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UNDERSTANDING THE NFL'S INJURY REPORT

The injury report released by the NFL is actually two reports. The first is the Practice Participation report, which lists which injured players were able to practice and how much. It also includes players who rested or missed practice for non-injury related reasons. The second is the Game Status Report, which gives the probability a player will play, i.e. Questionable, Doubtful, Out. The Practice Participation Report is released every day of the week (Monday through Saturday). The Game Status Report is released with the Friday participation report (Wednesday for Thursday games, Saturday for Monday games).

In this feature, I'll include the Game Status Listing, my expectation of their likelihood to play, and the player's practice participation throughout the week.

Key:

PLAYER | INJURY | GAME STATUS LISTING | FOOTBALLGUYS EXPECTATION

Practice Participation Listing by Day

* = playing on Monday night

^ = playing on Saturday

I'll also include a table at the bottom of the article for easy reference.

Here's the latest on every relevant injured player on the practice participation and game status report this week:

QUARTERBACK

*Cam Newton | Shoulder | Pending | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited | Sat - Pending

The Panthers have not released their Saturday game status report yet but Newton is expected to play. Observers continue to share concern about Newton's health. And the Panthers continue to tell us Newton's arm isn't full strength. The team has continued to severely limit Newton's throwing reps. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner acknowledged the limited practice time has become an issue, telling reporters Newton's absence has played a role in the recent struggles of the Carolina offense. Turner said, "There is a trickle-down effect. You lose some of that continuity. It hasn't been as good as it was early." Turner specifically noted issues with timing in the passing game and concerns about changes in Newton's throwing mechanics affecting his accuracy.

Newton continues to run and -- prior to last week against Cleveland -- continues to throw touchdown passes. But it's clear he's not himself. His ceiling remains limited and he'll continue to have a lower floor than usual as long as he's unable to fully practice.

Matthew Stafford | Back | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Stafford hasn't fully practiced in weeks as he battles a back injury. Beat writers have noted Stafford moving gingerly in the locker room and struggling to bend over to pick up equipment bags. On Thursday, Stafford skipped his Thursday media session for treatment. Despite the limitations, Stafford told reporters Friday he intends to continue to play saying, "I played with it last week, so I plan on playing with again." That's far from a ringing endorsement of his own health, especially coming off last week's 15 of 23 for 101 yard performance. Stafford's health, his lack of offensive weapons (now without Kerryon Johnson, Marvin Jones, and Golden Tate), and injuries along the offensive line (T.J. Lang on IR, Rick Wagner out with a concussion, Taylor Decker limited with a shoulder injury) are all likely to limit Stafford again this week.

Others of note: Deshaun Watson (shoulder), Ben Roethlisberger (ribs), Aaron Rodgers (knee), Lamar Jackson (ankle), Sam Darnold (foot), Jeff Driskel (shoulder), and Ryan Tannehill (shoulder) have practiced, are not listed on the game status report and will play without limitation. Carson Wentz (back) is listed doubtful and will likely be declared out. Return to play expectations on all inactive and injured players will be updated in Monday's column.

RUNNING BACK

James Conner | Ankle | Questionable > doubtful | Likely inactive

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Limited

Conner returned to practice on Friday and the Steelers have listed him questionable. It's exceedingly rare for a Pittsburgh player to miss practice on Wednesday and Thursday and then return to practice on Friday. Steelers who do not practice by Thursday don't play -- and they rarely work out at all on Friday. This has been true for every caliber of play at every position for years.

Conner's practice participation is notably different and can only mean one thing. The team believes he has a shot to play this weekend. His limited Friday workout is a test. If Conner's ankle sprain responds well to practice without any recurrence of swelling and stiffness, the Steelers may clear him to play.

However, his return remains a long shot. Conner confirmed his injury is a high ankle sprain earlier this week. The team ruled him out last week five days in advance of the Week 14 game -- after a Tuesday exam and MRI study. That strongly suggests Conner's injury was a mid-grade injury requiring 3-4 weeks of rehab rather than a lower-grade, 1-2 week injury. While the door is open for Conner to continue to improve and convince the team he can play a limited role, it's much more likely he'll be inactive and continue to rehab next week.

There's also an outside chance the Steelers believed this was a low-grade injury from the start and decided to rest Conner last week with this week's game in mind. But that's a hopeful stretch at best.

I'll update with weekend news but consider Conner to the doubtful side of questionable for now.

Saturday Update: Conner has been downgraded to doubtful. While the Steelers held out some hope Conner could play, there was not enough improvement overnight. He will be inactive.

Matt Breida | Ankle | Questionable | Likely to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Breida spoke with reporters on Friday and said, "As long as everything keeps going the way it has, they gave me the green light and I'll be ready to go." Breida and the Niners chose to rest last week and give his frequently-aggravated high ankle sprain extra time to improve. Breida has been trending positively toward playing all week but stopped short of guaranteeing a return because his most recent aggravation two weeks ago occurred during pregame warmup. Though he's taken a week off, the risk of aggravation remains. it's unclear how San Francisco will handle the distribution of touches between Breida and Jeff Wilson. However, in previous weeks, Kyle Shanahan did not shy away from using Breida when he looked healthy and Shanahan told reporters his running back looks "much better" than last week. Expect 10-15 touches but a low floor remains a concern.

LeSean McCoy | Hamstring | Questionable | inactive

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Chris Ivory | Shoulder | Questionable | inactive

Practice Participation: Wed - Full | Thurs - Full | Fri - Full

The Bills listed Ivory questionable despite a full week of practice and three consecutive weeks on the active game day roster since returning from a shoulder sprain. He will play.

McCoy's availability is less clear. While McCoy tends to play through soft tissue injuries and practiced twice this week, local writers do not seem as optimistic as usual about his readiness to play. McCoy is more probable than doubtful but it won't be surprising if he rests this week.

Sunday Update: Surprisingly, Ivory's status is very much in doubt despite a full week of practice. Ian Rapoport is reporting Ivory is not expecting to play, while Adam Schefter tweeted Ivory will test his injury during pregame. Also, Schefter reports McCoy is not expected to play. Rapoport's sources believe McCoy is a game-time decision. Neither Buffalo running back seems on track to play.

Sunday Update: Ian Rapoport is reporting McCoy will not play today.

Sunday Update: Both McCoy and Ivory are inactive.

Ito Smith | Back / Knee | Questionable | Likely to play

Practice Participation: Wed - Limited | Thurs - Full | Fri - Limited

Smith's Friday limited practice was a downgrade from a full Thursday practice. Held out due to knee soreness, Dan Quinn told reporters he's expecting Smith to play. The Falcons will re-evaluate Smith on Saturday morning. If his soreness improves, expect to see him on the game day active roster. If he remains sore, we'll likely see a weekend status downgrade and possibly a roster addition at running back.

Others of note: Ezekiel Elliott (shoulder), David Johnson (quadricep), Adrian Peterson (shoulder), Kenyan Drake (shoulder), and Elijah McGuire (ankle) have fully practiced, are not listed on the game status report, and are expected to play. Kerryon Johnson (knee) and Rashaad Penny (knee) have been declared out. I'll update return to play expectations on all inactive and injured players in Monday's column.

WIDE RECEIVER

Julio Jones | Foot / Calf / Illness | Not Listed | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Limited

The Falcons continue to manage Jones' practice reps. As always, when Jones is not listed on the game status report, he should be considered a full go for gameday.

T.Y. Hilton | Ankle | Questionable | active

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - DNP

Hilton has missed mid week practices with hamstring and shoulder injuries this year then returned to practice on Friday and played effectively that Sunday. Unfortunately, this week's practice line didn't end as well. Hilton never returned to practice after suffering an ankle injury last week. Frank Reich didn't rule Hilton out but wasn't optimistic, noting that players who do not practice on Friday aren't likely to play on Sunday and hinting that the only reason Hilton might have a shot to play is the time of year. Video was suspicious for a high ankle sprain, further casting doubt on Hilton's readiness.

Reich said Hilton's status was "still up in the air" and the team was hopeful for improvement through Saturday morning. Hopeful on Friday rarely translates to a full strength return on Sunday.

Sunday Update: Both Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport are reporting Hilton's availability will be decided after a pre-game workout. Rapoport's tweet hinted Hilton will try to play through the injury if he can. While Hilton has been effective playing through injury -- and was very productive despite a shoulder injury last week -- there's been a higher level of concern with him this week. Generally, pregame workout video is deceiving but reports on how fluidly Hilton is moving may be helpful later this morning.

Sunday Update: There were no pregame reports on Hilton's warmup or fitness level. He's on the active roster and has played effectively through injury without practice in the past. Unfortunately, there's no way to reliably project how limited Hilton may be or what his risk of aggravation is. I'll continue to update with any final hour reports. Expect the Colts to try to keep Hilton involved in the offense as usual but a low floor performance may still be in play here.

Sunday Update: Adam Caplan cited two sources with reassuring reports on Hilton this morning. One told Caplan Hilton "will be fine. He will play well." That's as reassuring as we'll get on Hilton. Caplan is one of the original bird dogs for injury information and his sources should be trustworthy.

Doug Baldwin | Hip | Questionable | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Last week, Baldwin reportedly "barely made it through the week" and was unable to practice or play. After returning to consecutive limited practices by week's end, all indications are that Baldwin will return to play. Baldwin's groin / hip injury remains suspicious for a core muscle strain and may be difficult to play through. However, Baldwin has been productive in the past while playing through injury and he has a favorable matchup against San Francisco.

Allen Robinson | Hip | Questionable | Expected to play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Full

The Bears list Robinson questionable but he is expected to play and see his usual workload.

Dante Pettis | Foot | Questionable | expected to play

Practice Participation: Wed - Not Listed | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Marquise Goodwin | Calf | Questionable | expected to play

Practice Participation: Wed - Not Listed | Thurs - Limited | Fri - Limited

Both Pettis and Goodwin were added to the injury report on Thursday but returned to limited practice on Friday. Unfortunately, there has been no official word from the Niners on their availability and no local media members are speculating either. Generally, that's a positive sign -- but I'll continue to update through the weekend.

Sunday Update: Both Pettis and Goodwin are expected to play today. The tone of the overnight reports suggests neither will be limited much.

Josh Doctson | Concussion | Questionable | Likely to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Limited

Doctson returned to practice Friday and was running individual drills at full speed. He had yet to be cleared for contact in team drills and was listed questionable. The trend suggests Washington planned to send him to the independent neurologist for clearance after Friday's practice. We should know Doctson's official status before inactives are released.

Others of note: Adam Thielen (ankle), DeAndre Hopkins (foot), Courtland Sutton (quad), DeVante Parker (shoulder), Danny Amendola (knee), Randall Cobb (hamstring), Equanimeous St. Brown (elbow), Robby Anderson (ankle), and Jamison Crowder (ankle) have practiced, are not listed on the game status report, and are expected to play without limitation. Odell Beckham (quad), Keke Coutee (hamstring), Quincy Enunwa (ankle), and DeSean Jackson (thumb) have been declared out. I'll update return to play expectations on all inactive and injured players in Monday's column.

TIGHT END

Austin Hooper | Knee | Not Listed | Expected to Play

Practice Participation: Wed - DNP | Thurs - DNP | Fri - Limited

After strong early-week hints that Hooper might miss at least one week, Hooper missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday and looked likely inactive. Hooper then practiced Friday and was removed from the Atlanta game status report. Dan Quinn then told reporters Hooper looked good on Friday and was expected to play.

Others of note: David Njoku (knee) and Jimmy Graham (thumb/knee) have practiced, are not listed on the game status report, and are expected to play without limitation. Jordan Reed (foot) and Geoff Swaim (wrist) are doubtful or have been declared out. I'll update return to play expectations on all inactive and injured players in Monday's column.

PRACTICE PARTICIPATION, GAME STATUS REPORT, AND PLAYING EXPECTATIONS

*Note: Monday night players with asterisk practice Thursday/Friday/Saturday
^Note: Saturday players practice Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday