Photo: USA Today Sports

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

• WR Romeo Doubs

Trending Doubtful (Likely Inactive)

• RB Joe Mixon
• RB Michael Carter

Trending Probable (Expected to Play)

• RB Travis Etienne
• RB Leonard Fournette
• RB Najee Harris
• RB Antonio Gibson
• WR JaMarr Chase
• WR Deebo Samuel
• WR Courtland Sutton
• WR Jerry Jeudy

Eligible to return from injured reserve

• QB Carson Wentz -- unlikely to return (illness this week)
• RB J.K. Dobbins -- unlikely to be activated
• RB Mike Boone -- activated on Saturday
• WR Jameson Williams -- activated on Saturday
• WR James Washington

Ruled Out

• QB Matthew Stafford
• RB Elijah Mitchell
• WR Mike Williams
• WR Brandin Cooks
• WR Kadarius Toney
• WR K.J. Hamler
• TE David Njoku

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.