NFL Player News

Cooper (illness) is expected to travel to New Orleans and play in Thursday's game against the Saints, Ed Werder of ESPN reports.

Cooper remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list as of Wednesday morning, but Werder's report seems to imply the wideout has seen his symptoms improve and may just be awaiting approval of a team physician before being activated and rejoining the Cowboys for practice. Whatever the case, the Cowboys apparently now expect Cooper to play Thursday, even after he missed another practice Tuesday. It's possible his workload is scaled back Thursday if the illness has impacted his conditioning.

Pittsburgh activated McCloud from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

McCloud sat out the Steelers' Week 12 loss to the Bengals after being placed on the list, but he'll be back in action for Sunday's contest against the Ravens. During the Steelers' loss to the Lions in Week 10, McCloud saw a surprising 12 targets, but he came back down to earth with just two targets Week 11 following Chase Claypool's return to the lineup.

Davis (groin) won't practice Wednesday.

Davis, who was inactive for this past Sunday's game against the Texans, has two more chances to practice in advance of this weekend's game against the Eagles. Meanwhile, fellow wideout Keelan Cole is on the reserve/COVID-19 list and is unlikely to be available versus Philadelphia.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Cole isn't in line to be available for Sunday's game against the Eagles after having been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Connor Hughes of The Athletic reports.

The Jets will be down Cole for Week 13, but Denzel Mims' expected return from the reserve/COVID-19 list will help restore depth at receiver. Assuming Cole is able to clear the NFL's COVID-19 protocols on a normal timeline, he should be available for the Jets' Week 14 game against the Saints on Dec. 12.

Hopkins (hamstring) returned to practice Wednesday, Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic reports.

Coming out of a Week 12 bye, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Monday that he's hopeful Hopkins can return for Sunday's game in Chicago. The wideout's presence on the field for his first practice since Oct. 22 is a big step in the right direction, even if he's listed as a limited participant. Hopkins last played in a game Week 8 against Green Bay on Oct. 28.

Head coach Brian Flores said Wednesday that Parker (shoulder) will resume practicing, Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post reports.

The Dolphins will officially designate Parker for return from injured reserve later Wednesday, thereby opening a 21-day window for evaluation at practice. On a related note, Flores confirmed that Will Fuller (finger) fellow wideout still isn't ready to resume handling reps. The Dolphins haven't decided whether Parker will be activated ahead of Sunday's game against the Giants, but whenever the veteran does return to action, he'll operate alongside Jaylen Waddle as one of Miami's clear top wideouts.

Duvernay caught one of two targets for two yards and added one carry for the 13 yards in Sunday's 16-10 win over the Browns.

Duvernay continued to have a limited role of offense with Marquise Brown back in the lineup following a one-game absence. The 24-year-old wideout was on the field for 35 offensive snaps, with his total matching Sammy Watkins and being just one fewer than rookie Rashod Bateman. With so many mouths to feed in Baltimore, Duvernay can't be trusted for fantasy purposes.

Eskridge caught two passes on three targets for 10 yards in Monday's 17-15 loss to Washington. He also returned two kicks for 54 yards.

The rookie second-round pick suited up for the fourth time this season, recording 13 of 47 possible offensive snaps (28 percent). Eskridge is still getting his feet wet after missing seven games with a concussion, but he appears to be far behind Freddie Swain (66 percent snap share) in the battle for the No. 3 receiver spot. However, Eskridge may continue to contribute as a returner because DeeJay Dallas -- the team's typical kick returner -- is now the primary backup to Alex Collins at running back due to a slew of injuries in Seattle's backfield.

The Jets have placed Cole on their reserve/COVID-19 list, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.

Cole is coming off an outing in which he recorded two receptions for 24 yards in the Jets 21-14 victory over Houston. He saw extra time on the field due to Corey Davis (groin) being sidelined. The 28-year-old will now need to pass the league's COVID protocols before getting clearance to return.

Bateman caught all four of his targets for 31 yards against the Browns in Week 12.

Baltimore's offense was not in sync in Lamar Jackson's return, and Bateman's production suffered as a result. He caught everything thrown his way and was effective on a per-target basis, but Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews accounted for nearly two-thirds of the targets, which left very little to go around for the other Ravens pass-catchers. If Jackson bounces back Sunday against Pittsburgh, Bateman should also be in line for a bounceback. It's worth noting, however, that Bateman's 45 percent snap share was his lowest mark since he debuted in Week 6.