NFL Player News

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles confirmed Friday that Godwin (fibula) is on track to play Sunday against the Rams, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

It nonetheless remains to be seen if Godwin will avoid a game designation on the final injury report. He was a full practice participant Thursday for the first time since early October.

Fidone (foot) won't play Sunday against the Lions, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Fidone has dealt with a foot injury throughout the season. The special teams contributor's next chance to play will come Dec. 1 at New England.

Gabriel (concussion) is practicing Friday, but he has yet to fully clear the NFL's five-step concussion protocol, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Shedeur Sanders has already been declared the starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Raiders, but Gabriel still has a chance to be available in a backup role. Gabriel would have to clear concussion protocol to be active Sunday, which would involve practicing without limitations Friday and subsequently gaining clearance from an independent neurologist. If Gabriel's ultimately ruled out, Bailey Zappe would likely work as Sanders' backup Sunday.

Irving (shoulder/foot) won't play Sunday at the Rams, but Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said Friday that the running back is trending toward a return Week 13 against Arizona, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

The Buccaneers have listed Irving as a limited participant in five straight practices, dating back to the beginning of last week. He'll miss another game, but he's reportedly making progress, and Bowles even acknowledged recent rumors by telling reporters that Irving "didn't handle it well" when he was unable to practice or play. The implication seems to be that everything is going better now, though Irving will miss at least one more game when the Bucs face the Rams on Sunday night. Sean Tucker figures to get most of the carries after his three-TD outing last Sunday at Buffalo, with Rachaad White also having a role and likely taking most of the passing-down snaps.

Burrow (toe) will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Patriots, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Coach Zac Taylor noted that at this stage the Bengals have yet to determine their Week 12 starter at QB. In any case, in order for Burrow to have a chance to face New England on Sunday, he would have to be activated from IR by Saturday afternoon. If Burrow isn't ready to return to the lineup, however, Joe Flacco (right shoulder) would be in line to get the nod versus the Patriots, assuming he's available after being limited at practice Wednesday and Thursday.

The Cardinals signed Jefferson to their active roster Friday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

It's not a good sign for Trey Benson (knee) being activated from injured reserve this week, though the Cardinals also have other injury concerns in the backfield, with Emari Demercado (ankle) ruled out and Bam Knight expected to play through an ankle injury of his own. Jefferson has been with Arizona's practice squad since the beginning of October, but he won't necessarily get touches even if he's active Sunday against the Jaguars.

Njoku (knee) returned to practice Friday, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Njoku didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday, so the tight end's return to the field Friday is a positive sign ahead of Sunday's 4:05 p.m ET game against the Raiders. The Browns' upcoming injury report will note both Njoku's official participation level Friday as well as his Week 12 game status.

Browning (concussion) won't play Sunday against the Jaguars, Bo Brack of PHNX Sports reports.

Browning will miss a second consecutive game as he remains in concussion protocol. He will need to return to full practice participation and be cleared by an independent neurologist to have a chance to play Nov. 30 at Tampa Bay.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said Benson (knee) has looked good in practice throughout the week, but Benson's availability for Sunday's game against the Jaguars will likely be determined based on how Friday's practice goes, Zach Gershman of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Benson was a limited participant at both Wednesday's and Thursday's practices after being designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday. In order to play Sunday, Benson would first need to be activated from injured reserve and added back to the roster. Such a move remains in play, though the coaching staff will first want to see how Benson looks during Friday's practice. With Bam Knight (ankle) banged up and Emari Demercado (ankle) already ruled out for Sunday's game, Michael Carter is currently the only Cardinals running back that will definitely be available Sunday.

Bateman (ankle) wasn't spotted at practice Friday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

Given that Bateman also logged DNPs both Wednesday and Thursday, the wideout is trending toward missing Sunday's game against the Jets. If that ends up being the case, Zay Flowers, DeAndre Hopkins and Tylan Wallace would be in line to lead Baltimore's WR corps in Week 12.