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.

Bowers (hamstring/calf) upgraded to a full practice Thursday, Anthony Galaviz of The Fresno Bee reports.

After popping up on the injury report Wednesday as a limited participant with a pair of new "injuries," Bowers was able to get in a full session Thursday and should be ready to roll for Sunday's game with the Rams. The top TE1 play every week, Bowers has 28 grabs for 382 yards and three touchdowns through four appearances.

Barkley (hamstring) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday.

This marks Barkley's first official on-field work since he initially suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 against the Rams. He consequently sat out Weeks 5 and 6, but his return to drills this week at least gives him a chance to suit up Monday versus the Cowboys. Barkley told Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday that he wants to play in Week 7 but still needs to test out his hamstring over the next few days. Ultimately, Saturday's practice report will reveal Barkley's odds to return to action.

Gonzalez (illness) is listed as active for Thursday night's game against the Bears.

Gonzalez was a late addition to the Patriots' injury report ahead of Thursday's kickoff, but he subsequently participated in warmups and is in line to be able to play through his illness after all. In four games thus far, the star cornerback, who anchors New England's secondary, has recorded 14 tackles and five passes defended.

Hockenson (concussion) was listed as a full participant Thursday.

Hockenson is inching closer to clearing the protocol for head injuries after sustaining a concussion during the Vikings' Week 5 win at New Orleans. At the very least, he must gain clearance from an independent neurologist in order to suit up again Sunday against the Colts.

Gonzalez is now listed as questionable for Thursday night's game against the Bears due to an illness.

Per Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, Gonzalez is a late addition to the injury report, though he was spotted on the field prior to the contest going through light drills. In any case, the star cornerback's Week 7 availability will be confirmed one way or another when the Patriots' inactives are posted ahead of the team's 8:15 ET kickoff.

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).

Mason (thumb) practiced fully Thursday.

With back-to-back uncapped sessions under his belt so far this week, Mason appears to be putting himself in a position to be activated from injured reserve ahead of Sunday's contest versus the Colts. He's seeking his first game action since Week 1, when he suffered a small fracture in his thumb that required surgery. If he's able to return this weekend, Mason likely will resume a timeshare with Aaron Jones out of the Vikings backfield.

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.