NFL Player News

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said Thursday that Shenault will take on a bigger role in the passing game with DJ Chark (ankle) slated to miss the rest of the season, John Shipley of SI.com reports.

Shenault delivered his best game of the year after Chark went down with the injury Week 4, catching six passes for a career-high 99 yards in the Jaguars' loss to the Bengals. The 23-year-old primarily operated in the short passing game for the first three games of the season, but he should be more involved downfield with Chark now sidelined. Shenault had a disappointing start to 2021 after entering the campaign as a fantasy sleeper candidate, but he now has a prime opportunity to turn things around.

The Seahawks placed Eskridge (concussion) on injured reserve Thursday, John Boyle of the team's official site reports.

Since he sustained a concussion in the season opener, Eskridge has been listed as a DNP on 10 of 12 injury reports over the last four weeks. And on one of those two occasions in which he wasn't, his LP showed up on a practice estimate, meaning the Seahawks didn't even take the field that day. The team has been taking a cautious approach with what coach Pete Carroll called "a real serious concussion," and Eskridge now will have three more weeks to get through the five steps of the NFL's protocol for head injuries before being eligible to come off IR.

Dorsett was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for Thursday's game versus the Rams, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

The wide receiver was signed Sept. 30 and will make his first appearance with the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. In 2019, his last full season in the league, he caught 29 passes for 397 yards and five touchdowns as a member of the Patriots.

Mooney (groin) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday.

Despite dealing with a few injuries this season, Mooney hasn't missed a game, and his share of the offensive snaps has been above 70 percent in all four contests. He hit that number exactly this past Sunday against the Lions, but he nonetheless put together his best performance of the campaign (5-125-0 on seven targets). Assuming he gets the all-clear ahead of Sunday's visit to Las Vegas, Mooney may produce against a Raiders defense that has allowed the 12th-most catches (57) to wide receivers in 2021.

Washington (groin) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Washington didn't have any limitations in Wednesday's practice but is apparently managing a groin injury Thursday. Assuming he's able to practice Friday, it wouldn't be surprising to see him on the field Sunday against the Broncos. However, he could see decreased work if Chase Claypool (hamstring) returns to action.

Claypool (hamstring) remained limited at practice Thursday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Claypool was ruled out ahead of Week 4 action, but back-to-back limited sessions have him heading in the right direction as Sunday's game against the Broncos approaches. If Claypool is able to return to the Steelers' lineup this weekend, QB Ben Roethlisberger would once again have his top three WRs available, with Diontae Johnson off the injury report and JuJu Smith-Schuster (ribs) having returned to a full practice Thursday.

Smith-Schuster (ribs) was a full participant in Thursday's practice.

Smith-Schuster has been nursing the rib injury since it forced him out of the Steelers' Week 3 win over the Bengals, but he doesn't look to be at risk of missing game action as a result. He played 95 percent of the offensive snaps in last week's loss to the Packers and tied his season high with eight targets, but he mustered only two receptions for 11 yards. The fifth-year wideout has yet to find the end zone through four contests and no longer looks like the must-start player he was during his breakout 2018 campaign, when he tallied 111 receptions for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games.

Parker (shoulder) remained limited at practice Thursday.

Friday's final injury report will reveal whether or not Parker approaches Sunday's game against the Buccaneers with an injury designation, but so far there's nothing to suggest he'll sit out this weekend. Assuming Parker is good to go, he and Jaylen Waddle are poised to handle steady snaps and targets for the next few weeks, with Will Fuller (finger) having been placed on injured reserve Wednesday.

Moore (concussion) practiced fully Thursday.

Moore previously cleared the NFL's concussion protocol and is thus in line to play Sunday against the Falcons. In his looming return to action, Moore and Keelan Cole will likely compete for snaps at the third receiver spot behind the Jets' top two wideouts, Corey Davis and Jamison Crowder.

Westbrook-Ikhine (hamstring) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Among the Titans' three wideouts tending to hamstring injuries, Westbrook-Ikhine and A.J. Brown took limited reps in the team's second practice of Week 5, while Julio Jones remained sidelined. At this stage, Jones could be trending toward a second straight absence Sunday in Jacksonville, which could allow Westbrook-Ikhine to retain a spot in the starting lineup if both he and Brown are able to play. While Brown and Jones were both sidelined in the team's Week 4 overtime loss to the Jets, Westbrook-Ikhine played 82 percent of the offensive snaps and finished with three receptions for 29 yards on eight targets.