NFL Player News

Carolina lists Thielen (hamstring) as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Saints, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Thielen has missed the Panthers' last five games with a right hamstring injury and remains on injured reserve, but he took part in practices for the second straight week and seems to be making progress. He was a limited participant Wednesday and Thursday before sitting out Friday's session entirely, but head coach Dave Canales said that Thielen didn't suffer any sort of setback in his recovery. The veteran wideout presumably just needs to get in some more practice time before he's ready to play, and Canales added that the expectation is that Thielen will be available for the Panthers' Week 10 game against the Giants in Munich, per David Newton of ESPN.com. Whenever Thielen makes his return to the lineup, he'll likely take over as the Panthers' No. 1 option in the passing game after Carolina traded Diontae Johnson to Baltimore earlier this week.

Smith-Schuster (hamstring) won't practice Friday, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

Smith-Schuster was inactive for last Sunday's win over the Raiders, and back-to-back absences from practice cloud his status for Monday night's game against the Buccaneers. If Smith-Schuster is unavailable for the contest, Xavier Worthy, DeAndre Hopkins and Justin Watson would be in line to lead the Chiefs' WR corps versus Tampa Bay, with Hopkins likely to be more involved in the Chiefs' Week 9 game plan in his second outing with the team since arriving via a trade with the Titans.

Legette (toe) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Saints, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Legette was added to the Panthers' injury report Thursday, when he was a limited participant in practice due to the toe injury. He again was limited in Friday's session, prompting the Panthers to give him a designation heading into the weekend. The fact that he was able to practice in some fashion on consecutive days is a positive sign, but Legette's status may not get much clarity until Carolina releases its inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff. With the Panthers trading away Diontae Johnson earlier this week and with Adam Thielen (hamstring) listed as doubtful and unlikely to be activated from injured reserve ahead of Sunday's contest, Legette could serve as the top target in the passing game for quarterback Bryce Young if he's able to move past the toe injury.

Higgins (quad) will be listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Raiders, Ben Baby of ESPN.com and Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer report.

Higgins, who has been unable to practice this week, thus is trending toward a second straight absence. If he's indeed out this weekend, WRs Jermaine Burton and Trenton Irwin should have added Week 9 opportunities working alongside Ja'Marr Chase (who logged 11 targets in Higgins' absence last Sunday) and Andrei Iosivas, with TE Mike Gesicki (eight targets Week 8) also a candidate to remain busy versus Las Vegas.

Shepard (hamstring) isn't participating in Friday's practice, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Shepard will have another opportunity Saturday to potentially get in some practice reps before the Buccaneers determine whether he carries a designation into Monday's game at Kansas City. With Chris Godwin (ankle) on injured reserve and with Mike Evans (hamstring) already ruled out for the Week 9 contest, the Buccaneers' depleted receiver room would take another hit if Shepard is also sidelined against the Chiefs.

Jeudy (knee) was limited at practice Thursday.

Jeudy practiced fully Wednesday, so his addition to the Browns' injury report a day later makes his status worth tracking. The team's upcoming injury report will relay whether the wideout approaches Sunday's game against the Chargers with an injury designation or cleared for Week 9 action.

Higgins (quad) wasn't spotted at practice Friday, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

With Higgins also having missed Wednesday and Thursday's practices, his status for Sunday's game against the Raiders looks cloudy. The Bengals' upcoming injury report will reveal whether Higgins has any chance of playing this weekend, but if he remains sidelined versus Las Vegas, added Week 9 snaps would be available for Jermaine Burton and Trenton Irwin.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Friday that Samuel (pectoral) will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

After sitting out the Week 8 win over the Seahawks, Samuel was a limited participant in the Bills' first two practices of the week and evidently isn't in line to do enough work at Friday's practice to fully convince the coaching staff that he'll be ready to go Sunday. Provided Samuel is able to maintain at least limited practice activity Friday, he should still have a decent chance at playing against the Dolphins, though the 28-year-old wideout probably won't be in store for a significant role on offense if he suits up. Through his first seven games with the Bills, Samuel has played more than 50 percent of the offensive snaps on just one occasion (in Week 5), and he's yet to earn more than four touches in any of his appearances.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Cooper (wrist) will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

He'll be one of two Bills receivers who will take a designation into Sunday, as Curtis Samuel (pectoral) will join Cooper as questionable after both wideouts were limited participants in practice Wednesday and Thursday. The fact that Cooper was able to practice in some fashion this week seemingly bodes well for his chances of suiting up Sunday, but official word on his status may not arrive until closer to the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff. If Cooper ends up inactive Week 9 or is able to play only limited snaps, more targets could be in the offing for wide receivers Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Corley rushed once for 18 yards and lost a fumble in Thursday's 21-13 win over the Texans.

Corley's first NFL carry was memorable for a different reason than he would have liked, as he got into the open field and raced into the end zone but flipped the ball out of his hand as he was crossing the goal line, and a review revealed that the ball left his hand prior to crossing the goal line. It then rolled out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. The 2024 third-round draft pick has just one target in his NFL career, and while Corley showed some promising ability in the open field on his lone touch Thursday, careless mental errors won't ingratiate him with the Jets' coaching staff.