Gameday Injury Expectations: Week 3

Photo: USA Today Sports

UNDERSTANDING THE NFL'S INJURY REPORT

The injury report released by the NFL is actually two reports. The first is the Practice Participation report, which lists which injured players were able to practice and how much. It also includes players who rested or missed practice for non-injury related reasons. The second is the Game Status Report, which gives the probability a player will play, i.e. Questionable, Doubtful, Out. The Practice Participation Report is released every day of the week (Monday through Saturday). The Game Status Report is released with the Friday participation report (Wednesday for Thursday games, Saturday for Monday games).

In this feature, I'll include the Game Status Listing, my expectation of their likelihood to play, and the player's practice participation throughout the week.

Key:

PLAYER | INJURY | GAME STATUS LISTING | FOOTBALLGUYS EXPECTATION

Practice Participation Listing by Day

* = playing on Monday night

I'll also include a table at the bottom of the article for easy reference.

Here's the latest on every relevant injured player on the practice participation and game status report this week:

QUARTERBACK

Sam Bradford | Knee | Declared Out | Inactive

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thursday - Limited | Friday - DNP

Bradford was allowed to practice on Wednesday and Thursday, leading to hope he would be able to return to play this week. Although he appeared to be able to hop and change directions on light throwing drills on Thursday and wasn't nearly as stiff as he looked during last Sunday's pre-game warmup, the limited practice video I saw showed no indication he was comfortable enough to protect himself in the pocket. Even if he hadn't missed practice Friday to visit Dr. James Andrews, I think the Vikings would have limited his practice and ruled him out.

The Vikings and Bradford have yet to confirm details on the injury. Tom Pelissero -- a long time Vikings' beat writer before going national -- reported the injury as a bone bruise. Ian Rapoport suggested the concern was cartilage related in a television interview. Bradford responded to a reporter's question vaguely but interestingly this week by intimating he's been given a specific diagnosis but can't yet be sure if the injury will become a lingering concern.

I think Bradford likely has a bone bruise and it's in an area where there's concern about the cartilage overlying that part of the bone and protecting the joint. Pelissero has said the injury isn't structural. That's probably partially accurate in the sense that Bradford's ligaments are intact and no bones are injured to the point of requiring surgery. But a bone bruise to an area that involved cartilage almost always means there's a concern for arthritis in the longer term. A trip to the surgeon who has seen the inside of Bradford's knee twice, examined him many times, and knows the subtleties of his imaging studies makes sense.

Given that Bradford has struggled to recover in two weeks and sought additional opinions, I think it's unlikely we see enough interval improvement for him to return in Week 4. In fact, it won't surprise to see the Vikings choose rehab over practice next week.

CAM NEWTON | SHOULDER/Ankle | NOT LISTED | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Newton's ankle injury was awkward but consistent with a lower grade low ankle sprain. He may be limited around the pocket and it's unlikely the Panthers will risk Newton's usual number of designed runs. While there's a risk of aggravation during the game, there's no indication Newton will not start against the Saints.

Others of note: Ben Roethlisberger and Blake Bortles (wrist) practiced this week and will play without limitation. Andrew Luck (shoulder) has been declared out. I'll update return to play expectations on all inactive players in Monday's column.

RUNNING BACK

Melvin Gordon | Knee | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Not Listed | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Gordon was added to the injury report with a knee injury on Thursday. He returned to a limited Friday practice. Head coach Anthony Lynn told reporters he expects Gordon to play and beat writer Eric Williams tweeted he expects no change in the distribution of touches in the Chargers' backfield. I'll watch for notes overnight into Sunday morning but it would appear Gordon can be trusted to see his usual workload.

***Sunday Morning Update: Gordon is expected to play this morning.

Jay Ajayi | Knee | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Full

Ajayi fully practiced last week after being listed with a knee injury last week. The two mid-week missed practices were worrisome for a player who has had past knee concerns but there was no undercurrent of concern in Miami this week. After a full Friday practice, it's likely the Dolphins decided to give Ajayi extended rest this week in the hopes he'll again be available for 25+ touches if needed.

Jordan Howard | Shoulder | Not Listed | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Full

Howard played through a painful shoulder injury last week and didn't look comfortable. He left the locker room in a sling, prompting concerns about missed games and a more severe injury than originally anticipated. Howard ended his media silence on Monday and told reporters he was disappointed in his play and minimized the injury. After a full Friday practice, the Bears took Howard off the injury report. Howard will play this week. However, there remains a risk of aggravation this week and the shadow of Tarik Cohen continues to creep over Howard's upside.

DeMarco Murray | Hamstring | Questionable | Limited if Active

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Limited

Aggravated hamstring strains do not recover quickly. Had Murray not worked back slowly from a preseason injury, the Titans' claim of caution last week may have held more water. Murray was unable to do more than a limited Friday practice and Mike Mularkey's post-practice comments were not reassuring. Mularkey told reporters, "It's the kind of injury you watch and see how he wakes up in the morning...We've been pretty smart to this point. We're not going to subject anybody to further injury."

Murray was clearly limited in practice this week and did not talk to the media on Friday. Mularkey admits Murray isn't healthy and says he's not going to subject players to a risk of aggravation. Murray has already aggravated the injury at least once and the Titans have a healthy and productive Derrick Henry ready to go. I don't believe Murray will play this week and should be considered questionable for Week 4.

***Sunday Morning Update: Overnight, Adam Schefter tweeted Murray is "more than likely" to play today. Ian Rapoport had a similar report this morning. If active, there's been no indication Murray is healthy enough to assume his usual workload. Yet to participate in pregame workouts, it's possible Murray's status changes later this morning.

Rob Kelley | Rib | Questionable | Likely to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

In his Friday media session, Jay Gruden didn't discuss Kelley's status other than to say a decision would be made Sunday. Kelley was able to take part in practice all week and told reporters he would play. Fighting through the rib cartilage injury will be painful and Kelley could miss a few plays or multiple series with an aggravation.

***Sunday Morning Update: Adam Schefter reports Kelley is not expected to play today.

Terrance West | Calf | Questionable | Active / Likely limited

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Full

After two missed practices this week, I expected West to miss this week's game. The Ravens had under-reported injuries frequently this season and appeared to be doing the same with West after he left last week's game with a soft tissue injury. West fully practiced Friday and traveled to England with the team. There's very little in the media on West's status heading into Sunday morning. The Ravens play at 9:30 AM ET. We'll know West's status very early Sunday morning.

Others of note: LeSean McCoy, Jonathan Stewart, Frank Gore, Matt Forte (knee), Chris Thompson (back), and DeAndre Washington (hamstring) have practiced, are not listed on the game status report, and expected to play without limitation. Rex Burkhead (ribs), Marlon Mack (shoulder), and Dwayne Washington (quad) have been declared out. I'll update return to play expectations on all inactive players in Monday's column.

WIDE RECEIVER

ODELL BECKHAM | ANKLE | Not Listed | expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited |Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Beckham was taken off the team's game status report this week. He suffered no aggravation of injury after 34 snaps and over 20 routes on Monday night but is not yet fully recovered. Beckham told reporters he expects to play more this week but hinted he wasn't comfortable cutting in all directions yet. He'll continue to struggle on some routes but should be more successful moving laterally this week. I believe we'll see Beckham play 40-50 snaps this week and see more targets. Whether he can take advantage against Philadelphia is a tougher question but he inching closer to his pre-injury ceiling.

Jordy Nelson | Quadriceps | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Full | Thurs - Full | Fri - Full

The Packers listed Nelson questionable but his full week of practice is the stronger data point. Always leaning conservative, the Green Bay medical staff realizes Nelson's injury isn't likely to limit him but hasn't fully healed. There's a low chance of a weekend setback but the Packers are acknowledging the minimal risk of a pregame issue. Expect Nelson to play with additional padding over his thigh this week and he should play without limitation.

Randall Cobb | Shoulder | Doubtful | Likely Inactive

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - DNP

Cobb hasn't been ruled out but he will not play. The Thursday DNP after telling the media he remained in a lot of pain on Wednesday was a telling development. Hopefully, resting Cobb this week will allow enough healing to allow him to return to practice next week and play.

Danny Amendola | Concussion / Knee | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Amendola spoke with reporters on Friday, confirming it was the concussion rather than the knee injury that kept him out of last week's game. He said he's "good to go" and will play. His confidence suggests there will be no limitations in his snap count.

Chris Hogan | Knee | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Like Amendola, Hogan is expected to be active and play. Despite limping through most of last week's game, Hogan managed 65 snaps and played into the fourth quarter. There's no indication he will be limited on Sunday but the return of Amendola may affect Hogan's snap count and targets.

Jarvis Landry | Knee | Questionable | expected to play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Full

DeVante Parker | Ankle | Questionable | expected to play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Full

Both Landry and Parker returned to full Friday practices and are expected to play. Landry was listed with a sore knee last week and was given an extra day off again this week after a 62 snap, 15 target effort in Week 2. There was no indication of concern from the Dolphins on either receiver this week and both should see their usual workloads.

*J.J. Nelson | Knee | Questionable | Likely to play

Practice Participation: Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited | Sat - Limited

The Saturday practice participation and game status reports have not yet been released. Beat reporters were reassured with Nelson's body language in the media portion of Friday's practice. I'll officially update Gresham's status after the NFL releases the report.

***Saturday Night Update: The Cardinals listed Nelson questionable but there are no updates on his likely availability. For now, I'll continue to rely on Friday's reassuring tweets, but this needs continued monitoring overnight into Sunday morning.

Josh Doctson | Hamstring | Not Listed | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Full | Thurs - Full | Fri - Full

Doctson was finally able to return to a full week of practice. Though Washington continued to list him on the injury report, Doctson is not on the game status report. Jay Gruden told reporters last week Doctson would be limited during games until he proved he could be trusted with a full week of practice. That hurdle has been cleared. If Gruden's previous statements were accurate, Doctson could see more than the 20/63 and 29/71 snaps he played in the first two games. Don't expect many more, however, as Washington has said they'll use Ryan Grant in rotation.

Bennie Fowler | Concussion | Questionable | Likely to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Limited

As of Friday, Fowler had yet to clear the team's concussion protocol. Some teams have an independent neurologist available on Saturday and the limited notation on Friday leaves some chance Fowler will play but he's clearly on the doubtful side of questionable.

***Sunday Morning Update: Adam Schefter reported this morning Fowler is expected to play.

Others of note: Doug Baldwin, Amari Cooper (knee), Demaryius Thomas (hamstring), Kelvin Benjamin (knee), Robby Anderson (knee), Paul Richardson Jr (finger), Allen Hurns (shoulder), Kendall Wright (shoulder) and Kenny Britt (knee) have fully practiced, are not listed on the game status report, and expected to play without limitation. John Brown (quad), Corey Davis (hamstring), Mike Williams (back), John Ross (knee), and Will Fuller (shoulder) have been declared out. I'll update return to play expectations on all inactive players in Monday's column.

TIGHT END

Rob Gronkowski | Groin | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

We've heard Gronkowski preach caution or speak less often to the media with injuries before. It's reassuring to hear him continue to tell the media his groin strain is a minor issue. He's said he's "good to go" and "ready" to play after a good week of practice in which he felt he got "good quality reps" in preparation to play. Gronkowski remains at risk of an in-game aggravation and his groin strain could limit some routes but he looks ready to see his usual workload.

Jimmy Graham | Ankle | Questionable | Likely active but limited

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Full

Graham's mechanism of injury was consistent with a high ankle sprain. On Wednesday, Pete Carroll didn't sound optimistic on Graham's availability and the missed practice on Thursday had Graham looking doubtful at best. That negative trend has Graham's full Friday practice looking like a clear and unexpected outlier.

Carroll's press conference comments on Friday were specific and reassuring. He told reporters, “He did really well today. He made it through the whole practice and did everything. He practiced fully. He’ll be all right.” That's a strong endorsement and it's hard to argue against Graham being inactive Sunday afternoon. However, making it through a full game without aggravation within one week of a limiting high ankle sprain is a tough ask. The full Friday practice and late afternoon start make Graham the toughest call of the weekend. My gut says he'll be active and more limited than you'd expect of a full Friday participant. But we've seen similar players produce when part of a condensed game plan. The Titans linebackers and safeties are not elite coverage defenders, which may also work in Graham's favor.

I expect Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport to update Graham's status by early Sunday morning. I'll update here then.

***Sunday Morning Update: There are no new reports on Graham this morning unfortunately. I'll stick with my initial expectation above and adjust with any further reports today.

Jordan Reed | Rib / Sternum | Questionable | game-time decision

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

I'm never confident in projecting Reed's status. There are times when he appears limited in practice and isn't optimistic when discussing his status, then plays a full complement of snaps and plays productively. Other times, Reed sounds comfortable but his play doesn't match his statements.

This week, the reports are confusing. First, Reed was reported to have an AC joint sprain, then an SC joint sprain, then a chest contusion, and was eventually listed with a rib and sternum injury. He has told reporters he has full range of motion in his shoulder and feels good but also says he feels worse with this injury than last year's AC sprain -- an injury which significantly limited him last year.

I think Reed has an SC joint sprain. That fits with the rib/sternum listing and matches a report earlier in the week. It also jives with Reed's assertion he's not had anything like this before and has made it difficult for him to describe his status. Both Reed and Jay Gruden see this as a game-time decision. That's enough for me to believe Reed will be limited if he plays and will be in the tough-to-project category of a player who may see 3-5 high leverage targets only. Unlike the Seahawks, who don't have a robust depth chart behind Jimmy Graham, Washington has veterans Vernon Davis and Niles Paul in reserve.

As of Saturday afternoon, I'd lean toward Reed playing in high-leverage situations with a reasonable chance of doing more. But it won't be shocking to see Reed inactive either. I'll have more after the Sunday morning reports from Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport.

***Sunday Morning Update: Adam Schefter tweeted Reed remains a game-time decision but is "more unlikely to play."

Evan Engram | Concussion | Not Listed | Expected to play

Practice Participation: Wed- Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Engram practiced this week and reportedly cleared the concussion protocol on Friday. Clearance by an independent neurologist hasn't been confirmed but the Giants did not list Engram on the game status report. He's expected to be active.

*JERMAINE GRESHAM | RIBS | Limited | Questionable

Practice Participation: Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited | Sat - Limited

The Saturday practice participation and game status reports have not yet been released. The overall trend with Gresham was positive through Friday evening. I'll officially update Gresham's status after the NFL releases the report.

Saturday Night Update: Gresham was again limited and has been listed questionable. He has a better chance to play than last week but will be limited if active

Others of note: Charles Clay (knee), Zach Miller, Jared Cook (shoulder), Jesse James (ankle), Ryan Griffin (concussion), Jeff Heuerman (shoulder) have fully practiced, are not listed on the game status report, and expected to play without limitation. Tyler Eifert (back) and Maxx Williams (ankle) have been declared out. I'll update return to play expectations on all inactive players in Monday's column.

*Note: Monday night players with asterisk practice Thursday/Friday/Saturday