Gameday Injury Expectations: Week 13

Jene Bramel's Gameday Injury Expectations: Week 13 Jene Bramel Published 12/03/2022

UNDERSTANDING THE NFL'S INJURY REPORT

The injury report released by the NFL is 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

Here's the latest on key injured players on the practice participation and game status report this week:

Current Status on High-Impact Injured Players

Sunday Decision

Trending Doubtful (Likely Inactive)

Trending Probable (Expected to Play)

Eligible to return from injured reserve

Ruled Out

Playing Sunday at 1:00 pm Eastern

Travis Etienne | Ankle | Questionable | Likely to play

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

The medical staff cleared Etienne to return to last week's game, but the Jaguars decided to be cautious and held him out. Etienne was able to participate in drills all week. Doug Pederson told reporters Etienne was "good to go" after he felt strong in practice and was "optimistic that he will play."

Watch for any indication late Saturday night that the team plans to limit Etienne's snaps. Given his reassuring week of practice, it's likely the Jaguars will allow him to handle his recent 80% offensive workload and 20+ touches.

Najee Harris | Oblique | Not listed | Expected to play

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

Harris could not return to last Monday night's game, continued to experience pain severe enough to warrant an evaluation in the hospital, and managed only a limited Friday workout. However, on Friday, Harris declared himself fit to play and said he felt good moving around during drills. Surprisingly, the Steelers did not list Harris on the game status report despite the limited practice. He will play.

Expect Harris to get the majority of touches with Jaylen Warren still recovering from a hamstring strain.

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Courtland Sutton | Illness | Questionable | Expected to play

Practice Participation: Wed - Not listed | Thurs - Not listed | Fri - DNP

Sutton reportedly missed Friday's workout with a stomach illness. Most players recover within 48 hours and play but look for news overnight confirming Sutton is healthy enough to play.

Sunday update: James Palmer is reporting the Broncos "expect to have" Sutton available to play.

Jerry Jeudy | Ankle | Questionable | Sunday decision

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

Jeudy returned to a limited Friday workout, his first practice in nearly three weeks after suffering an ankle sprain in Week 10.

Jeudy and the team described the injury as a low ankle sprain, but the extended recovery is suspicious for a higher-grade sprain or a high ankle sprain. Most players need more than one practice before returning to playing condition. At 3-8 and with the second-worst record in the AFC, there's little incentive to push Jeudy's return.

Expect Jeudy to be inactive this week.

Sunday update: Multiple media sources are reporting Jeudy will play if his pregame workout goes well. The single limited practice doesn't inspire confidence about his fitness or readiness for a pre-injury workload. Limited snaps and productivity are likely.

Antonio Gibson | Foot | Questionable | Likely to play

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

Gibson missed Thursday's practice while recovering from last week's foot sprain. Limited Friday video suggests Gibson's change of direction is still limited, but the Commanders listed him questionable.

Offensive coordinator Scott Turner told reporters he thought Gibson "would be all right" on Wednesday and the team had "a plan to get him right." If that plan included resting and rehabbing on Thursday, the limited Friday workout puts Gibson on track to play a role this week. It's hard to expect more than 10-12 touches, and his productivity is questionable.

Sunday update: Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport are reporting Gibson is expected to play.

Romeo Doubs | Ankle | Questionable | Sunday decision

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

Doubs had a full week of limited practices and impressed the coaches in his return to workouts after a Week 9 high ankle sprain. Four weeks is a reasonable recovery period for a high ankle sprain but it's rare for a wide receiver to return to his pre-injury fitness and productivity immediately.

In past seasons, the Green Bay medical staff has been conservative in returning players from injury. That's not been the case over the past two seasons. Matt LaFleur told reporters Doubs had "looked solid in practice" but the team wouldn't decide on his status until the weekend.

Jameson Williams | Knee | Activated from Non-Football injury list

The Lions moved Williams to their active roster on Saturday, nearly 11 months after he tore his ACL in the college national championship game.

Williams returned to practice and has been participating in individual drills and taking scout team reps. He's declared himself ready to play. Expect the Lions to limit his snap count for at least 1-2 weeks. It's unlikely Williams will see more than 15-20 snaps and 2-4 targets in his first week back.

Richie James | Knee | Questionable | Likely to play

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

James missed Wednesday's practice after last week's knee injury but returned to two limited practice. The Giants list him questionable, but there's been little discussion of his playing status. Watch for overnight news.

Darius Slayton | Illness | Questionable | Sunday decision

Practice Participation: Wed - Not listed | Thurs - DNP | Fri - DNP

Slayton could not practice on Thursday or Friday with an illness. Brian Daboll told reporters he was "hopeful" Slayton would play, and local reporters read Daboll's comments as optimistic. Expect Slayton to be active.

Jaylen Warren | Hamstring | Questionable | Likely to play

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

The Steelers practice report was odd

Rex Burkhead | Concussion | Questionable | Sunday decision

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

The practice line is unusual for a player recovering from a concussion. Usually, there's a limited return to drills before a player is cleared for a full workout. It's not known whether Burkhead was sent for an independent exam, the final step in clearance to play.

Darrell Henderson | Illness | Questionable | Likely inactive

Practice Participation: Wed - Not listed | Thurs - Not listed | Fri - DNP

Henderson's illness is not expected to keep him out this week. However, Doug Pederson told reporters Henderson would likely not play if Travis Etienne is active. As of Friday afternoon, the Jaguars were optimistic Etienne would play.

Daniel Bellinger | Eye | Questionable | Likely to play

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

Bellinger is listed questionable but expected to play.

Playing Sunday at 4:05 pm Eastern

Deebo Samuel | Quadricep | Questionable | Likely inactive

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

Samuel has a quad contusion and struggled to recover during the week. The Niners chose to rehab Samuel aggressively on Thursday but Kyle Shanahan told reporters Samuel wasn't able to do much on Friday. Shanahan also said Samuel's recovery "hasn't been as good as we were expecting by now."

It's possible Shanahan is misleading the media in advance of a game against his friend and former coaching partner Mike McDaniel but Samuel appears to be more doubtful than questionable.

Sunday update: Adam Schefter reports Samuel "has made big improvements" and now "plans to go today" if there are no issues in pregame warmups. An in-game aggravation is possible and Samuel may see slightly less usage than usual but 8-12 targets is within his range of expectation.

Christian McCaffrey | Knee | Not Listed | Expected to play

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

McCaffrey is dealing with tendinitis in his knee but increased his practice participation through the week. After a full Friday workout, McCaffrey told reporters he felt "great," and the Niners did not list him on the game status report.

A slight decrease in workload is possible, but McCaffrey should see 15+ touches -- especially with Elijah Mitchell out with another MCL sprain.

Playing Sunday at 4:25 pm Eastern

JaMarr Chase | Hip | Questionable | Expected to play

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

Chase will play this week.

Last week's practices were part of his reconditioning process, and Chase told reporters he wasn't fully confident in his recovery. This week, Chase finished the week with a full practice and said he wasn't feeling any pain.

Expect Chase to return to his full workload immediately.

Josh Jacobs | Calf | Questionable | Likely to play

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

Jacobs managed 39 touches and 303 yards from scrimmage 48 hours after straining his calf in practice last Friday. The limited practices are not concerning and Jacobs is expected to play.

Last week's statistical explosion was obviously unpredictable, but Jacobs routinely plays effectively through injury. 20+ touches are likely again this week.

Joe Mixon | Concussion | Questionable | LIkely inactive

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

Zac Taylor consistently said Mixon was trending toward playing this week. He's likely to be sent to and receive clearance from the independent neurologist.

Samaje Perine has been productive in Mixon's absence and will likely continue to see snaps this week. Expect 10-15 touches for Mixon if active.

Sunday update: Despite the full week of limited practice and optimistic comments from the coaching staff, Mixon had yet to see the independent neurologist on Saturday evening. It's exceedingly unlikely the Bengals chose to delay that process until gameday. Expect Mixon to be inactive.

Playing Sunday at 8:20 PM Eastern

Michael Gallup | Illness | Questionable | Expected to play

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

Gallup missed practice earlier in the week with an illness and was cleared to return to drills on Friday. Mike McCarthy expects Gallup to play.

Playing Monday at 8:15 PM Eastern

Leonard Fournette | Hip | Questionable | Expected to play

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

Fournette missed last week's game with a painful hip bruise but returned to full practices on Thursday and Friday. Unless Fournette suffers a practice setback, he's expected to return Monday night.

Russell Gage | Hamstring | Questionable | Likely to play

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

Gage returned to practice this week for the first time since shutting down with chronic hamstring soreness in Week 7. It's unclear whether Gage will return this week or continue to recondition with an eye toward Week 14. I'll update after Saturday's practice.

Footballguys injury coverage will return Monday with a review of the most important Week 13 injuries.

Photos provided by Imagn Images
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