NFL Player News

Nothing too impactful here. The Texans return from their Week 6 bye with a relatively healthy roster. Johnson, acquired before the start of the season, has been active for just two of the Texans’ first five games.

Mariota rejoins the team after suffering a pectoral injury during the summer and missing the first four games of the season. He should immediately slot into the primary backup quarterback role behind starter Jayden Daniels, sending Jeff Driskel back to the emergency quarterback role on game days.

Robinson popped on the team’s injury report Wednesday as a non-participant with a knee injury, also missing Thursday’s practice. He would return as a limited participant on Friday and apparently did enough to avoid an absence. He will be joined by backfield-mate Austin Ekeler against the Browns after the latter missed last week’s win over the Cardinals with a concussion.

Horton was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin Lymphoma in November of 2023 and was forced to step away from football to battle the illness. Now 11 months removed from the diagnosis and in remission, Horton will return to the field for the first time in almost a year in Week 5 against the Bills.

Edwards-Helaire was limited in practice all week with an illness but ultimately drew the doubtful tag. Considering only two players played after being listed as doubtful in 2023, it’s safe to consider Edwards-Helaire a long shot to face the Saints. Kareem Hunt led the Kansas city backfield in snaps and opportunities in their Week 4 win, with Edwards-Helaire’s expected absence paving the way for him to do so again in Week 5.

Hardman exhibited solid progression in practice this week, going from a ‘DNP’ on Thursday, to a limited participant Friday, to a full practice Saturday. That should theoretically give him a solid chance of suiting up against the Saints on Monday Night Football, with final word to come 90-minutes prior to the team’s kickoff.

Hill reportedly suffered fractured ribs in the team’s Week 4 loss to the Falcons, an injury that will keep him sidelined when the team takes on the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. There has yet to be an indication as to the expected recovery timeframe for the veteran do-it-all “tight end,” but we are now certain he won’t suit up in Week 5.

Speaking Saturday, Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst said “Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to suspend Romeo for this week’s game. His decisions and actions during the week negatively impacted the team and required us to take this action.” Doubs, unhappy with his current role in the offense, skipped practice on Wednesday and Thursday and was sent to the suspended list for “conduct detrimental to the team.” There is no telling how this situation will ultimately pan out, but a key player intentionally missing practice during the season does not bode well for Doubs’ chances of increasing his involvement in the offense moving forward.

Engram has been on the shelf since Week 1 after suffering a hamstring injury in pre-game warmups ahead of the team’s Week 2 contest and is reportedly unlikely to play against the Colts despite getting in a week of limited practice sessions. Expect Brian Thomas Jr. to be featured heavily against the Cover-3-heavy Indianapolis defense considering Christian Kirk’s recent struggles against the primary coverage shell.

McBride cleared concussion protocol earlier in the week only to be downgraded with a ribs injury. It is uncertain when the injury occurred, but late-week injury additions are never a good sign for a player’s chances of suiting up. The Cardinals struggled to get much of anything going on offense against the Commanders in Week 4 with McBride on the shelf, a situation that could repeat itself against a much more imposing opponent. His game-day status will be updated 90-minutes prior to the team’s kickoff, which occurs in the late portion of the Week 5 games. Fantasy managers may want to make other plans at tight end considering the timing of the game.

This was thought to be the likeliest outcome after Richardson did very little in practice all week, with previous reports indicating that Joe Flacco took most of the first-team work. Flacco is now expected to lead a Colts team also without lead running back Jonathan Taylor against a divisional opponent that functions as a pass-funnel defense.