NFL Player News

Wicks (chest) was a limited participant at Wednesday's walkthrough.

Wicks took on his first recorded on-field reps since enduring a chest injury Week 16 at Carolina that sidelined him for this past Sunday's win over Minnesota. Fellow banged-up wide receivers Christian Watson (hamstring) and Jayden Reed (chest) also had caps on their reps to begin Week 18 prep, so the trio will be monitored closely as the weekend approaches to see if any of them may be unavailable Sunday against the Bears.

Boutte (illness) doesn't appear Wednesday on the Patriots' initial Week 18 injury report.

Boutte sat out Sunday's loss to the Bills, but the rookie wide receiver appears to have recovered and should be good to go for the Patriots' season finale against the Jets this weekend. The LSU product hasn't found much success in his first NFL campaign, suiting up just four times while recording two catches for 19 yards on seven targets.

Sutton (concussion) was a limited participant in practice Wednesday, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

Sutton didn't practice at all last week before being ruled out ahead of Broncos' Week 17 win over the Chargers. The wideout's return to a limited session Wednesday has him trending in the right direction ahead of Sunday's season finale against the Raiders, but with Denver eliminated from playoff contention, the team has little incentive to play Sutton this weekend if there's any doubt about his status as game day approaches.

Reed (chest) was a limited participant in Wednesday's walkthrough.

Reed made an early exit from this past Sunday's win at Minnesota due to a chest injury, but not before putting up six catches (on eight targets) for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Following the game, he had X-rays in his ribs, which returned negative. Reed confirmed as much Wednesday, telling Matt Schneidman of The Athletic that he feels "pretty good." Still, the overly cautious Packers likely will continue to place practice restrictions on Reed as the week goes on with an aim toward having him as a healthy as possible for Sunday's game against the Bears.

Watson (hamstring) was a limited participant at Wednesday's walkthrough.

In his first on-field work since suffering a strained right hamstring Week 13 against the Chiefs, Watson predictably operated with a cap on his reps. Speaking of the Packers' No. 1 wide receiver, head coach Matt LaFleur told Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Watson is coming off a good week and will need to make appreciable progress this time around to put himself in a position to return to action this weekend versus the Bears. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Watson himself was more optimistic, saying, "it's looking a lot like I'm going to be able to play some football this Sunday." Ultimately, Watson has two more practice sessions to prove his health before the team potentially makes a ruling on his upcoming availability as soon as Friday.

Mims (hamstring) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.

Mims popped up on the injury report last week with the hamstring issue and missed the Broncos' Week 17 win over the Chargers. His limited participation to start Week 18 would seem to suggest he has a better chance of suiting up for Sunday's season finale against the Raiders.

Woods (hip) remained sidelined for Wednesday's practice.

Both Woods and Noah Brown (back) have opened the practice week with two straight absences ahead of Saturday's regular-season finale versus the Colts. Woods played 64 percent of the Texans' offensive snaps in last week's win over the Titans, catching all four of his targets for 58 yards.

Head coach Sean McVay said Kupp won't play Sunday at San Francisco, Greg Beacham of the Associated Press reports.

Along with Kupp, quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Kyren Williams are among the healthy skill-position players that won't see action Week 18 while Los Angeles has already secured a wild-card spot. Kupp thus will finish his seventh NFL season with 59 catches (on 95 targets) for 737 yards and five touchdowns in 12 contests.

Brown (back) was a non-participant in Wednesday's practice.

Brown left the Texans' Week 17 win over the Titans early and was unable to return after playing just seven offensive snaps. He's already begun Week 18 prep with two straight absences from practice, so he's not trending in the right direction for Saturday's game against the Colts.

Hill was listed as a limited participant at practice Wednesday due to an ankle injury and a personal matter.

In addition to managing his lingering ankle issue, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com relays that Hill left Wednesday's practice after he became aware that firefighters had been called to battle a fire at his home. Fortunately, nobody living at the home was harmed, per Louis-Jacques. Hill's next opportunity to practice ahead of Sunday's game against the Bills will come Thursday.