The first quarter of the NFL season is coming to a close, and all the injuries are piling up around the league. The Dallas Cowboys, for example, may be without defensive stalwarts DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons for some time after both players sustained injuries during Thursday night’s win over the New York Giants.
Several tight ends were in the headlines on Friday, for reasons both good and bad. Browns tight end David Njoku (ankle) and Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (concussion) have already been ruled out of their respective team’s Week 4 matchups. Conversely, 49ers star tight end George Kittle (hamstring) says that he expects to face the Patriots this weekend after dealing with a hamstring injury.
The Green Bay Packers are closely monitoring the status of quarterback Jordan Love (knee) ahead of their Week 4 matchup against the 3-0 Minnesota Vikings. Love has been practicing after missing Weeks 2 and 3 — both Green Bay wins with backup Malik Willis starting in his place.
As always, we’ll have the injury report for all the games being played in Week 4. We’ll highlight the key injuries for each team as the list continues to grow with each passing week.
All NFL odds courtesy of SportsLine consensus.
As you can see, the Saints are dealing with injuries at wideout and at running back with Kamara. Kamara and Olave were limited Friday, while Wilson did not practice after being limited Thursday. Kamara was also limited Thursday after not practicing Wednesday.
While McGary is out, every other Flacons player on this week’s injury report will play, including pass rusher Matthew Judon (hamstring) and running back Bijan Robinson (shoulder).
The fact that Rankins is out and Hill is doubtful is a bad sign for a Bengals defense that was run over by Jayden Daniels and Co. on Monday night. This is, however, good news for the Panthers, especially for running back Chuba Hubbard. On the plus side, it appears that Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims is capable of replacing Brown in the starting lineup.
For the Panthers. Johnson was limited on Friday after he initially showed up on the team’s injury report on Thursday. Hunt and Robinson were also limited during Friday’s practice.
Allen was a full practice participant on Friday, which is a good sign regarding his possible status for Sunday. Fellow wideout Rome Odunze (hip) was a full participant on Friday and does not have an injury designation for Sunday.
With Kupp still out, look for Tutu Atwell to continue to see an uptick in production. Atwell had 4 grabs for 93 yards (that included a 50-yard catch) in last Sunday’s comeback win over the 49ers.
While Pace’s absence hurts, the Vikings will have wideout Jordan Addison (ankle), pass rusher Dallas Turner (knee) and quarterback Sam Darnold (knee) as Minnesota looks to stay undefeated.
For the Packers, Alexander’s status for Sunday is critical with Valentine doubtful and the Vikings having their full complement of wideouts. Love, who hasn’t played since Week 1, was limited throughout this week’s practices. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said that the team will wait until kickoff before determining his status.
Mixon practiced (in a limited capacity) on Friday for the first time since getting injured back in Week 2. That’s a good sign, but Mixon’s status for Sunday is still very much up in the air.
For the Jaguars, each of their questionable players were limited during Friday’s practice. Look for Brenton Strange to get most of the targets at tight end with Engram out. Strange had a touchdown and was targeted five times in Jacksonville’s Week 3 loss to Buffalo.
Look for Cordarrelle Patterson to get more work on Sunday in relief of Warren, whose season so far has been riddled with injuries. On defense, Nick Herbig, who led Pittsburgh with two sacks in last week’s win over the Chargers, will start in place of Highsmith.
Paye’s absence is big for several reasons. Not only are the Colts now without their top-two pass rushers (DeForest Buckner is on injured reserve), they are without another key member of a defensive line that already struggles to stop the run. That’s not good news as the Steelers are committed to running the ball with Najee Harris.
As expected, Moses will miss some time after getting injured in last week’s win over the Patriots. Moses has labeled himself as “day-to-day.” he said that how he is able to move prior to kickoff will ultimately determine his status.
Brown’s designation is good news for the Eagles, who will already be without Smith. Brown was limited on Friday after not practicing earlier in the week. In Tampa, each of the Buccaneers’ questionable players were limited on Friday.
Ekeler sustained his injury during Monday night’s dramatic win over the Bengals. In addition to his work on offense, Ekeler is also one of Washingtons’ kickoff returners, so his absence impacts the Commanders in multiple ways. The Commanders’ running game wasn’t as effective Monday night once Ekeler left the game.
With McBride out, the Cardinals’ offense will have to lean more on wideouts Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson and running back James Conner. McBride’s replacement, Elijah Higgins, has caught each of his four targets and a touchdown this season.
Sans Jennings, each of the Patriots’ other questionable players were limited all week. Jennings was limited Thursday and Friday after not practicing Wednesday.
Samuel practiced as a limited participant Thursday and Friday, as did linebacker Dee Winters and defensive lineman Jordan Elliott. All three are questionable. San Francisco All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga didn’t practice this week with an ankle injury after making his 2024 season debut in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. All-Pro 49ers left tackle Trent Williams practiced Thursday in a limited fashion while not practicing both Wednesday and Friday. Both Williams and Hufanga are also listed as questionable for Week 4.
A pretty clean injury report for the Chiefs. Danna was limited Friday after not practicing Thursday.
It’s the complete opposite situation for the Chargers, who will be without Bosa and possibly several other key players. Herbert, as he did a week ago, said he is progressing after aggravating the injury and exiting early during last Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.
Browns at Raiders (-2)
Offensive line continues to be an area of concern for the Browns, who like the Raiders are one of the NFL’s most injury-marred teams through the season’s first month. Not helping matters is the fact that the team’s top tight end and backup running back are injured, too.
These are significant losses for the Raiders, who are trying to stay afloat as far as keeping pace with the AFC’s other playoff hopefuls. With Adams out, look for tight end Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers to get the majority of the targets.
Linderbaum was a full practice participant on Friday, so his status for Sunday is looking up. Conversely, Vorhees did not practice all week.
Analysis to come
Analysis to come
