NFL Player News

Higgins was forced out of Sunday's game against the Ravens with a hamstring injury.

Prior to his first-quarter exit from the contest, Higgins did not record a catch, while logging one target. In his absence, Alex Erickson is next up for extra Week 17 snaps.

Evans (leg) went to the locker room during the first quarter of Sunday's game against the Falcons, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

Evans appeared to get his left leg stuck in the turf as he attempted to catch a Tom Brady pass in the end zone. The nature of the injury isn't known, but Evans required assistance to leave the field.

Johnson is slated for a larger role in the Cardinals offense Sunday against the Rams after Christian Kirk (undisclosed) was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

While he was inactive for eight of the first 10 games of the campaign, Johnson has had a modest role in the offense over the last five contests, hauling in 10 of 13 targets for 131 yards during that span. With Kirk out of the picture Week 17 and Larry Fitzgerald (groin) seemingly poised to join him on Arizona's list of inactives, Johnson could bump all the way up to the No. 2 receiver alongside DeAndre Hopkins. Still, in Johnson's 17 career appearances, he's averaged just 5.5 yards per target, so he may be hard-pressed for a notable performance Week 17, even if he experiences a decent increase in volume.

Although the Bills have listed several starters as inactive for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Diggs is not among them and will presumably start against Miami.

Diggs has been a top-three fantasy wideout all season, but some of the key inactives such as Tre'Davious White, Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison should provide a clue as to how the Bills are viewing this game, which can only dictate whether they'll be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the AFC, and even the latter would require a Pittsburgh win. It's impossible to predict how some of these Week 17 games will go, but the best guess would seem to be that Diggs and the main active guys will stay out there long enough to stay polished for next week's playoff game, while perhaps coach Sean McDermott will leave them in long enough to continue setting some franchise records before calling it a day. On top of it all, the weather is not supposed to be great in Buffalo on Sunday. The one thing going for Diggs managers is that he and Allen have been so lethal that they could easily hook up for a few big plays before coach Sean McDermott starts pumping the brakes. We imagine the team wouldn't mind seeing Diggs lead the league in receptions or receiving yardage, but it also won't jeopardize his health ahead of a far more important game next week.

Snead (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Bengals.

The 28-year-old wasn't able to practice in any capacity all week, so it's no surprise to see him sitting out despite being listed as questionable. Dez Bryant and Devin Duvernay should see increased snaps with Snead sidelined Sunday.

Grant (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Bills.

After suffering a high-ankle sprain in last week's win over the Raiders, Grant never looked like a strong bet to suit up for the regular-season finale, but he at least made it a tough decision for the Dolphins to make him inactive by turning in limited practices Thursday and Friday. Ultimately, Grant didn't demonstrate enough progress to get the green light from the training staff, but the Dolphins will hope to have him back for a potential wild-card game next weekend, should Miami earns its way into the postseason. Grant concludes the regular season with 36 receptions for 373 yards and a touchdown over his 14 appearances.

Parker (hamstring) is active for Sunday's game against the Bills.

After his hamstring injury sidelined him for the past two games, Parker received the green light for the regular-season finale. However, since Parker was a limited participant in practices Wednesday through Friday, he'll likely be playing at less than 100 percent in the Week 17 matchup. Expect Parker to at least serve as one of the Dolphins' starting receivers, though his snap count could be monitored more than usual if his hamstring is inhibiting him during the contest.

Humphrey was elevated to the Saints' active roster Saturday.

Humphrey is on track to provide depth at wide receiver Sunday against the Panthers with the Saints missing a handful of starters, including Michael Thomas (ankle) and Tre'Quan Smith (ankle). Humphrey has logged a total of 43 offensive snaps throughout the team's past two games, but he's only seen four targets during this span.

Kemp was elevated to the Dolphins' active roster Saturday.

Kemp has not logged more than 12 offensive snaps in a single contest this season, but he'll return to the field Sunday with DeVante Parker (hamstring) and Jakeem Grant (ankle) considered questionable.

Kirk was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday and won't play in Sunday's game against the Rams.

It's unclear whether Kirk tested the positive or was deemed a high-risk close contact. This is a major loss for the Cardinals as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive. Larry Fitzgerald (groin) is also questionable and trending toward a game-time decision. KeeSean Johnson, Trent Sherfield and Andy Isabella could all see increased usage in the season finale.