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KEY WEDNESDAY MEDIA UPDATES

***Matthew Stafford plays through everything. But his status got interesting on Wednesday. Jim Caldwell never says anything to the media. So, it was shocking when Caldwell gave a long answer when questioned and said Stafford was "not out of the woods yet" and still needed treatment. I still believe Stafford will play this week, but Thursday will be important. If he's still limited, he'll be high on the weekend watch list.

***Joe Mixon suffered a concussion on Monday night. We've seen players progress through the return-to-play protocol in five days before but it's rare. There was no chance Mixon would be cleared for football-related activity on Wednesday. He'll need to be cleared for individual drills on Thursday to have a realistic chance to play this week. The Bengals play at home, which gives Mixon some additional observational time as the team doesn't have a travel day on Saturday. I think it's unlikely Mixon plays but will firm up his expectation after Thursday's practice.

***The Panthers said last week's decision to hold Olsen out of practice was turf related. After three DNPs last week, Olsen fully practiced on Wednesday. He was cleared to return by his surgeon when comfortable and Carolina is clearly expecting to have Olsen available. Barring recurrent soreness, we'll likely see Olsen in 25-30 snaps this week and then advance from there.

***Doug Pederson told reporters Zach Ertz was cleared to attend meetings but his tight end wasn't in individual drills on Wednesday. If Ertz is not cleared for football-related activity on Thursday, his status is firmly in doubt.

***The news on Rishard Matthews is more reassuring this week. Mike Mularkey told reporters he still doesn't know Matthews' status but said the wide receiver had been able to do more on Wednesday than last week and was making progress as the team continues to remain cautious. Delanie Walker did not practice but sounded like a player who wanted to play while telling reporters he felt his strong play wasn't receiving the respect it deserved. Expect him to be limited at best through Friday with a low-grade high ankle sprain.

***It's easy for coaches to tell reporters their injured players are day-to-day. Sean McDermott's version of day-to-day for Tyrod Taylor on Wednesday was "We'll take it one day at a time." He also said there was "no timetable" for Taylor to return from a patellar tendon contusion. It's not difficult to read between the lines here. Taylor is a longshot to play this week.

***It's now been over a week of rehab rather than practice for Adrian Peterson. There are no specifics on his neck injury but Bruce Arians said Peterson still needed "time to heal." There's no category of neck injury in which "still needs to heal after ten days" is reassuring. Barring a surprise change in his practice participation on Thursday, Peterson is likely out again this week. 

***There was no actionable updates on the unexpected listing of Sterling Shepard (hamstring), Marqise Lee (foot),

***Amari Cooper has cleared concussion protocol but continues to rehab a high ankle sprain. He's not yet practicing and doubtful to play.

THURSDAY NIGHT INJURY EXPECTATIONS

Here are the key players listed on the practice participation or game status report for Thursday Night Football:

***Mark Ingram missed practice this week with a toe injury. The Saints rarely update the status of their injured players, even if there's no reason for concern. They've listed Ingram questionable and it's not clear whether he's probable (they recognized he would be able to play on Monday, then rested him during the midweek walkthroughs) or doubtful (they recognized on Monday he wasn't ready and shut him down). There's not enough information here to make a strong recommendation but I lean toward Ingram playing but at risk of a limited role. Watch the pregame news carefully on Thursday for clues on Ingram's usage.

***The Atlanta and New Orleans offenses are otherwise mostly healthy. Both teams will be without a starting offensive lineman. Atlanta's Andy Levitre will miss this game and possibly more with a triceps injury. Andrus Peat is out for New Orleans with a groin strain.

***Marshon Lattimore was not ready to return last Sunday. He had two limited practices this week and is questionable. The matchup against Julio Jones is critical for the Saints defense but Lattimore is not fully healthy. I lean slightly toward him playing.

EARLY WEEK PRACTICE PARTICIPATION REPORT AND EARLY EXPECTATIONS

The Wednesday and Thursday practice participation reports are our first chance to see which players each NFL team are limiting in practice after the previous week's games. Players limited in mid-week practice aren't necessarily in danger of missing that week's game. But they all need to be watched closely.

*Note: Monday night players with asterisk practice Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

Note: Monday night players with asterisk practice Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

Follow me on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking injury news and analysis throughout the week.