NFL Player News

Higgins (quadricep) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Eagles.

After injuring his quad while running a route during Friday's practice, Higgins will miss his third game of the season and his first since Week 2, when he was sidelined to begin the season with a hamstring issue. According to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, the fact that the Bengals are beginning a stretch of three games in 10 days factored into the decision to make Higgins inactive for Week 8, but the wideout could be ready to return to the lineup next Sunday against the Raiders. While Higgins is sidelined against Philadelphia, Andrei Iosivas, Trenton Irwin and Jermaine Burton could step into increased roles behind No. 1 wideout Ja'Marr Chase.

Higgins (quadricep) remains listed as questionable but is not in line to play Sunday against the Eagles, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Higgins' status will be officially confirmed once the Bengals' inactive list is posted 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff. In Higgins' looming absence, Andrei Iosivas, Jermaine Burton and Trenton Irwin are candidates to see increased snaps behind No. 1 wideout Ja'Marr Chase.

Raymond could be the beneficiary of increased snaps due to Jameson Williams serving a two-game suspension and set to miss contests Sunday against the Titans and in Week 9 at Green Bay, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.

Amon-Ra St. Brown remains locked in as the Lions' No. 1 wideout, but Williams' absence will likely free up more snaps and perhaps an extra target or two for the likes of Raymond, Tim Patrick and Allen Robinson, while tight end Sam LaPorta could also see more involvement in the passing game after a slow start to the season. The 5-foot-8, 180-pound Raymond -- who clocked a 4.34-second 40-yard dash time coming out of college in 2016 -- is probably the Lions' best option to replace the downfield routes and gadget plays that were often designed for Williams, though Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson may not dial up those kind of play calls as frequently with Williams out of the lineup. While playing fewer than 40 percent of the snaps in both of the past two weeks, Raymond was able to make an impact during his limited time in the field, recording seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets.

Higgins (quadricep) remains listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Eagles, but his chances of playing don't appear to be promising, a source tells Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports echoes Conway's report, noting that Higgins faces an uphill battle to play Sunday after injuring his quad in Friday's practice. Higgins' Week 8 status will be confirmed either way once the Bengals post their inactive list approximately 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff. Andrei Iosivas, Jermaine Burton and Trenton Irwin could all be in store for increased snaps behind No. 1 wideout Ja'Marr Chase if Higgins is inactive for the contest.

Westbrook-Ikhine is expected to move into a regular role in three-receiver sets beginning with Sunday's game against the Lions after the Titans traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Chiefs on Wednesday, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

Though he could slide down a spot in the pecking order at receiver when or if Treylon Burks (knee) returns from injured reserve, Westbrook-Ikhine projects to see the biggest bump in snaps following Hopkins' departure. Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd will presumably continue to see more targets from quarterbacks Will Levis (shoulder) and Mason Rudolph, however, so Westbrook-Ikhine could struggle to carve out enough volume to attain fantasy relevance in a weak Tennessee passing offense. Westbrook-Ikhine has recorded a 3-19-2 receiving line on six targets over his 94 snaps through six games in 2024, and he didn't display much promise in 2023 (28-370-3 line on 45 targets in 14 regular-season games) despite occupying a top-three role for most of that season.

Palmer is in line for an increased role in the Buccaneers' passing attack beginning with Sunday's divisional matchup against the Falcons due to the absences of Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle), Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Evans is expected to be sidelined through Tampa Bay's Week 11 bye while Godwin has been placed on season-ending injured reserve, meaning Palmer should be in for a multi-week boost in snaps and targets. The second-year wideout does have a solid amount of experience despite his relatively brief NFL tenure, having played in all 17 regular-season games and two postseason games as a rookie in 2023 and also appearing in five games thus far this season. Palmer has a modest 5-61-1 receiving line on nine targets in 2024, but he'll be poised for an immediate increase in opportunity while working as the projected No. 2 receiver alongside Jalen McMillan during Evans' absence.

Shepard is expected to see an expanded role in the Buccaneers' passing attack beginning with Sunday's Week 8 matchup against the Falcons due to the absences of Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle), Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

The veteran landed in Tampa Bay thanks in large part to his college playing experience with Baker Mayfield, and although Shepard opened the regular season on the practice squad, he's already been a steady complementary option over the last four games. Shepard has cobbled together an 8-93-1 line on 12 targets and rushed four times for 31 yards over that span, and the veteran, who's likely to see plenty of slot work thanks to his experience in that role, will now help mentor young wideouts such as Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer as they assume more responsibility in their own right beginning with Sunday's game against the Falcons.

McMillan is expected to see a significantly expanded role beginning with Sunday's Week 8 matchup against the Falcons due to the absences of Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle), Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. "I had a really good conversation with Jalen and just said, 'Hey, this is the week,'" offensive coordinator Liam Coen said. "We talked about it, 'This is the week that you have to really kind of emerge and I trust you.'"

The rookie will be thrust into the No. 1 receiver role in what has been a potent Buccaneers passing attack to date, and even after Evans eventually returns from what is expected to be a multi-game absence, McMillan is likely to serve as no worse than the No. 2 wideout thanks to Godwin's season-ending ankle dislocation. McMillan has already dealt with a hamstring injury of his own that led to a two-game absence earlier in the season, but he should now have ample opportunity to build on the 6-74-1 line he's forged on 15 targets through his first five NFL games.

Chark (groin) was not activated off injured reserve ahead of Sunday's contest versus New Orleans.

Chark hasn't yet played this season, though he was designated to return from IR on Oct. 16. The veteran receiver logged a trio of limited practices this week, so he appears to be getting closer to a return. The Chargers elevated a pair of wideouts (Jaylen Johnson and Jalen Reagor) from the practice squad Saturday to help round out a wideout corps that will likely be without Quentin Johnston (ankle) and Derius Davis (hamstring) on Sunday in addition to Chark.

Flowers (ankle), who is questionable for Sunday's game against the Browns, is expected to play, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Flowers is officially questionable for Sunday and had been considered a game-time decision, but he looks like he'll be officially cleared when the Ravens release their inactive list 90 minutes prior to the 1 p.m. ET kickoff. The second-year receiver has been Baltimore's top pass catcher this season, tallying 49 catches for 412 yards and a touchdown over seven games. Flowers had only one catch for 11 yards and one carry for 19 yards last Sunday against Tampa Bay while playing through the ankle injury, so it's possible that the issue will affect his production to some extent against the Browns.