NFL Player News

Hopkins (thumb/ankle/hamstring) was a limited participant during Thursday's practice.

Though the trio of injuries limited Hopkins' participation for the second straight day, he didn't appear visibly impacted during the portion of the session that was available to the media, per Drew Dougherty of the Texans' official site. There's been little indication that any of the issues will prevent him from taking the field Sunday against the Cowboys, but he may need to turn in a full practice Friday to avoid an injury designation heading into the weekend. The same assortment of injuries resulted in him carrying a questionable tag into last week's eventual overtime win over the Colts after he only managed limited practice participation Wednesday through Friday.

Davis (illness) practiced fully Thursday, John Glennon of The Athletic reports.

Davis is thus good to go for Sunday's game against the Bills and in line to serve as the Titans' top wideout moving forward. He's on the upswing following a stellar effort in Week 4, in which he caught nine of 15 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in the team's 26-23 overtime win over the Eagles.

Matthews has drawn interest from multiple teams since being released by the Titans last week and is expected to sign with a club soon, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Matthews had been representing himself in his conversations with teams, but he's since hired Drew Rosenhaus as his agent, presumably with the hope of expediting the signing process. Given that he's just two years removed from a 945-catch, nine-touchdown season, it's not a surprise that Matthews reportedly has plenty of suitors. It's less clear, however, if any of the interested parties envision using him as a starter or a depth option at wideout, which would obviously have significant implications for his fantasy outlook.

Shepard (lower back) was a full participant at Thursday's practice, Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports.

Even though Shepard failed to practice Wednesday after requiring a minor procedure earlier the week to remove a cyst from his lower back, coach Pat Shurmur predicted it wouldn't be anything that impacted the wideout's availability for the weekend. Shurmur's comments still appear to hold true a day later, as Shepard returned to the field Thursday and logged every rep in practice to remove any doubt about his status for Sunday's game against the Panthers. After reeling in all of his season-high 10 targets in the Week 4 loss to the Saints, Shepard should again be in line for extra volume in the passing game with tight end Evan Engram (knee) set to miss a second straight contest.

St. Brown received the bulk of the reps with the first-team offense during Thursday's practice and could have a significant role in Sunday's game against the Lions, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

St. Brown has been a healthy inactive for three of the Packers' four games to date, logging only two snaps -- both on special teams -- in the season-opening win over the Bears. Though he's the sixth man on the depth chart at receiver, St. Brown could jump all the way from the inactive list to the starting lineup in Week 5 while the team's top three wideouts -- Davante Adams (calf), Randall Cobb (hamstring) and Geronimo Allison (concussion) -- tend to injuries that prevented all from practicing Thursday. If any of the injured parties are available this weekend, however, St. Brown would likely be the odd man out for regular snaps in three-receiver sets. Fellow rookies Marquez Valdes-Scantling and J'Mon Moore both seem to have gained separation from St. Brown on the depth chart.

Parker (quadriceps) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald reports.

While Parker's level of participation amounted to no change from Wednesday, it appears the wideout's status is trending in the wrong direction heading into the weekend. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, most of Parker's activity Thursday consisted of him doing elliptical work, as he didn't run routes with the team's healthy receivers during the session. Parker would enhance his chances of playing Sunday against the Bengals by increasing his involvement in Friday's practice, but head coach Adam Gase didn't seem optimistic that would happen, per Beasley.

Valdes-Scantling has received the bulk of the reps with the first-team offense during practices Wednesday and Thursday and could have a significant role in Sunday's game against the Lions, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

While Randall Cobb (hamstring) was sidelined in the Week 4 win over the Bills, Valdes-Scantling stepped in as the Packers' No. 3 receiver, logging a season-high 54 offensive snaps and finishing with one reception for 38 yards on three targets. The team's other starting wideouts, Davante Adams and Geronimo Allison, predictably commanded most of quarterback Aaron Rodgers' attention, but both receivers' statuses -- as well as Cobb's -- are on shaky ground heading into Sunday. Adams (hamstring), Allison (concussion) and Cobb were all listed as a non-participants in Thursday's practice, resulting in Valdes-Scantling being joined on the top unit by fellow rookies J'Mon Moore and Equanimeous St. Brown. Valdes-Scantling is firmly ahead of both of those first-year wideouts on the depth chart, so he'll be the safest fantasy investment among the lot if one or more of Adams, Cobb and Allison are sidelined in Week 5.

Shepard (lower back) returned to practice Thursday, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

In the wake of a procedure earlier this week to remove a cyst from his lower back, Shepard didn't take the practice field Wednesday, instead riding a stationary bike during the open part of practice. He was an active participant Thursday, though, as he ramps up his activity level for a Week 5 visit to Carolina. His workload will be confirmed when the Giants release an injury report Thursday afternoon.

Adams (calf) was officially listed as a non-participant in Thursday's practice, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The designation doesn't come as a surprise after coach Mike McCarthy relayed ahead of the session that Adams would only work out on the side with the Packers' other rehabbing players. After sustaining the calf injury Wednesday, Adams' status for Sunday's game at Detroit now looks to be on shaky ground, a discouraging development for the Packers with Randall Cobb (hamstring) and Geronimo Allison (concussion), both missing the first two practices of the week. If all of those players are ultimately sidelined this weekend, the Packers would likely roll with a trio of unproven rookies -- Marquez Valdes-Scantling, J'Mon Moore and Equanimeous St. Brown -- in the starting lineup.

Coach Mike McCarthy said Cobb (hamstring) would work out on the side with the Packers' other injured players during Thursday's practice, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Cobb will be joined in the rehab group by Davante Adams, who sustained a calf injury during Wednesday's session. It's expected that both players will go down as non-participants on Thursday's practice report, with fellow wideout Geronimo Allison also expected to receive the same listing while he remains in the concussion protocol. The availability of all three players looks to be in serious question for Sunday's matchup with the Lions, which could force the Packers to lean heavily on rookie wideouts Marquez Valdes-Scantling, J'Mon Moore and Equanimeous St. Brown. Converted running back Ty Montgomery is another option to see work at receiver if the Packers are without two or more of their top three options at the position.