NFL Player News

Mickens was elevated from Tampa Bay's practice squad ahead of Thursday's season opener against the Cowboys, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

If Mickens dresses for the game, he'll likely reprise last season's role as a special teams contributor with little to no role on offense. Mickens had just seven catches in 2020 but returned 16 punts and 14 kickoffs for the Buccaneers.

Samuel (groin) went down as a non-participant in Thursday's practice, Sam Fortier of The Washington Post reports.

According to JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, Samuel was present for the practice session, but only took part in stretching with the team and had no involvement in individual drills or walk-throughs with the rest of the Washington wideouts. After he was seen limping off the field at Wednesday's practice, Samuel appears to have suffered another setback with his nagging groin injury, and his lack of activity Thursday suggests he's trending toward an inactive status for the Football Team's season opener Sunday versus the Chargers.

Guyton (leg) was not listed on the Week 1 injury report Wednesday, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Guyton missed most of the final week of training camp with a leg injury, but the speedy wide receiver appears to be past the issue. It'll be interesting to see how much Guyton plays after the 24-year-old lost a training-camp battle to rookie Josh Palmer for the team's No. 3 wideout role.

Jennings (heel) isn't listed on the 49ers' injury report Wednesday.

Jennings played well in the 49ers' exhibition opener, but an injury suffered in preseason Week 2 could have derailed the receiver's chances of making the 49ers. The 24-year-old ended up a member of the regular-season roster and no longer is on the injury report, so he could see minimal snaps in Sunday's season opener, if active.

Jefferson (arm) isn't listed on the Rams' injury report Wednesday, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Head coach Sean McVay didn't unveil the first-team skill-position players this preseason, but Jefferson may have missed time anyway due to what was initially believed to be a false positive test for COVID-19 and a right arm issue that caused him to wear a brace. Now healthy in advance of the regular season, Jefferson is set to serve as L.A.'s No. 3 wide receiver behind Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. However, Jefferson may have to contend for reps with free-agent addition DeSean Jackson and 2021 second-round pick Tutu Atwell.

Lockett (groin) isn't listed on the Seahawks' injury report Wednesday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Head coach Pete Carroll kept the key pieces of his offensive arsenal -- Russell Wilson, Chris Carson, DK Metcalf and Lockett -- on the sideline this preseason, but only Lockett was dealing with an injury. Now that the regular season officially is in session, however, Lockett is unhindered on the practice field. He'll look to put up a third consecutive 1,000-yard season and fifth straight year playing an entire regular-season slate.

Eskridge (toe) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Eskridge picked up a toe issue in mandatory minicamp in mid-June and kicked off training camp on the PUP list. Since Seattle activated him Aug. 17, he made one preseason appearance Aug. 28, recording one catch (on one target) for 19 yards and one nine-yard carry. The team still appears to be managing Eskridge's health, perhaps to keep him as fresh as possible for game action. He'll have two more chances to bump up to full participation before week's end.

Aiyuk (hamstring) practiced fully Wednesday, Keiana Martin of the 49ers' official site reports.

Aiyuk was limited to just one appearance during exhibition season, gathering in one of three passes for three yards Aug. 22 versus the Chargers. Thereafter, a hamstring injury has been bothering him, but it's apparently dissipated enough for him to partake in all drills in the first practice of Week 1. Aiyuk will pair with Deebo Samuel to serve as the top two wide receivers in San Francisco's offense in the coming campaign.

Beckham (knee) was listed as a limited practice participant Wednesday.

That said, Beckham, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Week 7 of last season, has progressed to the point that he's expected to be available for Sunday's season opener against Kansas City. It's possible that he'll head into the weekend with a questionable tag, but assuming he's active for Week 1, look for Beckham and Jarvis Landry to headline Cleveland's wideout corps.

Mooney was a limited practice participant Wednesday due to a back issue.

It's the first report of a back injury this summer, with Mooney's limited participation suggesting it isn't serious. Assuming he checks out fine later this week, Mooney is locked in as Chicago's No. 2 receiver, though it may be a distant second to Allen Robinson. The 2020 fifth-round pick showed impressive speed and route running as a rookie, but he and Mitchell Trubisky struggled to complete plays. The Bears hope it'll be a different story this year with Andy Dalton, who starts the season with a road game against the Rams. It's a tough matchup for the Chicago passing game overall, but it might prove favorable for Mooney's target volume if the Rams put star cover man Jalen Ramsey on Robinson.