NFL Player News

Allen (back) will not return to Monday's game against the Saints, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Allen recorded two receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game with a back issue. While the severity of the injury is unknown at this time, it is bad enough to keep him sidelined for the remainder of the game. In his absence, rookie Justin Herbert will have to look to the likes of Mike Williams, Jalen Guyton, KJ Hill and Tyron Johnson at receiver.

Allen is considered questionable to return to Monday's matchup versus the Saints due to a back injury.

Allen caught both of his targets for 29 yards and a touchdown before exiting the contest. It remains to be seen if he will be able to return. In his absence, the Chargers will have Mike Williams, Jalen Guyton, KJ Hill and Tyron Johnson available at wide receiver.

Duvernay caught both of his targets for 17 yards and added a 42-yard rush Sunday against the Bengals.

The rookie showed his explosiveness on an end-around that went 42 yards, but that was his lone splash play of the day. Baltimore's passing game couldn't get in gear otherwise with just 19 completions for 180 yards, so Duvernay's lack of output in that facet of the game wasn't necessarily his fault. His speed will keep him a part of the game plan, but Duvernay still is struggling to carve out significant snap counts as he played just 29 percent of them Sunday. He will face the Eagles in Week 6.

Williams (hamstring) is active for Monday's game at New Orleans.

Williams sat out Week 4 due to a hamstring injury suffered one game prior. In preparation for this contest, he followed a DNP/LP/LP practice regimen, after which Tom Pelissero of NFL Network noted Williams was "trending upward" toward a return. Indeed, Williams is back in the lineup Monday, but his in-game reps could have a cap in order to preserve his health. In any case, he'll aim to break through against a Saints defense that has given up 9.6 YPT and four touchdowns to wide receivers this season.

Boykin was held without a catch on two targets over 36 snaps Sunday against the Bengals.

Boykin continues to struggle to find his footing in the passing game. He hasn't seen more than five targets in any game this season and he has just three catches for 36 yards over his last three games. Coach John Harbaugh said during Monday's press conference that the team wants to get Boykin "more involved" according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Even if this is true, Boykin won't see more targets than Marquise Brown or Mark Andrews. Boykin will have a chance to be more involved Sunday against the Eagles.

Snead was held without a catch on three targets Sunday against the Bengals.

The veteran had caught all 10 of his targets on the year entering Sunday but was shut out by the Bengals. Snead played just 60 percent of the snaps -- 38 total -- which is in line with his season average outside of the Chiefs game in which he played 84 percent of the snaps. Despite playing a relatively high percentage of the snaps, Snead is not a major part of the passing game. He and the Ravens will travel to Philadelphia for a Week 6 showdown with the Eagles.

Coach Joe Judge said Monday that he expects Shepard (toe) to return to practice this week, indicating that he could play Sunday against Washington, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

If Shepard indeed returns to practice, it'll open the 21-day window for the wide receiver to be activated from IR. Judge explained that he wants to get Shepard moving in practice and see how he responds before making any decisions on his game status. If Shepard returns for Sunday's game, he's expected to start in three-wide sets even if he's still held back a bit by his injury.

Conley caught both his targets for 58 yards during Sunday's 30-14 loss to the Texans.

The 27-year-old again had a minor role in Jacksonville's aerial attack despite Gardner Minshew attempting 49 passes, though his 51-yard reception during the fourth quarter made it his most productive game of the season. Conley caught only one pass for six yards in the season opener, but over the last four games he's averaging three receptions for 46 yards. Conley could see some more playing time depending on the severity of DJ Chark's ankle injury, though he still only caught three of eight targets for 34 yards during Chark's previous absence Week 3.

Johnson caught three of four targets for 30 yards and one touchdown during Sunday's 30-14 loss to the Texans.

The rookie fifth-round pick entered Sunday's game with only two receptions for 17 yards, but he saw his highest snap count of the season (23) with DJ Chark (ankle) exiting due to injury. Johnson still ranked last among Jacksonville's active wideouts in playing time, so without another injury to the group, he seems unlikely to be significantly more involved in the offense.

Aiyuk had three receptions (six targets) for 44 yards in Sunday's 43-17 loss to the Dolphins.

The 49ers' quarterback play was atrocious in this one, so it is hard to place blame on Aiyuk for the pedestrian stat line. In fact, he tied George Kittle for the team lead in receiving yards in a forgettable game all around. The notable stat for the talented rookie was the playing time, as he led all San Francisco wideouts with a whopping 97 percent of offensive snaps. He was followed closely by Deebo Samuel (89 percent), and it appears the two YAC monsters will be co-starters for the foreseeable future. The 49ers have a brutal stretch of games ahead, beginning with a matchup against the Rams on Sunday Night Football, but the tough schedule could result in some favorable game scripts for passing the ball.