PFT Clips
While it looked at first on Sunday like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had suffered a significant elbow injury, it turns out he hasn’t even missed any practice time.
Kansas City listed Mahomes as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.
Mahomes said in his press conference that he’s in a better spot now, particularly after going through an MRI that did not reveal anything too serious.
"[A]nytime you get in there, you never know what it’s going to show on the machine after,” Mahomes said. “And so, you can feel as optimistic as you do, but then you get in there, and something happens. And so, obviously after talking to the doctors and stuff like that, I feel like I’m in a great spot. Now it’s just about pain and pain management and stuff like that, which I’ll try to do whatever I can to be in the best place possible.”
Mahomes noted he’ll have to do a lot of work in the building and at home to ensure he’s in a good spot for Sunday. But he’s prepared to do so.
“I’ll be able to be out on the practice field, throw the football, and do all that different type of stuff,” Mahomes said. “We’ll continue this process throughout the entire week so I can be 100 percent on Sunday whenever we get to Atlanta. So, it’s a process — a lot more time in the building. But that’s something that I’m willing to do.”
Also on the injury report, right tackle Jaylon Moore (ankle) and defense lineman Peter Woods (neck) did not practice.
Defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (knee) was limited as he returns from injured reserve.
Cornerback Mansoor Delane (shoulder), receiver Xavier Worthy (hamstring), receiver Rashee Rice (knee), quarterback Justin Fields (shoulder), linebacker Jeff Bassa (hand), safety Jaden Hicks (shoulder), and tight end Travis Kelce (ankle) were all full.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins made his official return to the team on Wednesday. He still doesn’t officially have a number.
Has he spoken to rookie safety Jakobe Thomas, who currently wears No. 8?
“I need to circle back with him,” Cousins told reporters. “Haven’t gotten there. So we’ll have a conversation and I think Mike Parsons will help us, too, in the equipment room. But, yeah, I’ve got to talk to Jakobe for sure.”
When the issue came up again later, Cousins laughed — while also making his intentions clear: “I’m confident that Jakobe and I can have a healthy and mature conversation and figure this out.”
It’s hard to imagine Thomas standing in Cousins’s way. There are too many Vikings fans who still have No. 8 jerseys that will become moot if Cousins isn’t wearing it.
However it goes, it would be a shock if Cousins isn’t wearing No. 8 on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
The Vikings made Kyler Murray their quarterback choice to open the 2026 season, but it didn’t take long for their plans to go awry.
Murray was concussed early in the season opener, missed Week 2 and then led an underwhelming offense to a 4-1 record before suffering a hamstring injury in Week 8. The Vikings offense got even worse with Carson Wentz in Monday night’s loss to the Bills, which led the team to trade for Kirk Cousins on Tuesday.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell hasn’t committed to starting Cousins against the Packers this weekend, but it’s why the deal was made and Murray isn’t currently an option because he remained out of practice with a hamstring injury on Wednesday. Once Murray is healthy, he’ll be slated for a backup role as O’Connell said he doesn’t believe “you can have a competition during the season” and that his hope is that Murray is available if and when the Vikings have to pivot again.
“The reality is what it is,” O’Connell said. “It’s one of those things where I think he appreciated hearing about it before the transaction took place, but at the same time, he knows I believe in him. I believe in Kyler, just like I believe in Carson and I believe in Max [Brosmer]. I want him to get healthy and get back to work because you just never know. We do not hold the cards in how this will go from a health standpoint or anything like that with anybody on our team.”
O’Connell said that he told Murray that he knows it has been a “less than ideal” series of events, but that underscores the possibility that the Vikings will have to turn back to him with an important game on the line at some point later this year.
Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons had limited work in Wednesday’s practice. He is listed with an illness in addition to the knee injury.
Parsons is in the second week of his 21-day return-to-practice window as he works his way back from the torn ACL that ended his 2025 season in December. He was limited in all three practices last week.
The plan is for him to get team work this week.
The Packers practiced without safety Javon Bullard (ankle/knee), linebacker Zaire Franklin (shin), offensive lineman Sean Rhyan (ankle), edge rusher Lukas Van Ness (back) and tight end Josh Whyle (concussion).
Offensive guard Aaron Banks (knee/hip), running back Chris Brooks (ankle), offensive lineman Travis Glover (knee), linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper (illness), wide receiver Skyy Moore (ankle), kicker Trey Smack (right calf), wide receiver Savion Williams (groin) and offensive guard Kevin Zeitler (ankle) were limited.
The Giants opened the week with confidence that quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Cam Skattebo would be ready to play against the Commanders on Thursday night and nothing changed on that front over the last couple of days.
Neither McCarthy nor Skattebo received an injury designation on Wednesday, which leaves both of them on track to play as the Giants try to improve to 6-2-1 on the season.
McCarthy briefly left last Sunday’s win over the Eagles with a hip injury, but returned for the fourth quarter and moved up to a full practice listing on Tuesday. Skattebo missed the Eagles game with the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 7 and also moved up to full participation the last two days.
Linebacker Malik Harrison is the only Giants player with a designation. He’s questionable to play due to a groin injury.
The Rams have experienced a bevy of injuries so far this season.
One consequence of that is the team’s slots for players to return from injured reserve are getting fewer and fewer.
That’s part of why, even though Puka Nacua is slated to miss several weeks with a knee injury, he’s not going to be placed on IR for now.
Via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press, head coach Sean McVay told reporters on Wednesday that “roster semantics” will keep Nacua on the 53.
He’s still going to be out for a significant period of time,” McVay said.
Nacua is currently dealing with sprains to two ligaments in his knee and turf toe.
But help is on the way for the Rams’ receiving corps, with Davante Adams potentially returning for the Week 13 matchup against the Chiefs.
On Tuesday, the Vikings worked the phones and ultimately found a new starting quarterback in Kirk Cousins. On Wednesday, the work began to get Cousins up to speed.
Although G.M. Nolan Teasley deferred to coach Kevin O’Connell as to the new depth chart with Cousins in the room, Teasley also stated the obvious in a press conference with reporters.
“We . . . didn’t acquire Kirk to not play,” Teasley said.
Teasley pointed to various factors that drew the Vikings to a reunion with Cousins, including his familiarity with the offense, the organization, and the coaching staff. Teasley also noted Cousins’s “live arm,” touch, placement, and accuracy.
Teasley also tried to push back against the perception (if not reality) that the Monday night disaster against the Bills prompted a Tuesday fire drill that ended with the trade for Cousins.
“I would tell you that it didn’t,” Teasley said regarding the impact of the Week 9 game on the outcome. “We’ve been looking for ways to improve this football team, again, for weeks. And we just followed the process. It was a wide net that we were casting. And ultimately this is what we landed on, and this was the right move for this point in time.”
Right, but it’s hard not to make the connection between Monday night’s showing and the Tuesday trade deadline. Indeed, if the trade deadline hadn’t previously been shifted from the Tuesday after Week 8 to the Tuesday after Week 9, the window may have closed before the Vikings realized how badly they needed to jump through it.
At the end of the day, it’s clear that the Vikings felt compelled to get the most out of what the team currently has.
“This roster has earned the right to explore the potential to maximize where we can take this thing,” Teasley said.
Could Cousins stay with the Vikings beyond the current season?
“There’s always potential for that, but this is really about 2026.” Teasley said. “And that’s where we’re focused. . . . When that time comes we’ll address it.”
For now, they addressed getting more out of the side of the ball that’s struggling mightily.
“We still believe in the potential of the offense,” Teasley said. “There’s a lot of really talented players over there. So this is about doing what’s best for the Vikings in totality.”
Teasley opted not to engage in a hypothetical discussion as to how Cousins impacts the team’s ceiling.
“This is a really good football team,” Teasley said. “We’re 6-2 through eight games, and we just acquired a really good football player.”
While Teasley won’t address hypotheticals, others will. Without Cousins, the Vikings were destined to implode. They wouldn’t have won enough games to make it to the playoffs.
Now? They’re in position to take the NFC North — and possibly to win a playoff game or two. If, as it appears, the trade rejuvenates the defense and elevates the offense, the Vikings will become one of the most balanced teams in the league.
Which will give them an opportunity to navigate what will be the meat grinder of the looming NFC playoff tree.
Quarterback Jared Goff landed on the Lions’ first injury report of the week.
Goff was listed as a limited participant in practice. A chest injury is given as the reason for Goff’s presence on the report.
There’s been no indication of Goff being at risk of missing Sunday’s game against the Patriots in Germany and the next two days should bring more information about his condition heading into Week 10.
Center Cade Mays (ankle), cornerback D.J. Reed (hip), and running back Sione Vaki (ankle) did not practice. Mays and Reed were both inactive in last Sunday’s win over the Dolphins.
Safety Brian Branch (hip), safety Kerby Joseph (knee), and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (rib) were limited participants. Running back Jacob Saylors (neck, hamstring) and defensive end DJ Wonnum (concussion) were full participants.
Cowboys cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (ankle) remained out of practice on Wednesday.
He missed Sunday’s game against the Colts with his injury.
Wide receiver George Pickens (hamstring) also missed Sunday’s game, but he is on the road to recovery with a limited practice on Wednesday.
They are two of 16 players who are listed on the team’s practice report. Half of those didn’t practice on Wednesday.
Besides Porter, outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku (ankle), tight end Jake Ferguson (knee/ankle), running back Tyler Goodson (ankle/knee), safety Malik Hooker (personal), safety P.J. Locke III (concussion), outside linebacker Von Miller (rest) and wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (ankle) also were out of practice.
Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring/back) and wide receiver KaVontae Turpin (ribs) were limited.
Defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (calf), outside linebacker Marist Liufau (forearm), cornerback Devin Moore (hip), tight end Luke Schoonmaker (groin) and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford (shoulder) were full participants.
The Cowboys opened the 21-day practice window for Moore on Wednesday.
Help is on the way for the Rams receiving corps, but the club likely still has to get through the rest of the month.
Head coach Sean McVay told reporters in his Wednesday news conference that Davante Adams could return after the team plays Green Bay in Week 12. That would put Adams on track for the Thursday night matchup against the Chiefs in Week 13.
“We’re optimistic Davante’s return is sooner than later, which is a big deal to us,” McVay said, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.
McVay added that he thinks Adams’ return after the Week 12 Wednesday contest against Green Bay “is a realistic timeline for us.”
The Rams will play the Cardinals on Sunday before an abbreviated Week 11 bye. They’ll host the Packers on Wednesday night in Week 12 for the league’s first “Thanksgiving Eve” game.
Adams has been sidelined since suffering his hamstring injury in the Oct. 18 loss to the Cardinals. He’s caught 30 passes for 480 yards with four touchdowns so far in 2026.
Adams’ absence is further magnified by Puka Nacua suffering a knee injury late in Sunday’s win over the Commanders. Nacua will be out for an extended period of time.
