NFL Player News

Cooper (rest/hip) returned to a limited practice Thursday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Cooper has been managing a hip issue of late, but his presence at practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday's session has him trending in the right direction ahead of Sunday's game against the Commanders. Friday's injury report will reveal whether the Browns' top wideout heads into the weekend with an injury designation or cleared to play, but assuming he's available, Cooper should remain busy versus Washington on the heels of catching six of his 10 targets for 72 yards in this past Saturday's loss to the Saints.

Hinton (hamstring) will be a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

After not practicing in any capacity the past two weeks while sitting out a win over the Cardinals and a loss to the Rams, Hinton has now turned in a pair of limited practices to begin Week 17 prep. Fellow receivers Courtland Sutton (hamstring) and Jerry Jeudy (ankle) have joined Hinton as limited participants in both of the Broncos' first two practices of the week, but since those two played in the Christmas Day loss to Los Angeles, they both appear to be good bets to suit up Sunday in Kansas City. Hinton, on the other hand, may need to graduate to full participation at Friday's practice to prove his injury is behind him and guarantee his availability for Sunday.

Jeudy (ankle) will remain a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

Each of Denver's top three receivers will have their reps capped for the second day in a row, with Courtland Sutton (hamstring) and Kendall Hinton (hamstring) joining Jeudy as limited participants. Considering both Jeudy and Sutton played north of 75 percent of the snaps on offense in Sunday's 51-14 loss to the Rams and neither is believed to be dealing with any reported setbacks with their respective injuries, the two are likely having their practice participation managed for maintenance-related reasons. Hinton, meanwhile, has sat out Denver's last two games and may need to advance to full participation to get cleared for Sunday's game in Kansas City.

Sutton (hamstring) will be a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

Sutton hasn't graduated to full practice activity since suffering his hamstring injury in the Broncos' Week 13 loss to Baltimore, but it didn't prevent him from putting an end to a two-game absence and playing Christmas Day in Los Angeles. In the Broncos' 51-14 loss to the Rams, Sutton played 79 percent of the snaps on offense and finished with five catches for 64 yards on seven targets. The Broncos haven't indicated that Sutton suffered a setback with the hamstring in that game, and his continued participation in practice in any capacity suggests he's trending toward suiting up this weekend in Kansas City.

Hardman (abdomen) wasn't spotted at practice Thursday, Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports.

After being designated for return from injured reserve Dec. 14, Hardman has been practicing for the past two-plus weeks, with head coach Andy Reid suggesting Wednesday that the receiver would likely be activated ahead of Sunday's game against the Broncos. Hardman's absence from practice suddenly makes his availability for Sunday less of a sure bet, though he could put to rest some of the concern about his status by getting back on the field Friday in some capacity. Since the Chiefs have a full 21-day window to evaluate Hardman before he would need to be added back to the 53-man roster, the team can wait until next week to activate him if there's any concern he won't be ready to play against Denver.

Smith (foot) practiced in full Thursday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Smith was forced out of this past Saturday's win against Detroit with a foot injury, which forced an MRI on Tuesday. While the results of that test are unknown, he followed up Wednesday's capped session by logging all on-field work one day later. Smith thus is good to take on his tertiary role in the Panthers' passing game Week 17 at Tampa Bay, which has contained him to less than 30 yards in all but one of his 15 appearances this season.

Dulin (concussion) is not practicing Thursday, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star reports.

Dulin remains in the league's five-step concussion protocol due to a hit sustained during Monday's loss to the Chargers. His last chance to get back on the practice field prior to Sunday's game against the Giants will be Friday. If Dulin isn't available Week 17, depth wideout Mike Strachan could see a slightly increased role.

Watson (hip) wasn't spotted at Thursday's practice, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

It was previously noted that the wideout was in line to practice in a limited fashion, but Watson -- who didn't practice Wednesday -- could end up going down as a 'DNP' after all. If that's the case, what Watson does Friday will be key with regard to his prospects of playing Sunday against the Vikings.

The Falcons placed Emezie (undisclosed) on the practice squad injured list Thursday.

Emezie's 2022 campaign comes to an early close due to the timing of his placement on practice squad IR. The rookie wideout will have to wait until 2023 for his next opportunity to push for an NFL debut.

Parker (concussion) wasn't spotted at practice Thursday, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Parker didn't practice Wednesday, so at this stage his status for Sunday's game against the Dolphins is cloudy. If Parker, who last played Week 14, remains out this weekend, Jakobi Meyers, Tyquan Thornton (knee), Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor would be in line to lead New England's wideout corps Week 17.