NFL Player News

Smith (hamstring) didn't practice Thursday.

Smith wasn't present in the media-access portion of Thursday's session, and his previous hamstring issue appears to be the culprit for his absence to begin Week 7 prep. He thus will have two more chances to prove his health before the Eagles potentially tag him with a designation for Monday's game versus the Cowboys.

Nacua suffered a calf injury during Thursday's practice and went down as a limited participant, Adam Grosbard of The Orange County Register reports.

Nacua already has dealt with psoas soreness (in August) and discomfort in his groin (in September), the latter of which cost him Weeks 2 and 3. With a new health concern in tow, it remains to be seen if he's in any danger of missing Sunday's contest at Las Vegas. Head coach Sean McVay likely will touch on Nacua's new health concern Friday, at which point the wide receiver may be tagged with a Week 7 game designation.

Kirk (calf) was a full practice participant Thursday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Back-to-back full practices have Kirk trending in the right direction ahead of Sunday's game against the Falcons. The 49ers have until Saturday to activate Kirk from IR ahead of Week 7 action, but if he's available this weekend he'd provide a boost to a WR corps dealing with injuries to both Mike Evans (ribs/Achilles) and Deebo Samuel (hamstring).

Evans (ribs/Achilles) didn't practice Thursday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Evans officially logged a second consecutive DNP after he made an early exit from Monday's win against the Commanders due to an aggravation of a right Achilles' injury, which head coach Kyle Shanahan has called soreness, per Wagoner. While Evans now has just one more chance to mix into drills this week, he's proved in the past that he doesn't require practice reps to be available on game days. Whether or not he has a chance to play Sunday in Atlanta will become known once the 49ers post their final Week 7 injury report Friday.

Jefferson (ankle) practiced in full Thursday, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Jefferson's upgrade from limited Wednesday to uncapped one day later indicates that the ankle injury that has bothered him since the middle of a Week 3 win at Tampa Bay is behind him. He'll be taking on a Colts defense Sunday that has allowed the 10th-most yards per target (8.6) to opposing wide receivers this season.

The Steelers have ruled Skowronek (calf) out for Sunday's matchup against the Saints, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reports.

Skowronek did not participate in Wednesday's practice. He will now miss his second straight week due to a calf injury suffered in the Steelers' Week 5 win against the Colts. Kaden Wetjen may see some extra reps in his place.

Williams (ankle) was listed as limited at Thursday's practice, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Williams was also listed as limited on Wednesday's estimated injury report. The same applies to Christian Watson (ankle) and Matthew Golden (shoulder), while Bo Melton (back) has drawn consecutive 'DNP' listings. Friday's final injury report thus is slated to add further context with regard to the health of the Packers' WR corps for Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff against the Lions.

Melton (back) did not participate in practice Thursday, Weston Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

Melton did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday due to a back injury that likely occurred in the Packers' win over the Cowboys in Week 6. The 27-year-old will likely need to practice in some capacity to have a chance at playing Sunday against the Lions.

The Lions signed Carter to the active roster Thursday.

Carter last played for Cleveland in 2025, and he served as the team's main return man. The 33-year-old veteran is expected to do the same for Detroit after the season-ending knee injury to Tom Kennedy, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com.

Rice (hamstring/knee) did not practice Thursday.

Rice has yet to resume practicing since sustaining a hamstring injury during Kansas City's Week 4 win over the Raiders. He's also dealing with a knee injury, so Rice looks likely to remain sidelined Sunday night against the Seahawks. Rice would likely need to practice in some capacity Friday to avoid being ruled out.