NFL Player News

Stevenson (toe) wasn't spotted at Friday's practice, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

With Stevenson having missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, the running back appears to be trending toward missing Sunday's game against the Falcons. If that ends up being the case, TreVeyon Henderson would be in line for added touches Week 9, with Terrell Jennings mixing in. Additionally, the Patriots have RBs D'Ernest Johnson, Jonathan Ward and Rushawn Baker on their practice squad.

The Steelers placed Elliott (knee) on injured reserve Friday.

The move was expected and knocks Elliott out for at least the next four contests. Pittsburgh has already made a move to replace the injured safety after the team acquired Kyle Dugger from the Patriots in a trade earlier this week.

Schultz (knee/shoulder) returned to practice Friday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Schultz didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday, but coach DeMeco Ryans indicated that he expected the tight end to return to the field later in the week, which indeed transpired Friday. The Texans' upcoming injury report is destined to both clarify Schultz's participation level, as well as his injury designation, or lack thereof, for Sunday's game against the Broncos.

Thompson (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Chiefs, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

Thompson played 89 percent of the defensive snaps last week against the Panthers and has started each of the past two games for the Bills. With Thompson out against Kansas City, Matt Milano should step back into the starting role again now that he's past his pectoral injury.

Hill had a two-yard carry and added two receptions for 13 yards in Thursday's win over the Dolphins.

Hill's 11 snaps marked a season low as Baltimore deployed Keaton Mitchell for roughly the same number of plays as the veteran. Lamar Jackson targeted Hill twice, and he managed to bring both in for receptions. Through eight games, Hill has just one game with more than 20 rushing yards, and his pass-catching has tapered off since the bye with just two combined targets in his last two games. Baltimore heads to Minnesota in Week 10.

Jones (calf) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Chiefs, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

With Ed Oliver (biceps) already sidelined, the Bills are getting thin on the interior of their defensive line. Larry Ogunjobi, Jordan Phillips and Deone Walker will have to step into larger roles up front.

Coach Sean McDermott noted Friday that Palmer (knee/ankle) won't play Sunday against the Chiefs, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

Though Palmer was deemed a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com noted that the wideout was "moving at very light speed" during the session. With Palmer set to miss his second straight game, Elijah Moore, Tyrell Shavers and Curtis Samuel are next in line for the Bills' WR snaps behind starters Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir.

Coach Dan Campbell said Friday that Joseph (knee) is not expected to play Sunday against the Vikings, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.

"It's gonna take a minute here," Campbell said of Joseph's recovery. Joseph hasn't played since Week 6 and will miss a second consecutive game with the Lions coming out of their bye week. Thomas Harper and Erick Hallett started at safety against the Buccaneers in Week 7.

Coach Liam Coen announced Friday that Hunter (knee) will be placed on injured reserve, Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union reports.

Hunter suffered a non-contact knee injury during Thursday's practice, according to Harvey, and he now will be forced to miss at least the next four games. The full extent of Hunter's knee injury isn't yet known publicly, but it's obviously a huge loss for Jacksonville after the team had plans to get the rookie more involved on offense following the Week 8 bye. With Hunter sidelined, Brian Thomas (shoulder), Dyami Brown, Parker Washington and Tim Patrick (groin) will handle wideout duties for the Jaguars. Hunter will first be eligible to return in Week 13 against the Titans.

Trader recorded 13 tackles (eight solo) in Thursday night's loss to the Ravens.

Trader didn't start the game but did play a season-high 91 percent of the defensive snaps. His previous single-game-high in tackles was three earlier this season. With all the injuries in the Miami secondary, Trader was forced into heavier action against Baltimore. The fifth-round rookie has produced 29 tackles (17 solo), one pass breakup, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across 199 defensive snaps and 149 special-teams snaps through nine games.