NFL Player News

Blackburn, 29 in June, closed out last season as the Giants’ starting middle linebacker. While he won’t retain the role, Blackburn came up with a huge interception of Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI and should earn a roster spot as a backup and special teamer. He finished 2011 with 26 tackles on defense.

Thielen is trending toward missing another game after missing his second practice of the week. The veteran receiver is attempting to return from a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 3 and is nearing the end of his 21-day return window. The Panthers don’t have to activate him for Week 10, but would need to activate him next week at the latest or shut him down for the season.

Four members of the Bears’ secondary are currently dealing with injuries and Jones’ shoulder issue was bad enough to land him on injured reserve. These secondary injuries, coupled with the loss of difference-making DT Andrew Billings, make the Bears’ defense a far more fantasy-friendly unit. The team “signed S Tarvarius Moore to the active roster and added DB JT Woods to the practice squad,” per The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, in corresponding moves.

After previous reports of Smith not being spotted at practice, the Eagles receiver was later spotted practicing with his teammates. With Friday’s practice still to go, this is a good sign for his Week 10 availability. His name will be one to look for on Friday’s injury report, but things are looking good for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.

Smith has now missed two straight practices to open the week and will be a long shot to play in Week 10 if he can’t get on the field on Friday. The Eagles are dealing with injuries to their top two receivers after A.J. Brown (knee) also suffered an injury in Week 9, but he’s been able to practice so far. Smith’s name will be one to watch when Friday’s injury report drops.

Things began trending in this direction on Wednesday after Slayton was a DNP, and Daboll said the veteran receiver hadn’t made much progress through the league’s concussion protocol. Slayton is expected to stay stateside when the team travels to Germany before the weekend, which means Jalin Hyatt will be seeing an uptick in snaps for Week 10.

Coleman was present at practice, but per beat writer Alaina Getzenberg, the rookie “did only work to the side” during the media portion of practice. There’s a chance Coleman will miss multiple weeks with his injury, so we wouldn’t expect him to get in much, if any, practice ahead of Week 10’s game against the Colts.

Assuming he was a DNP Thursday, that would mark two straight missed practices for Pittman to open the week. Pittman is dealing with multiple injuries and suffered a dislocated finger in Week 9’s loss to the Vikings. He’s also been playing through a back injury for several weeks. We’ll see if he’s able to get on the field in some capacity on Friday, but his Week 10 availability looks shaky at best.

In addition to Jackson, the Rams also opened the return window for center Steve Avila. Both players will be eligible to come off injured reserve at any time and would provide immediate boosts to an offensive line that’s ranked 31st in PFF pass-blocking grades and 15th in PFF run-blocking grades. Jackson has been on injured reserve since reaggravating a shoulder injury in Week 2 that he dealt with throughout training camp.

Collins has been a DNP in each of the Texans’ two practices to open the week and is on the wrong side of playing in Week 10 against the Lions. The Texans also have not opened his practice window, another bad sign as far as Week 10 availability is concerned. We’ll see if something changes Friday, but for now, expect him to miss at least one more game.