NFL Player News

Bateman (foot) is listed as active for Thursday night's game against the Buccaneers.

Bateman, who was a non-participant in Tuesday's practice before being listed as a full participant Wednesday, approached the contest listed as questionable, but he'll be available Thursday and is in line to see his share of Week 8 targets from QB Lamar Jackson alongside fellow WR Devin Duvernay. In his return to action from a two-game absence in this past Sunday's 23-20 win over the Browns, Bateman started and was on the field for 36 of a possible 64 snaps en route to catching four of his team-high five targets for 42 yards.

Adams missed practice for a second straight day Thursday due to what's being described as a bad case of the flu, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Pelissero notes that there's optimism Adams will bounce back in time to be ready to go Sunday against the Saints, a notion that would be supported by the wideout's return to practice, in any capacity, Friday.

Renfrow (hip) returned to a full practice Thursday, Rachel Gossen of the Raiders' official site reports.

After turning in a limited session Wednesday, Renfrow logged a full practice Thursday, which puts him in line to serve as the Raiders' top slot man this weekend against the Saints. In this past Sunday's win over the Texans, he was on the field for 32 of a possible 56 snaps on offense while catching all three of his targets for 55 yards. Assuming no in-game setbacks with his hip issue, it wouldn't surprise us to see Renfrow see an uptick in targets Week 8, a context that would boost his PPR prospects.

Bateman (foot) is expected to play Thursday night against the Buccaneers, barring any pregame setbacks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The same goes for TE Mark Andrews (knee) and RB Gus Edwards (knee), with the trio having been listed as questionable for the contest by the Ravens. Confirmation of the three player's Week 8 statuses is slated to arrive when inactives are posted ahead of Thursday's 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff.

Boyd is expected to line up at multiple spots in the Bengals' offensive formation in the games to come with top receiver Ja'Marr Chase (hip) likely to be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

In addition to absorbing some of Chase's vacated target volume while likely being featured more regularly in two-receiver sets alongside Tee Higgins, Boyd may notice some more diversity with the type of routes he runs with the Bengals' top wideout expected to miss more than a month. For the season, Boyd has taken 343 of his 396 snaps out of the slot, but the loss of Chase will likely force Boyd to work on the perimeter more frequently. While Chase's absence should bolster Boyd's target counts, downfield and scoring opportunities, the expected role change could hamper Boyd from an efficiency standpoint. Boyd has hauled in 76.3 percent of his targets on the season, but expect that rate to drop a bit while he faces more coverage from better cornerbacks and likely increases his average depth of target.

Morgan did not practice due to a hamstring injury Thursday, Jay Morrison of The Athletic reports.

Morgan popped up as a non-participant during practice last Thursday and Friday before missing his first game of the season in Sunday's win over the Falcons. While the severity of this issue is still unclear, the 26-year-old may be at risk of missing his second contest in a row this Monday against Cleveland. Morgan failed to haul in his lone target while playing 25 offensive snaps so far this season, though he could see increased usage with top wideout Ja'Marr Chase expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a hip injury.

Higgins is expected to step in as the Bengals' top target in the passing game with Ja'Marr Chase (hip) likely to be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Chase's expected absence creates a major void in the Cincinnati passing game, as he had been averaging a robust 10.6 targets per game through the first seven weeks of the season. Higgins (6.3 TPG), Tyler Boyd (5.4 TPG) and Hayden Hurst (5.6 TPG) had already seen a fair amount of looks in the passing attack as well, but all three players should see their respective fantasy outlooks improve while the Bengals aim to replace Chase's production. Even while Chase was healthy, Higgins already shaped up as a solid starting option in weekly lineups, and the 23-year-old now profiles as a must-start player in the short term.

Reynolds (knee) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday.

This follows a DNP on Wednesday, so Reynolds is making some progress through the knee injury that's impacting him for a second week in a row. While he was able to play through the issue and earn 79 percent of the offensive snaps this past Sunday at Dallas, he was targeted just twice en route to one eight-yard catch. Friday's practice report will reveal whether or not Reynolds goes into the weekend with a designation for Sunday's contest against the Dolphins. With Amon-Ra St. Brown logging back-to-back limited sessions this week as he makes his way through the concussion protocol, there's a chance an active Reynolds is the Lions' No. 1 wide receiver Sunday.

Chase is reportedly dealing with a hip issue that is expected to sideline him 4-to-6 weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

We'll await official confirmation from the Bengals, but assuming the timeline presented here is accurate, Chase could land on IR. In his looming absence, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are slated to lead the Bengals' wideout corps in the weeks ahead, with Mike Thomas likely to see added reps as well.

Brown (foot) was a non-participant at Thursday's practice.

Brown has opened Week 8 prep with no activity for two days in a row, raising the prospect that he may be unavailable to the Cowboys offense Sunday against the Bears. Ultimately, his status may receive some clarity on Friday's injury report, and if he begins to trend to sitting out this weekend, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup would serve as the main wide receivers for quarterback Dak Prescott.