Wednesday Media Updates

***Both Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins returned to practice. The Cardinals won't commit to either playing this week, saying they'd continue to be careful with their return. Kliff Kingsbury told reporters the team would know more after tomorrow's padded practice. Both are trending toward playing.

***The Raiders say Darren Waller is week-to-week with a knee condition. Waller didn't practice on Wednesday and is unlikely to play.

***DAndre Swift aggravated a shoulder sprain last week and is likely to miss multiple weeks.

***Jalen Hurts said he's "ready to go" and will play this week after limping through the second half on his ankle injury last week.

***Darrell Henderson did not practice with a quad injury but Sean McVay said he expected Henderson to be available on Sunday.

***Justin Fields is improving but the Bears are still giving Andy Dalton first-team reps in practice. Fields may still be another week from playing.

***Early on Wednesday, Daniel Jones was reported to have a neck sprain that could keep him out for multiple weeks. Later in the day, Jones was on the field for a limited practice and told reporters he was preparing to play. Jones will have to prove he can protect himself in the pocket. Consider him to the doubtful side of questionable.

Added to injured reserve thru Wednesday transactions:

• RB Christian McCaffrey
• TE Dan Arnold

Currently designated to return:

• WR DeVante Parker

COVID-reserve

• QB Mike White

THURSDAY NIGHT INJURY EXPECTATIONS

Here are the key offensive players listed on the practice participation or game status report for Thursday Night Football:

Dallas at New Orleans

***The Cowboys expect both CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper to play. Lamb fully practiced this week and is not on the game status report. Cooper traveled with the team and looks to have recovered from lingering COVID symptoms earlier in the week. Cooper is listed questionable but trending toward playing. He is unlikely to be in peak condition and could see limited snaps. Cedrick Wilson is also out.

***Alvin Kamara participated in drills all week and is listed questionable. The consecutive practices appear reassuring but the two most plugged in beat writers are hinting the Saints may choose to remain cautious with Kamara and ensure he's fully healthy before returning. If Kamara is active, he's likely to see close to a full workload -- even with Mark Ingram fully practicing and expected to play. Watch for overnight news on Kamara but we may not know his status until inactives are released.

Early week practice participation and playing expectations

The Wednesday and Thursday practice participation reports are our first chance to see which players each NFL team is limiting in practice after the previous week's games. Players limited in mid-week practice aren't necessarily in danger of missing that week's game. But they all need to be watched closely.

Note: Asterisk denotes Monday night players who practice Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

Follow me on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking injury news and analysis throughout the week.