Photo: USA Today Sports

NOTE: During the regular season, this column is a living document through Tuesday morning. I'll be updating as needed after team press conferences, imaging reports, Monday Night Football injuries, etc. Major changes to the content will be noted in red.

Scroll to the bottom of this article for a quick look table of the week's most pressing injury situations and a review of players on injured reserve / PUP / NFI.

Footballguys will have close and detailed coverage of all injuries this season. Here's a look at my expected schedule. I will do my best to stick to this. Work and family responsibilities may sometimes cause brief delays.

Monday Injury Rounds: Posted Sunday night, updated through Tuesday AM. Detailed analysis of the week's injuries with table for quick review. Offensive injuries will be live Sunday night. Critical defensive and offensive line injuries will be added throughout the day on Monday. I'll be updating with news and analysis through Tuesday.

Midweek Injury Expectations: Posted Wednesday night. Analysis of the practice participation report with a table including my projection of each injured player's likely game status. Will include discussion of any major breaking injury news.

Sunday Gameday Expectations: Posted by Saturday afternoon, updated through Sunday morning inactives. Will include individual player blurbs with detailed thoughts on the week's injury news and my speculation on player availability and limitations. Will include table highlighting each day's practice participation, official game status, and my availability expectation.

I'll be contributing to our waiver wire podcast (Tuesday release) and our live Sunday morning pregame show (10 ET Sunday on YouTube). I will also be retweeting key pieces of news and my own reaction and analysis, so make sure you're following me @JeneBramel and checking my timeline on Twitter throughout the week.

INJURY ROUNDS

Kerryon Johnson | Left knee sprain | Awaiting Information | Doubtful Week 12

There was no clear mechanism of Johnson's injury on video replay. There was no consensus among experienced orthopedic surgeons on Twitter, with Dr. David Chao seeing hints of an ACL injury but uncertain about whether Johnson had suffered a season-ending injury. Others speculated about a MCL or PCL sprain or a bone bruise. Later, Ian Rapoport would report the team's exam was reassuring against an ACL tear but suspected a sprain to another ligament around the knee. Johnson will have an MRI tomorrow to define the injury and its severity. The presumptive diagnosis of a knee sprain is not yet specific enough for a reliable timetable. Regardless of the final diagnosis, it's very unlikely Johnson will be able to recover in time for the Lions' game on Thanksgiving Day.

I'll have more on Johnson should the team update his condition on Monday.

Monday Update: The Lions received good news on Johnson today according to Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport. Neither reporter provided specifics on Johnson's diagnosis -- only confirming the earlier "sprain" reported yesterday -- but both suggest Johnson will only miss a game or two. Do not expect Johnson to play Thursday but it's too soon to rule him out for Week 12.

Jimmy Graham | Thumb fracture | Week-to-Week | Out Week 12

Graham broke his right thumb last Thursday night. At last report, the Packers were still working to determine Graham's return timetable. Whether Graham chooses to have surgery or not -- he likely will as the thumb is too important to risk incomplete healing -- expect him to miss at least four weeks. He'll likely need a cast at least that long and won't be able to catch or block effectively. It's possible Graham's season may be over if the Packers do not win enough games to remain in playoff contention while he's rehabbing.

Monday Update: Mike McCarthy told reporters Graham intends to "try to play" through his thumb fracture. That's a very tough ask for a player whose primary responsibility is to catch hard-thrown passes from Aaron Rodgers.

Marcus Mariota | Right elbow injury | Awaiting Information | Questionable Week 12

Mariota left just before halftime and did not return with another throwing arm injury. Mariota told Mike Vrabel he was "okay" but the Titans chose not to play Mariota in the second half after starting the third quarter trailing by three touchdowns. It's unclear whether Mariota suffered an aggravation of the nerve contusion that lingered for weeks earlier this season but he was seen shaking his hand before leaving the field. That's suspicious for a re-injury but doesn't necessarily mean Mariota would need again multiple weeks to recover. Mariota did not discuss his injury after the game; Monday's press conference will be out next update on his condition.

Monday Update: Vrabel told reporters Mariota had a stinger yesterday rather than an elbow injury. I'm not sure that's a plausible explanation. The Titans reported the injury as an elbow injury during the game -- a stinger is almost always referred to as a neck or shoulder injury -- and players who are unable to shake stinger symptoms within a short time (~10-15 minutes) rarely return to play within a week. Vrabel said he's hopeful Mariota can play next Monday night. But this warrants close monitoring this week.

Others of note:

***Alex Smith broke both bones in his lower leg and had surgery on Sunday evening. His season is over.

***O.J. Howard suffered a right high ankle sprain and was unable to return. Howard's mechanism and inability to return suggest a higher-grade injury. Barring a surprising return to practice this week, expect Howard to miss multiple weeks.

Offensive line and defensive notes:

***Philadelphia center Jason Kelce left a blowout loss to New Orleans with a left elbow hyperextension and did not return. Expect the Eagles to further evaluate on Monday but there's a chance Kelce will not miss any games.

***Indianapolis center Ryan Kelly did not return after suffering a left knee injury. Television angles did not show a visible injury mechanism. Kelly told reporters he would have an MRI on Monday.

***Both Houston starting guards left with injuries. Zach Fulton (shoulder) and Senio Kelemete (ankle) both suggested their injuries were minor but neither returned to play.

***Corey Liuget suffered a season-ending right quad tendon rupture.

Follow-up Appointments

A.J. Green | Right foot injury | Week-to-Week | Questionable Week 12

Two weeks ago, Green visited the NFL's pre-eminent foot and ankle surgeon, Dr. Robert Anderson, who recommended rehab over surgery and scheduled a follow up exam this week to discuss a return to football-related activity. There were overly optimistic reports last weekend that Green could work out before Sunday's game and "have a chance" to play. That was never realistic -- Green had yet to be cleared for football-related activity by Anderson. That could come this week, however. There are multiple reports that Green has -- as he has multiple times in his career -- recovered briskly and expects to be cleared to return soon. If we see Green practicing on Wednesday, you'll know he's been cleared to play when he feels he's ready. If there are any early week reports of concern or Green isn't practicing on Wednesday, prepare for another week or two on the sideline.

Rob Gronkowski | Ankle / back injuries | Day-to-Day | Probable Week 12

Multiple reports have Gronkowski likely to return this week. Unfortunately, most of these reports suggest Gronkowski's back was the limiting factor in recent weeks. That's not good. Back spasms generally recover within days rather than weeks -- unless they occur because of another injury to the back (i.e. disc herniations, bone spurs, etc.). And those primary injuries do not heal quickly, making it possible that Gronkowski's spasms and limitations may recur. With luck, the month of rest and rehab will have cooled off whatever is troubling Gronkowski and we'll see him return to his pre-injury levels of explosion and agility. If Gronkowski is not looking more like himself this week, however, the rest of his season will be a "what you see is what you'll get" situation. While Gronkowski is talented enough to overcome some of those limitations, any concern this week would mean a limited ceiling for the rest of the season.

Marvin Jones | Right knee contusion | Week-to-Week | Doubtful Week 12

Jones sought a second opinion on his right knee injury early last week and did not return to practice. That suggests his injury was more than a simple bruise in a easy-to-rehab location and much more week-to-week than day-to-day. Though we've seen players recover from similar injuries in 2-4 weeks, it's difficult to expect Jones back on a short week leading into Detroit's Thanksgiving Day game. It's possible the Lions knew Jones would be close but not full strength in Week 11 then be at risk of missing this week's game if he played. If that's the case, we'll see Jones practicing on Monday and Tuesday. More likely, Jones does not practice or play this week in hopes of returning in Week 13.

Joe Flacco | Hip injury | Week-to-Week | Doubtful Week 12

John Harbaugh told reporters "it will be tough" for Flacco to play next week. Other than an Adam Schefter report that Flacco won't need surgery, very little is known about Flacco's hip condition. That's generally not a good thing as teams usually allow details to leak when a player is nearing a return. Still on crutches early last week and yet to be cleared to practice, Flacco is unlikely to play in Week 12. Unless he responds poorly to rehab, Flacco should be healthy enough to play before season's end. However, with Lamar Jackson winning a divisional matchup this week, the Ravens may not feel any added pressure to rush Flacco back.

Others of note:

***The Jets will not clear Sam Darnold to return until his foot injury has fully healed. While there's optimism for Week 12, the Jets will continue to exercise caution. Darnold will need to fully practice to play.

***Josh Allen is expected back this week. Close to returning before the bye, Allen will likely return to full practices by the end of this week in preparation to play.

Offensive line and defensive notes:

***Joey Bosa returned to action and played around 25-30 snaps as a situational pass rusher. There were no indications of a setback and Bosa could be back to a full time role as soon as next week.

***Eric Berry could return to practice during Kansas City's Week 12 bye. He may need more than one week of conditioning but his return may be near if the bone spur aggravating his Achilles tendon does not cause recurrent symptoms.

INJURED PLAYERS ON ACTIVE ROSTER