NFL Player News

Hardman (heel) returned to a limited practice Thursday.

Hardman sat out Wednesday's session, but his return to practice Thursday bodes well for his chances of playing Sunday against the Buccaneers. Friday's injury report will determine whether or not the wideout heads into the weekend with an injury designation or fully cleared for Week 4 action.

Allen, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury, left Thursday's practice with a trainer, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Allen, who has missed two straight games, logged a limited practice Wednesday, but his exit from Thursday's session is a situation to monitor ahead of Sunday's game against the Texans. If Allen is unable to return to action this weekend, Joshua Palmer and DeAndre Carter would continue to see added WR opportunities for the Chargers in Week 4.

Dortch (back) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Currently, the Cardinals have just two healthy wide receivers (Marquise Brown and Andy Isabella) on the active roster, as A.J. Green (knee) seems destined to sit out Sunday at Carolina, Rondale Moore (hamstring) and Dortch have been limited in practice this week, DeAndre Hopkins remains suspended, and Antoine Wesley (hip) is on injured reserve. If Dortch is able to get past his current back issue, he likely will be the team's No. 2 wideout behind Brown this weekend.

Watson (hamstring) practiced in full Thursday.

Prior to sitting out Week 3 at Tampa Bay, Watson logged just one capped session due to a hamstring issue. This time around, he followed up a limited practice Wednesday with all activity one day later, setting him up to return to action Sunday versus the Patriots. With Sammy Watkins (hamstring) on injured reserve, Watson likely is the Packers' top vertical threat in the passing game for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Lazard (ankle) was limited at Thursday's practice.

The Packers continue to keep Lazard somewhat under wraps on the practice field due to the ankle injury that forced him to sit out the season opener. If he mimics the end of last week, though, he'll head into Sunday's game against the Patriots without an injury designation, which would mean all Packers wide receivers not named Sammy Watkins (hamstring, IR) would be available to quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Meyers (knee) remained limited at practice Thursday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Meyers sat out the Patriots' Week 3 loss to the Ravens, but back-to-back limited practices -- albeit in a limited fashion -- offer hope that he could suit up Sunday against the Packers. That said, unless Meyers practices fully Friday, look for him to head into the weekend officially listed as questionable.

Moore (hamstring) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Moore injured his hamstring in the second practice of Week 1 prep and has yet to suit up in any of the Cardinals' three games on the campaign. He began inching toward a return this week with back-to-back capped sessions, which comes on the heels of coach Kliff Kingsbury telling Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com last Friday that he expected Moore to make his season debut in Week 4 or 5. If he's able to play Sunday in Carolina, Moore may be on a snap count, though that could depend on the state of Arizona's receiving corps with DeAndre Hopkins suspended, A.J. Green (knee) trending toward an absence and Antoine Wesley (hip) on injured reserve.

Smith (back) practiced in full Thursday.

After a limited session Wednesday due to a back issue, Smith handled every practice rep one day later, setting him up to serve as one of the Eagles' starting wide receivers alongside A.J. Brown on Sunday versus the Jaguars. While Smith was blanked on four targets in the season opener, he's since gathered in 15 of 19 targets for 249 yards and one touchdown over the last two games.

Burks (illness) was a full practice participant Thursday, John Glennon of SI.com reports.

Burks' ability to get back on the field without restrictions suggests that the illness that kept him from practicing Wednesday won't affect his availability for Sunday's game in Indianapolis. The rookie first-round pick has seen a steady increase in his workload in each successive game this season, going from playing 37 percent of offensive snaps Week 1, 47 percent in Week 2 and 67 percent in Week 3.

Reynolds (ankle) was a limited participant in practice Thursday.

Though Reynolds and tight end T.J. Hockenson (foot) returned to the practice field in some capacity Thursday after sitting out Wednesday, the Lions could still be without multiple key options in the passing game Sunday against the Seahawks. All of Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle), DJ Chark (ankle) and D'Andre Swift (ankle/shoulder) sat out Thursday's session, leaving their respective statuses in greater question than those of Reynolds or Hockenson. Assuming he can move past his own injury concern, Reynolds could find himself in prime position to build on the 6-96-0 receiving line on 10 targets that he turned in during Detroit's Week 3 loss to Minnesota.