NFL Player News

The Saints ruled out Thomas (ankle) for Monday's game versus the Chargers due to a non-injury-related reason.

When word trickled out that Thomas wasn't returning Week 5 after being listed as limited on injury reports Thursday through Saturday, it was believed to be tied to his left high ankle sprain. Instead, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports Thomas had "an altercation with a teammate at practice" this weekend. Thomas thus has been disciplined by the Saints, leaving his next potential game Oct. 25 against the Panthers. In the short term, New Orleans will turn to wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders, Tre'Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway and Bennie Fowler.

Chark was forced out of Sunday's game versus the Texans with an ankle injury, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Chark suffered the injury in the fourth quarter, and it's unlikely he returns with just a few minutes remaining in regulation. The third-year receiver caught three passes for 16 yards before exiting the game. Laviska Shenault, Keelan Cole and Chris Conley likely will be rolled out in three-wide sets for the remainder of the game.

The Saints have ruled out Thomas (ankle) for Monday's contest against the Chargers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Even if the Saints likely believe he can handle the rigors of a game at the moment, keeping Thomas on the sideline for a fourth consecutive game seems like a prudent one with a Week 6 bye on tap. He'll thus have two more weeks to get past the high left ankle sprain that he sustained in the regular-season opener, with an eye toward returning Sunday, Oct. 25 versus the Panthers. On Monday, New Orleans will roll with Emmanuel Sanders, Tre'Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway and Bennie Fowler at wide receiver.

Samuel (illness) is listed as active Sunday versus the Dolphins.

Absent from practice Thursday and Friday with an illness, Samuel entered the weekend with a cloud hanging over his availability. That said, there was an expectation that he'd suit up Sunday, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, and he'll do just that. In his season debut last Sunday against the Eagles, Samuel logged 34 percent of the 49ers' offensive snaps en route to four touches for 45 yards. He'll look to get closer to the 67-percent snap share from his rookie 2019 campaign as he gets more into football shape.

Pettis (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Dolphins.

The 24-year-old was dealing with a knee injury earlier in the week, but he avoided an injury designation and is now a healthy scratch for Week 5. Pettis has been targeted once through four games and didn't play an offensive snap during last week's loss to the Eagles.

Grant (illness) is active for Sunday's Week 5 tilt against the 49ers.

The speedster was questionable due to a non-COVID-19 illness late in the week, but this confirms Grant has apparently been able to overcome his ailment. He'll slot into his usual No. 4 receiver role against San Francisco while also presumably continuing to handle both kick and punt returns.

Johnson was forced out of Sunday's game against the Eagles with a back issue, Burt Lauten of the Steelers' official site reports.

Prior to his exit, Johnson's lone reception resulted in a two-yard loss. In the meantime, Chase Claypool, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud are next up for targets alongside Pittsburgh's top wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Arcega-Whiteside is slated to start in Sunday's game against the Steelers, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com reports.

With Alshon Jeffery (foot) and DeSean Jackson (hamstring) both inactive, Arcega-Whiteside and John Hightower will join slot man Greg Ward as the Eagles' starting receivers. Before sitting out the Eagles' Week 4 win over the 49ers, Arcega-Whiteside wasn't much of a factor in the passing game, drawing just two targets over the team's first three games. The absences of Jeffery and Jackson should free up some more opportunities for Arcega-Whiteside, but the second-year player could still cede reps at receiver to reserve options Quez Watkins and Travis Fulgham.

Ridley will serve as the Falcons' clear No. 1 receiver Sunday against the Panthers with Julio Jones (hamstring) ruled out for the contest, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

With Jones having only played one half in the Falcons' last two games due to the lingering hamstring injury, Ridley has already had some opportunities this season to serve as Matt Ryan's top option in the passing game. While Ridley was shut out across five targets in Monday's 30-16 loss to the Packers, the third-year wideout opened the season with three straight dazzling performances, racking up 21 receptions for 349 yards and four touchdowns on 35 targets over that stretch. Ridley could be in store for another big outing Sunday in a game that features one of the highest projected totals of the Week 5 slate.

Brown (knee) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Bengals.

Though Brown has yet to score a TD through four games, he's seen decent volume (26 targets) in that span, resulting in 16 catches for 242 yards. Assuming no in-game setbacks Sunday, the speedy wideout -- who scored seven TD in 14 games last season -- should remain a key cog in Baltimore's Week 5 passing attack.