NFL Player News

Bourne (toe) is inactive for Monday night's game against the Bears.

As a result, the Patriots' Week 7 wideout corps will feature Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor and rookie Tyquan Thornton, with Thornton a candidate to continue to see his profile in the team's offense expand in Bourne's absence.

Agholor (hamstring) is listed as active for Monday night's game against the Bears.

Agholor, who is back from a one-game absence, has caught 14 of his 19 targets for 225 yards and a TD in five games to date, but it's worth noting that nine of his receptions occurred in the Patriots' first two games. With that in mind, he's a hit-or-miss fantasy option while working in a Week 7 wideout corps that also includes Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton.

Harry is listed as active Monday at New England.

The Bears activated Harry from injured reserve ahead of Week 6 action but made him a healthy scratch against the Commanders. With a full week of prep under his belt, he'll make his debut for Chicago against the organization that selected him in the first round of the 2019 draft. While Darnell Mooney is the Bears' unquestioned No. 1 wide receiver, Harry will be in the mix for passes from Justin Fields along with Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis and Velus Jones.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Samuel is "day-to-day" due to a hamstring injury, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

Samuel logged a normal 86 percent of the offensive plays during Sunday's 44-23 loss to the Chiefs en route to five catches (on seven targets) for 42 yards and one carry for two yards. With Christian McCaffrey on board following a trade with Carolina last Thursday, San Francisco's backfield breakdown likely will be paced by McCaffrey and Jeff Wilson in the short term, and McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell once the latter recovers from his MCL sprain at some point in November. As a result, Samuel's carry count may be reduced moving forward, but first he'll need to put his current health concern behind him ahead of a Week 8 matchup at the Rams this Sunday.

Coach Brandon Staley declined to speculate on how much time Williams might miss with his ankle injury, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Chargers are on bye Week 8, which gives the team some time to evaluate the wideout ahead of a contest against the Falcons on Sunday, Nov. 6, but at this stage, Daniel Popper of The Athletic relays via Staley that Williams seems likely to miss "weeks not days" with his ankle sprain. If that's the case, added WR snaps will be available for Joshua Palmer (assuming he returns from a concussion that sidelined him Sunday) and DeAndre Carter alongside Keenan Allen (hamstring).

Gage (hamstring) was listed as a non-participant in Monday's walkthrough, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

Gage exited Sunday's loss at Carolina with a hamstring issue and was slated to undergo an MRI on Monday, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. While the results of the examination are unknown, Gage went down as a DNP along with Mike Evans (ankle) and Julio Jones (knee) on the first injury report of Week 8 prep. With a short week ahead of Thursday's game versus the Ravens, Gage's status should be monitored to get a sense of his upcoming availability (or lack thereof).

Evans (ankle) was listed as a non-participant following Monday's walkthrough, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

Evans was spotted limping about near the end of Sunday's 21-3 loss at Carolina, and the reason appears to be an ankle issue. With a short week on tap as the Buccaneers prepare for Thursday's matchup with the Ravens, the team likely will take a cautious approach with the ninth-year pro to make sure he's as healthy as possible for Week 8 action. Fellow wide receivers Russell Gage (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee) also were DNPs on Monday, so the situation at the position in Tampa Bay should be watched as the week goes on to see who among the trio may be able to play.

Philadelphia signed Ward to its practice squad Monday.

Ward was set to miss the entire 2022 campaign after landing on IR at the end of August due to a toe injury, but he was waived with an injury settlement ahead of Week 1. Now that he's healthy, the 26-year-old will look to work his way back to Philadelphia's active roster via a practice-squad deal. Across his first three seasons (40 appearances), the undrafted wideout out of Houston has caught 88 passes for 778 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Lions waived Alexander on Monday.

Alexander was signed from the practice squad ahead of Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, though he was not targeted while playing five of his eight snaps on special teams in the contest. The 5-foot-11 wideout was activated for Detroit's previous two games to serve as the team's primary kick returner and logged just two offensive snaps in this span. The Lions will likely look to re-sign Alexander to the practice squad if he does not land on an active roster with a different team.

Fountain was granted his release from the Chiefs' practice squad Monday, Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports.

Fountain was elevated from the practice squad in Week 1, but he did not play a snap in this win over the Cardinals. The fifth-year wideout has recorded just two receptions for 23 yards in his career and has not been targeted since his 2020 campaign with Indianapolis. According to Derrick, Fountain has attracted interest from teams in need of a veteran receiver, though he'll likely need to work his way up while with a practice squad elsewhere this season.