this season.

Mattison, who missed another practice Friday, is still dealing with swelling and pain in his sprained ankle, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Neither Dalvin Cook (chest) nor Mattison is looking good for Monday's game against Green Bay, potentially leaving Mike Boone as the lead runner. Cook and Mattison do have one more chance to get on the practice field this week, as the Vikings won't need to release their final injury report until Saturday afternoon/evening.