KEY WEDNESDAY MEDIA UPDATES
***The other shoe dropped on Dez Bryant on Wednesday, and it was a heavy one. It took a few hours for the media to confirm specifics but Bryant has a tibial plateau fracture in his knee. Jason Garrett said Bryant could be either day-to-day or week-to-week and adamantly said Bryant has a chance to play this week.
The first part of those comments is nonsense. It's akin to John Fox still calling Alshon Jeffery day-to-day last preseason after he'd already missed more than two weeks of practice. The second part of Garrett's comments is tough to believe, too. I cannot think of a player who recovered from a tibial plateau fracture -- which is an injury it's difficult and arguably very risk to allow to weight bear, much less play football -- in less than six weeks. We have seen players return from bone bruises around the knee in less than two weeks. But that's not what's been reported or described by the team.
The Cowboys have a Week 7 bye. If what's currently been reported is accurate, I think it's very unlikely we see Bryant before the bye week.
***The Jets told reporters that Eric Decker had aggravated his shoulder injury last week. There was enough concern early this week to send Decker for an MRI. The results have yet to be reported but there isn't much optimism for Decker this week among the local media. This one could still go either way, but there's a strong chance Decker misses this week and possibly longer.
THURSDAY NIGHT INJURY EXPECTATIONS
Here are the key offensive players listed on the game status report for Thursday Night Football:
Jarvis Landry | Shoulder | Questionable | Expected to Play
Practice Participation: Mon - DNP | Tue - Limited | Wed - Limited
Landry finished the game without an obvious injury concern and there's nothing in the local or national media to suggest the shoulder issue will limit him this week. Still, the limited practice this week raises enough worry to make sure you check the inactive list and quickly search for any pessimism in pregame warmups Thursday night.
DeVante Parker | Hamstring | Questionable | Expected to Play
Practice Participation: Mon - Full | Tue - Full | Wed - Full
Parker has been limited in practice since the start of the regular season. On a short week, he fully practiced in preparation for Thursday night. He's now outside the critical 10-14 day period where most aggravations of a recent muscle strain occur. He should have no limitations this week.
Arian Foster | Groin | Declared Out
Practice Participation: Mon - DNP | Tue - DNP | Wed - DNP
Unfortunately, this isn't a surprise. It was difficult to take Adam Gase seriously last Monday when he said Foster was day-to-day. Despite the refreshingly quiet preseason, muscle strains very rarely heal quickly with Foster. It would have been difficult for Foster to condition in time for Thursday night's game, but the two consecutive weeks of no practice is a concern. You can contrast that with Tyler Eifert, who's now continued to slowly recondition for ten days after weeks of missed practice. More in next Monday's Injury Rounds feature, but this has the looks of a 4+ week recovery.
Tyler Eifert | Ankle | Doubtful | Expected Inactive
Practice Participation: Mon - Limited | Tue - Limited | Wed - Limited
I repeat: Tyler Eifert's rehab timetable has always been five months. There was some reason for optimism when the Bengals moved Eifert from PUP to the active roster at the end of training camp. Last week, there seemed an outside shot Eifert would get a chance to play in limited high leverage packages this week. But the Bengals continue to stick to the game plan here. I think Week 5 -- which is still closer to four months than five months of rehab -- remains the best case scenario. But don't be shocked if Eifert is still inactive next week or if his snap count and usage are limited for another 1-3 weeks after that.
Jordan Cameron | Concussion | Declared Out
Practice Participation: Mon - DNP | Tue - DNP | Wed - DNP
Cameron had no chance to earn a quick clearance for a Thursday night game with his history of multiple concussions. He may not be cleared for Week 5 either.
EARLY WEEK PRACTICE PARTICIPATION REPORT AND EARLY EXPECTATIONS
The Wednesday and Thursday practice participation reports are our first chance to see which players each NFL team are 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.
Quarterbacks
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Player | Injury | Practice Participation | Game Status | FBGs Expects | ||
Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | ||||
Russell Wilson | Ankle/Knee | Full | Expected to Play | |||
Jay Cutler | Thumb | Limited | Game-time Decision | |||
Andrew Luck | Shoulder | Limited | Expected to Play | |||
Matt Ryan | Thumb | Full | Expected to Play | |||
Jimmy Garoppolo | Shoulder | Limited | Chance to Play / ? Limited | |||
Cody Kessler | Thigh | Full | Expected to Play | |||
Josh McCown | Shoulder | DNP | Likely Inactive | |||
Tony Romo | Back | DNP | Expected Inactive | |||
Running Backs
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Player | Injury | Practice Participation | Game Status | FBGs Expects | ||
Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | ||||
Matt Forte | Knee | Limited | Expected to Play | |||
Jeremy Langford | Ankle | DNP | Expected Inactive | |||
Jamaal Charles | Knee | Limited | Game-time Decision | |||
Tevin Coleman | Knee | Limited | Likely to Play / Awaiting Info | |||
Rashad Jennings* | Thumb | Monday Night Football | Game-time Decision | |||
Frank Gore | Not Injury Related | DNP | Expected to Play | |||
Doug Martin | Hamstring | DNP | Expected Inactive | |||
Jonathan Stewart | Hamstring | DNP | Expected Inactive | |||
Thomas Rawls | Fibula | DNP | Expected Inactive | |||
Chris Ivory | Ankle/Knee | Limited | Awaiting Information | |||
Isaiah Crowell | Knee | Limited | Awaiting Information | |||
C.J. Prosise | Wrist | Full | Expected to Play | |||
Kenneth Dixon | Knee | Limited | Likely Inactive | |||
Charcandrick West | Ankle | DNP | Awaiting Information | |||
Ka'Deem Carey | Hamstring | DNP | Likely Inactive | |||
Wide Receivers
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Player | Injury | Practice Participation | Game Status | FBGs Expects | ||
Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | ||||
Dez Bryant | Knee | DNP | Likely Inactive | |||
Julio Jones | Calf | Limited | Expected to Play | |||
Brandon Marshall | Knee / Foot | Full | Expected to Play | |||
Larry Fitzgerald | Knee | Full | Expected to Play | |||
Alshon Jeffery | Knee | Limited | Expected to Play | |||
T.Y. Hilton | Knee | DNP | Expected to Play | |||
Sammy Watkins | Foot | DNP | Game-time Decision | |||
Eric Decker | Shoulder | DNP | Game-time Decision | |||
Willie Snead | Toe | Limited | Likely to Play | |||
Donte Moncrief | Shoulder | DNP | Expected Inactive | |||
DeSean Jackson | Foot / Ankle | DNP | Expected to Play | |||
Michael Floyd | Concussion | Limited | Likely to Play | |||
Steve Smith | Not Injury Related | DNP | Expected to Play | |||
Mohamed Sanu | Shoulder | DNP | Expected to Play | |||
Tyler Lockett | Knee | Limited | Expected to Play | |||
Tavon Austin | Shoulder | Limited | Likely to Play | |||
Tajae Sharpe | Hamstring | Limited | Awaiting Information | |||
Torrey Smith | Foot | Full | Expected to Play | |||
Kamar Aiken | Thigh | DNP | Awaiting Information | |||
Eli Rogers | Toe | DNP | Unlikely to Play | |||
Corey Coleman | Hand | DNP | Expected Inactive | |||
Braxton Miller | Hamstring | DNP | Unlikely to Play | |||
Kendall Wright | Hamstring | Full | Awaiting Information | |||
Josh Doctson | Achilles | DNP | Likely Inactive | |||
Tight Ends
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Player | Injury | Practice Participation | Game Status | FBGs Expects | ||
Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | ||||
Rob Gronkowski | Hamstring | Limited | Likely to Play / Limited | |||
Jimmy Graham | Knee | Limited | Likely to Play | |||
Delanie Walker | Hamstring | DNP | Game-time Decision | |||
Antonio Gates | Hamstring | DNP | Likely Inactive | |||
Eric Ebron | Ankle | DNP | Likely to Play / Awaiting Info | |||
Julius Thomas | Elbow | DNP | Game-time Decision | |||
Charles Clay | Knee | DNP | Likely to Play | |||
Vance McDonald | Hip | DNP | Likely Inactive / Awaiting Info | |||
Virgil Green | Calf | DNP | Unlikely to Play |
*Note: Monday night players with asterisk practice Thursday/Friday/Saturday