NFL Player News

Smith (hamstring) wasn't spotted at Friday's portion of practice open to the media, Brooks Kubena of The Athletic reports.

Smith continues to miss practice with a hamstring injury that cost him two games prior to last Sunday's return against the Panthers. However, he may have aggravated the issue, considering his back-to-back DNPs to begin Week 7 prep. Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) and Darius Cooper would be in line for the wideout duties if Smith needs to sit Monday night against Dallas, though Wicks has an injury of his own.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell said Friday that Mason (thumb) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Colts after practicing fully all week, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Since he was designated to return from injured reserve Monday, Mason has been listed as full on three straight practice reports, but the Vikings will err on the side of caution, especially because they still must activate him by Saturday afternoon for the running back to have a chance to play Sunday. Assuming that comes to pass, Mason will rejoin Aaron Jones in the backfield, likely in a timeshare as they did in 2025 and in Week 1 before the former suffered a small fracture in his thumb that required surgery.

Barkley (hamstring) is practicing Friday, Brooks Kubena of The Athletic reports.

After practicing in a limited capacity Thursday, Barkley was on the field again Friday as he continues to work back from the hamstring injury that cost him the past two games. His presence at another session keeps him on track for a possible return Monday night against Dallas. Dameon Pierce would then become mostly irrelevant for fantasy football.

Bears coach Ben Johnson said Friday that Kmet (knee) will be placed on injured reserve, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

With Kmet now out for an extended period, potentially the remainder of the season, Chicago will be without its top blocking tight end after he exited Thursday night's game against the Patriots. His absence should open up more playing time for Sam Roush, but the Bears figure to make a move at the position.

Boston (foot) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Titans, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

Boston played through the same injury last week and took 92 percent of Cleveland's snaps on offense in a 13-10 win over the Ravens. He caught just one of five targets for 15 yards, showing the downside of being a deep threat in an offense with poor QB play.

Concepcion (calf/quadriceps) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Titans, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

Neither does fellow Browns wideout Denzel Boston, who has been limited in practice with a foot injury. There's been no indication that either WR was ever in serious danger of missing Sunday's game, so normal workloads can be expected unless there's an in-game setback.

Head coach Mike LaFleur said Friday that Love (ankle) won't play Sunday against the Broncos, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Love thus will miss a second consecutive contest as he tends to a lingering ankle injury. With Love again sidelined, Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight will man Arizona's backfield, as they did during last Sunday's win at the Rams. In that contest, Allgeier out-snapped Knight, 40-32, but the latter had 17 touches for 98 yards from scrimmage, while the former recorded 19 touches for just 48 total yards. Love's next chance for game action is Sunday, Nov. 1, in Dallas.

Sampson (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Titans, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

With Sampson still on injured reserve, the Browns will need to activate him by Saturday evening to have him available for Sunday's game against the Titans. Starting running back Quinshon Judkins (ankle) has been cleared to return from a one-game absence, in any case, which potentially limits Sampson to a passing-down role if he plays.

Jackson (ankle) remains uncertain for Sunday's game against the Bengals after Ravens coach Jesse Minter said Friday that the quarterback's availability is still being evaluated, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

With Jackson back on the practice field Friday and Minter noting that he got a "pretty good amount of work in," Baltimore is at least leaving the door open for its star quarterback to return. Minter added that the decision will hinge on how Jackson feels and how effective he can be, so this could come down to a game-time decision ahead of Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff.

Washington (foot) was not spotted at Friday's practice, Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

With Washington having already been downgraded to a non-participant Thursday, his absence Friday casts more doubt on his availability for Sunday's game against the Rams. Dylan Laube could be in line for more backfield work behind Ashton Jeanty.