by Week 7 of the NFL season has several players battling injuries entering the weekend slate.
Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz is expected to face a four-week recovery following surgery to repair a broken right finger he sustained against the Chicago Bears. Backup Taylor Heinicke will take over the Commanders’ offense while Wentz is out. Heinicke is no stranger to stepping into the starting role, as he played 16 games for the Commanders last season.
Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson suffered a hamstring injury during Monday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He is already dealing with a partial muscle tear near his right shoulder suffered in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Denver has Wilson on the day-to-day roster and he was limited in practice Thursday.
The Dallas Cowboys will see quarterback Dak Prescott return this week against the Detroit Lions. He said Thursday that his right thumb “feels good,” a positive sign for Dallas. Backup Cooper Rush played well in Prescott’s absence, leading the Cowboys to a 4-1 record in that span.
Here are more Week 7 injury updates from our NFL Nation reporters:
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Injury: Left foot
Bateman, who has been sidelined the past two games, is questionable after being limited all week in practice. He wasn’t running with the full force of him. Asked if he would play Sunday, Bateman said it was Coach John Harbaugh’s decision, adding, “Honestly, I can’t wait to hear what he has to say either.” Bateman ranks second in the NFL with an average of 22 yards per catch.
Injury: Knee
Andrews is ready to play after missing two practices this week. He returned Friday with limited participation and left no doubt about his availability. “My body feels good,” Andrews said. “I’m ready to go.” Andrews has never been sidelined by injury in his five-year career.
Injury: Knee
Dobbins is expected to have arthroscopic surgery next week and miss four to six weeks, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This means Kenyan Drake, who rushed for a season-high 119 yards last Sunday, is at the top of the depth chart for now. Baltimore’s backfield is starting to fill up again, even without Dobbins. Justice Hill is back after missing two games with a hamstring injury and Gus Edwards could soon be off the physically unable to perform list.
— Jamison Hensley
Injury: Calf
Teller’s injury will sideline him this Sunday against Baltimore, at least. His absence will be a huge blow to a Browns running game that leads the NFL with 1,032 yards. Denmark native Hjalte Froholdt is expected to start in his place.
–Jake Trotter
Injury: hamstring
Wilson, who suffered the injury Monday in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Chargers, has been a limited participant on every day of practice this week. Backup Brett Rypien has taken a significant number of snaps with the starters, including Friday at practice. Rypien, whose only career start was against the New York Jets in 2020, would start Sunday against the Jets if coach Nathaniel Hackett believes Wilson won’t have enough mobility to protect himself. New York’s quarterback pressure sacked Aaron Rodgers four times and hit him nine times overall in the Jets’ victory over the Packers on Sunday. When Rypien has been asked to play the last three seasons, he has been able to make quick decisions and move the ball quickly, especially on short and medium routes.
–Jeff Legwold
Injury: Ankle/shoulder
Lions RB coach Duce Staley said the team is taking it one day at a time with Swift as he is “pushing” to return on Sunday after missing the last two games. “Every day we continue to see doctors,” Staley said Friday. Staley said they are making progress, but no decision has been made as Swift is officially listed as questionable after the Lions’ bye week.
Injury: Ankle
Chark has been officially ruled out of Sunday’s game in Dallas and now wears a boot on his left ankle. He did not put a timetable on his return, but said he will not need surgery. “I will definitely be back this year for sure,” Chark said. He said he anticipates returning from injury “sooner rather than later.”
“I don’t want to put up one, two games, but my goal is to be back,” he said.
Chark says the boot makes the injury look “a lot worse,” but it also makes it more comfortable than his shoe.
–Eric Woodyard
Injury: hamstring
Watkins isn’t even on the roster right now, but he was designated to return from injured reserve earlier in the week. He can practice up to three weeks before he has the 53-man roster, but the Packers could use him sooner rather than later considering they will no longer have Randall Cobb (ankle) and Christian Watson (hamstring). Coach Matt LaFleur said Friday that Watkins’ status is “somewhat up in the air right now.” The Packers would need to add him to the roster on Saturday for him to play Sunday.
–Rob Demovsky
Injury: Ankle
Taylor has missed two straight games, but he practiced all week and appears to be on his way back for a big division matchup. “He looks positive,” trainer Frank Reich said. “He would anticipate that he is playing. He has progressed well.” Taylor was a surprise scratch when he was ruled out last Saturday. He later stated that he made that decision because he didn’t feel ready to go.
Injury: concussion/broken nose
The All-Pro linebacker will not play Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans as an organizational decision. Leonard was looking forward to playing and said he was frustrated with the team’s stance. But Reich said he wanted to give Leonard another week to prepare after two weeks of inactivity.
— Stephen Holder
Injury: Behind
The Jaguars will use a combination of inside cornerbacks Darious Williams and Tre Herndon to replace Griffin depending on whether the team is on base defense or nickel. Griffin is coming off his worst performances since joining the team as a free agent in March 2021. He received two pass interference penalties and was also beaten one-on-one on Matt Ryan’s 32-yard touchdown pass to win the game at catcher Alec Pierce. with 17 seconds to play.
–Michael DiRocco
Injury: hamstring
The Raiders have had a hard time getting frequently injured Waller and WR Hunter Renfrow on the field at the same time as WR Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs instead of quarterback Derek Carr. As such, expect WR Mack Hollins fills that red zone role again, as he did earlier in the season. Raiders coach Josh McDaniels acknowledged that not having them all on the field at the same time has slowed the development of the offense in a new scheme. “Getting frustrated about an injury, when it happens to every team in the league, it really doesn’t do any good,” McDaniels said. “Maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I would have held my breath and stomped on it. But it is what it is. I want them to get back on their feet.”
— Pablo Gutierrez
Injury: hamstring
Chargers coach Brandon Staley said Allen will be a game-time decision as he continues to recover from a lingering hamstring injury. Allen took part in 11-on-11 practice action Friday and said he has “high hopes” of playing against the Seahawks.
–Lindsey Thiry
Injury: Calf
This was the week Ojulari was supposed to return. He seemed to be trending in that direction for most of the week. But Ojulari, who is dealing with his second calf injury this season, was ruled out Friday. So was outside linebacker Oshane Ximines (quad). That leaves the Giants short of running backs, and they’ll likely promote Quincy Roche from the practice squad. It’s been a rough start to the season for Ojulari, who had eight sacks last season as a rookie. He has a sack in just two games played.
–Jordan Raanan
Injury: hamstring
Harris missed the Week 6 win over the Browns despite working out on the field before the game. He has been a full participant in practices this week, which seems to hint that he will be cleared for action. Harris teams up with Rhamondre Stevenson to form a potent one-two punch, and the Patriots could lean more on Stevenson than they usually do to make it easier to get Harris back into the mix. On an injury-related note, quarterback Mac Jones (ankle) expects to be available after suffering a sprained left ankle on Sept. 25.
–Mike Reiss
Nate Davis, RG, Tennessee Titans
Injury: Foot
The Titans will be without their starting right guard for the second straight game. Tennessee hoped Davis would be able to go after resting and receiving treatment during the bye week. Second-year lineman Dillon Radunz will start in Davis’s place.
— Davenport Nougat
Injury: Calf
Thomas was ruled out for the third straight game due to a calf injury. The tough part for Washington is that tight end John Bates is questionable with a hamstring injury, leaving the Commanders weak at the position. If Bates can’t play, they’ll promote newly signed Alex Armah off the practice squad and use him in a fullback blocking role.
Dotson was in a good position to return this week until his hamstring re-aggravated in practice Thursday. It is questionable for Sunday. Washington will be “very safe” with him, coach Ron Rivera said. But the Commanders wanted to see how he felt on Saturday before making any kind of decision. With backup receiver Dyami Brown (groin) already ruled out, the receiving corps will rely on Curtis Samuel and Terry McLaurin unless Dotson can play.
–John Keim
