NFL Player News

Wilson (ankle) has been ruled out for Thursday's game in New Orleans, Ed Werder of ESPN reports.

Wilson had season highs for targets (10) and yards (104) in the Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day loss to Las Vegas, handling a larger-than-usual role with both CeeDee Lamb (concussion) and Amari Cooper (COVID-19) unavailable. Wilson injured his ankle along the way however, while Lamb is now off the injury report and Cooper is listed as questionable but expected to play. Noah Brown is the likely No. 4 receiver with Wilson out, or potentially the No. 3 option in the event Cooper doesn't end up playing.

Benson (knee) was limited in practice Wednesday, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

Benson hasn't played since the Lions tied the Steelers in Week 10. He was unable to practice last week, so this is a step in the right direction for the wideout. Benson will keep working toward suiting up Sunday against the Vikings.

Claypool (toe) was a limited participant in practice Wednesday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Claypool is back on the injury report after a one-week respite, though he's handled full workloads in consecutive games after missing Week 10 with the toe injury. The second-year pro played 91 and 98 percent of offensive snaps the past two weeks, catching eight of 17 targets for 175 yards. Claypool should be able to suit up this Sunday against the Ravens.

Cooper (illness) is listed as questionable for Thursday's game at New Orleans, Ed Werder of ESPN reports.

Following his activation from the reserve/COVID-19 list, Cooper got back on the practice field Wednesday as a limited participant, marking his first activity since testing positive for the virus back on Nov. 19. Head coach Mike McCarthy noted Tuesday that Cooper still had some lingering symptoms, including a cough, but he's now put himself in a position to keep his absence to two games, per David Helman of the Cowboys' official site. While he's expected to be active Thursday, Cooper may have a limited snap count, but Dallas seemingly will have its preferred wideout trio of Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup together for just the third time this season.

Smith was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday's estimated injury report due to an illness.

Fortunately for Smith's fantasy managers, the illness isn't related to COVID-19, per EJ Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Smith has two sessions remaining this week to put the ailment behind him and ready himself for Sunday's road game against the Jets.

Shepard (quadriceps) didn't practice Wednesday, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Shepard and Kadarius Toney (quadriceps) remain limited to working out on the side field with the training staff, while depth wideout John Ross sat out Wednesday's session with an illness. The Giants have two experienced starters healthy in Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton, but they would surely love to have at least one of Toney or Shepard back in the lineup. It's unclear if that'll happen this Sunday at Miami.

Toney didn't practice Wednesday due to quadriceps and oblique injuries, Zack Rosenblatt of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

The same goes for fellow wide receivers Sterling Shepard (quadriceps) and John Ross (illness), while starting quarterback Daniel Jones (neck) was a limited participant. It's a typically busy week for the Giants' injury report, with the team coming off a 13-7 win over the Eagles in which Toney, Shepard and depth tight ends Kyle Rudolph (ankle) and Kaden Smith (knee) all were inactive. It's unclear which of the bunch, if any, will be ready for Sunday's game in Miami.

Hopkins (hamstring) was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Along with Hopkins, quarterback Kyler Murray (ankle) was also a limited participant coming out of the Cardinals' Week 12 bye. Both players have sat out the Cardinals' last three games with their respective injuries, but both should have decent odds of returning to action Sunday in Chicago. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury noted Wednesday that the statuses of Hopkins and Murray for this weekend will hinge on how things go for them in the next two days of practice.

Cooper (illness) was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday and appears on track to play in Thursday's game in New Orleans, David Helman of the Cowboys' official site reports.

After missing the Cowboys' last two games while he completed a 10-day quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test, Cooper reported back to the team facility Monday and looks on track to get in at least some practice activity Wednesday now that he's officially been added back to the 53-man roster. Though Cooper is expected to play Thursday, his workload could be scaled back given that he reportedly dealt with virus symptoms for over a week and hasn't been on the field for nearly 12 days. If Cooper looks good in his return to practice, he could still handle his usual role, in which case quarterback Dak Prescott will have a healthy receiver trio of Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup for just the third time this season.

Samuel (groin) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Samuel took two touches for 13 yards in Monday's 17-15 win over Seattle, playing 20 snaps on offense (24 percent) in his first appearance since Week 5. Assuming he's not dealing with any setbacks coming out of that contest, he could have larger role this Sunday in Las Vegas, though it's possible he'll remain a part-time player all year while managing the lingering groin injury.