Photo: Kyle Terada, USA Today Sports

Wednesday Media Updates

***The Panthers and Christian McCaffrey seemed optimistic about a return last week before deciding to be cautious and make him inactive. It did not appear McCaffrey suffered a late-week setback. On Wednesday, Matt Rhule told reporters McCaffrey was 50-50 to play. That raises some suspicion about McCaffrey's recovery. Rhule said the Panthers would not decide until Sunday.

***Dalvin Cook spoke to the media on Wednesday. After confidently stating he'd play in the first few days after his high ankle sprain, he's been progressively more vague over the past two weeks. Cook told reporters Wednesday clearance to play would be dependent on the medical staff and he would not play "if I'm a liability of getting hurt." The Vikings have a bye next week. If Cook isn't close to full strength, Minnesota may choose to give him the extra time to heal. Alexander Mattison missed practice with a shoulder injury. It would make sense to limit his practice reps if Cook wasn't likely to play.

***Tyreek Hill has been dealing with patellar tendinitis for weeks. The Chiefs list him with a quad condition instead of a knee condition. There are no local reports of concern but watch practice participation closely.

***Chris Carson did not practice but Seahawks currently expect him to work out on Thursday after making a "big turn" in the right direction over the weekend.

***Kyler Murray was limited with a right shoulder condition. He is expected to play.

***Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and Allen Robinson all missed Wednesday's practice. There were no local updates on their injuries. Jefferson and Thielen played 90+% of their team's snaps last week and should play. Robinson played less than 85% but can also be expected to play.

***Mike Williams briefly left last week's game limping but returned to play. He's likely to play through a knee condition.

***Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt both missed practice but were seen working on the side field. There are no indications either will miss this week's game but Thursday's practice will be an important data point.

***Daniel Jones was observing practice on Wednesday. If he's able to return to drills on Thursday, he could be on track to play.

Added to injured reserve thru Wednesday transactions:

• RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
• WR Quintez Cephus
• TE Maxx Williams

Designated to return thru Wednesday transactions:

• QB Tua Tagovailoa
• WR T.Y. Hilton
• WR Nico Collins

COVID-reserve

• TE Dallas Goedert

THURSDAY NIGHT INJURY EXPECTATIONS

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

Tampa Bay at Philadelphia

***Rob Gronkowski was unable to be cleared to play on the short week and will be inactive. The Bucs limited Tom Brady (thumb), Chris Godwin (knee, ankle), Giovani Bernard (knee, chest), and Antonio Brown (knee) but all were fully practicing by midweek and should see their usual workload.

***Dallas Goedert remains on the COVID-reserve list and is unlikely to be activated in time to play Thursday night.

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.