We usually wait for the Friday injury reports to pass along word about the status of injured players, but since we’ve been waiting seven months for this week of games, we decided to do one on the Wednesday injury reports.
We’ve covered most of the big injury news in the rumor mill already on Wednesday, but these are all notes worth passing along without having enough meat for full posts.
1. In case you missed any of the posts from Wednesday, we’ve already covered Rashard Mendenhall, Brandon Meriweather, Adrian Peterson and Bills owner Ralph Wilson.
2. Browns running back Trent Richardson (knee) was listed as limited in practice Wednesday, but said, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal, he’ll only miss the game if coach Pat Shurmur decides that he isn’t ready to play. Shurmur’s made no indication that he’s leaning that way so we’re still expecting to see Richardson on the field.
3. Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (ankle) was also limited and spent some of the practice running on a treadmill in a pool. Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer reports coach Ron Rivera declared himself optimistic about Stewart’s chances of playing. The next two days will tell the story. No need to wait that long on wide receiver Steve Smith (foot), who had a full practice Wednesday.
4. Tight end Dustin Keller (ankle) didn’t practice for the Jets. Wide receivers Santonio Holmes (ribs) and Chaz Schilens (ankle) practiced fully and nose tackle Sione Pouha (back) was limited.
5. Colts wide receiver Austin Collie (concussion) practiced fully and remains on track to play in the season opener.
6. Bills wide receivers Stevie Johnson (groin) and Brad Smith (groin) were both limited participants in practice.
7. Mendenhall wasn’t the only Steelers running back to fully participate in practice. Isaac Redman’s ankle injury has improved enough for him to get back on the field and give the Steelers more options than they might have imagined in the backfield. Linebacker James Harrison (knee) was limited.
8. Left tackle Jake Long (knee) and right guard John Jerry (ankle) both returned to practice for the Dolphins.
9. Safety Patrick Chung (shoulder) was a full participant for the Patriots, while running back Shane Vereen was out with a foot injury.
10. The Texans should have defensive end J.J. Watt (elbow) and wide receiver Andre Johnson (chest) in the lineup after both practiced fully on Wednesday.
11. Jaguars rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon was a limited participant because of an ankle injury, although there hasn’t been much concern out of Jacksonville that he could miss the game.
12. The Chiefs listed cornerback Brandon Flowers (heel) and linebacker Derrick Johnson (ankle), but Adam Teicher of Kansas City Star thinks both men will play on Sunday based on how they looked at practice.
13. The Lions were without cornerback Chris Houston (ankle) and safety Louis Delmas (knee) once again on Wednesday. The chances of Delmas playing seem very remote since he hasn’t practiced in more than a month.
14. Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji (ankle) was limited. Running back James Starks has been ruled out because of turf toe, but he’s started doing some work on the side.
15. Saints wide receiver Marques Colston missed practice with a foot injury. Interim coach Aaron Kromer said that Colston and everyone else on the injury report, including cornerback Jabari Greer and linebacker Curtis Lofton, should play.
16. The 49ers haven’t released an official injury report yet, but Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that wide receiver Ted Ginn (ankle) and running back Brandon Jacobs (knee) weren’t in uniform for the session while doing rehab work on the side.