Photo: Brian Spurlock, USA Today Sports

WEDNESDAY MEDIA UPDATES

***Dalvin Cook fully practiced Wednesday. While that's a great sign for this week's availability, it was Cook's comments that were more telling than his full practice last week. The trend is strongly positive but I'm waiting to see whether Cook is more confident in his recovery before considering him more than a questionable game-time decision.

***Leonard Fournette didn't practice Wednesday. Doug Marrone tried to convince reporters Fournette could play, saying, "I think you get through today and then tomorrow you give it a shot." Fournette isn't playing this week -- and if he's not practicing by Friday, you can rule him out the following week. I continue to believe the Jaguars will target Week 10 after their bye week.

***T.Y. Hilton was surprisingly back to a full practice on Wednesday. He wouldn't commit to playing, saying only that Wednesday's work was a test. If the hamstring strain responds well and Hilton continues to practice later this week, expect him to be available on Sunday.

***Khalil Mack missed practice on Wednesday but the Bears sound optimistic about his availability. His ankle sprain is more than a simple low ankle sprain, however, and he may be very limited in practice despite playing through the injury last week.

***Cooper Kupp was declared out today. Hopefully, his absence will be just this week.

***Ryan Tannehill was declared out today. Adam Gase told reporters, "He just can't throw." Not good.

***Devonta Freeman was moved to injured reserve after choosing to have core abdominal muscle (a.k.a. sports hernia) surgery on Thursday. Rehab generally takes 4-6 weeks after these procedures. It's likely Freeman will be ready to return when eligible in Week 16. He's no longer likely to have fantasy value but could contribute to the Falcons' playoff hopes. Marshawn Lynch is having an MRI this week to further assess a groin strain. Hopefully, we won't hear a similar progression of news with him over the Oakland bye week.

THURSDAY NIGHT INJURY EXPECTATIONS

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

Denver at Arizona

***The Broncos will be without two starting offensive linemen. Guard Ronald Leary has a torn Achilles. Tackle Jared Veldheer continues to recover from a bone bruise around his knee. The Cardinals have offensive line issues of their own. Guards Mike Iupati (back) and Jeremy Vujnovich (hamstring) have been ruled out, while Justin Pugh is likely to play through a hand injury.

***Thankfully, there are no offensive players on either side of concern. Case Keenum and Larry Fitzgerald are still fighting nagging injuries but neither should not be significantly limited.

***Defensively, the Cardinals will be without safety Tre Boston, which will force some changes to their back seven rotation.

EARly week PRACTICE PARTICIPATION & 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.

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

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.