NFL Player News

Gage (undisclosed) did not participate in Thursday's scrimmage, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

It remains to be seen whether Gage's absence was due to injury, but at this point there's no reason for concern about his availability for Sept. 13's season-opener against Seattle. Gage is the clear favorite to serve as Atlanta's No. 3 receiver behind Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, though he'll also need to compete with Hayden Hurst and Todd Gurley for targets.

Coach Brian Flores hopes Parker (undisclosed) will come off the injury report next week, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com reports.

Parker has recently been held out of practice due to an undisclosed injury, but Flores has been consistent in downplaying the severity of the issue. If Parker is indeed able to return to practice without limitations next week, any concerns about his availability for Sept. 13's season-opener against New England will be shed. When healthy, Parker will slot in as Ryan Fitzpatrick's top receiving option.

Kupp (leg) returned to practice Thursday, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

Coach Sean Mcvay said Kupp "was full speed" at Thursday's practice session, and he also clarified that Kupp's leg issue was related to soreness. The 27-year-old looks on track for Sept. 13's season-opener against the Cowboys, provided he can avoid any setbacks.

Diggs (back) practiced on a limited basis Thursday, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

Diggs returned to practice Monday after missing a few days due to a sore back, so the guess here is that the team will be managing his issue in an attempt to make sure he's as close to 100 percent as possible for Week 1 against the Jets.

Coach Bill O'Brien said Coutee has looked good since returning from a foot injury, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Coutee missed about a week of practice in late August while resting a stress fracture in his foot. It's fair to wonder if the issue will pop up again this season, but he apparently didn't have any limitations in Wednesday's practice, as O'Brien noted that the third-year pro was returning kicks, taking reverses and running routes from the slot. With Will Fuller, Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb and Kenny Stills all looking healthy, it's hard to see how Coutee fits in. The Texans might look for a trade, and they could even consider waiving Coutee if other depth receivers are expected to contribute more on special teams.

Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen suggests that Williams (shoulder) has a shot to play in Week 1 against the Bengals, Gilbert Manzano of The Orange County Register reports. "Mike's gotta be ready to play," Steichen noted. "I think Mike has got that mindset to be ready to play. We look forward to having him on September 13."

We'll get a better read on Williams' Week 1 status once official practice participation reports start rolling in next week, but it sounds like the starting wideout could well tough it out in the Chargers' season opener. If that's the case, he'll be catching passes from confirmed starting QB Tyrod Taylor.

Campbell has cleared the NFL's concussion protocol, Andrew Walker of the Colts' official site reports.

That was confirmed by coach Frank Reich on Thursday, who added that the wideout is "full-go" for practice. Campbell -- whose 2019 rookie season was stalled by injuries -- now looks like the top candidate to work alongside T.Y. Hilton and rookie second-rounder Michael Pittman when the Colts roll with three-wideout formations to start the coming season.

James (wrist) was activated from the 49ers' non-football injury list Thursday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

James missed all of training camp, but coach Kyle Shanahan expects the 5-foot-9 receiver to be ready for Week 1. The 49ers likely envision James in a depth role on offense, potentially contributing as a return specialist as well. His clean recovery from a broken wrist could hurt the roster odds for guys like Dante Pettis and Kevin White.

With the Patriots parting ways with Mohamed Sanu, Byrd is the current favorite to emerge as the team's No. 3 wide receiver behind Julian Edelman and N'Keal Harry, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.

Neither Edelman nor Harry possess blazing speed, and that's one thing Byrd can bring to the table. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder, who can also return punts, could therefore carve out a role as an outside receiver in the team's offense. Whether that's a context that would include enough volume to merit fantasy consideration remains to be seen, but Byrd -- who logged a 32/359/1 stat line in 11 games with Arizona in 2019 -- is at least worth considering as a deep sleeper in re-draft formats and a potential economical DFS option certain weeks.

Cooper has missed four consecutive practices, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

No specific injury has been reported, and the Cowboys have downplayed the situation. Still, it's something to keep an eye on ahead of a Sunday night opener (Sept. 13) against the Rams, especially given Cooper's history of playing through lower-body injuries. For what it's worth, Todd Archer of ESPN.com thought Cooper spent a lot of time stretching his quadriceps before he did some resistance-cord workouts with a trainer Thursday morning.