Biggest injury questions for all 32 teams in Week 9

Ryan Tannehill has been ruled out, so Brock Osweiler will start at QB for the fourth consecutive game. The most notable injury question surrounds receiver Kenny Stills, who missed the previous game with a groin injury. Stills didn’t practice Wednesday, but he was in uniform and working off to the side with trainers for the first time. Head coach Adam Gase said Stills is trying to convince them that he’s ready to go, but he’ll likely need to practice to play. Miami is light on receivers, so they could use his contribution, and this looks like it could come down to a game-time decision if Stills can progress and practice one day this week. — Cameron Wolfe

Blake Bortles has an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, and the team brought in Landry Jones as insurance. The Jaguars are off this week, and it’s hard to see Bortles not playing against Indianapolis on Nov. 11. He played part of the 2016 season and all of the 2017 season with ligament damage in his right (throwing) wrist. For all his faults, Bortles is a tough kid, and it will take a pretty major injury for him to not play. Cody Kessler would start if that were to be the case, and Jones would be the backup. The Jaguars has space on their roster to add Jones because they traded DE Dante Fowler Jr. on Thursday. — Michael DiRocco

Right guard Josh Kline had to come out late in the fourth quarter of the Titans’ Week 7 game due to an undisclosed injury. Kline didn’t practice when the team returned to work on Tuesday. Coach Mike Vrabel wouldn’t say what Kline’s injury was or if he’ll miss more practice time. Safety Kenny Vaccaro took part in practice on Tuesday. He sustained a dislocated elbow in Week 4 that caused him to miss three weeks. Vaccaro was able to extend his right arm to catch the ball during defensive backs drills and appears on track to play on Monday night. — Turron Davenport

AFC WEST

The Broncos certainly have their eye on running back Royce Freeman’s health, as he hasn’t practiced since suffering an ankle injury in the team’s Week 7 win over the Cardinals. But fellow rookie Phillip Lindsay and Devontae Booker alleviate some of the concerns about Freeman’s recovery. The secondary is another matter, however, given that two starters — safety Darian Stewart (neck/stingers) and cornerback Bradley Roby (ankle) — have not practiced this week. The Broncos will face Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson this weekend as well as receivers DeAndre Hopkins and former Bronco Demaryius Thomas (traded to Houston on Tuesday). Roby’s injury could put Tramaine Brock in the starting lineup and put Adam Jones into the dime package when the Broncos go with six defensive backs. The Broncos do expect safety Su’a Cravens, who has been on injured reserve since the start of the regular season, to be in the lineup this week. Cravens would help in some of the specialty packages in terms of coverage of opposing tight ends. — Jeff Legwold

The Chiefs began their practice week without inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens, who has bruised ribs. He could play Sunday against the Browns, but his loss would be considerable if he can’t play. Hitchens calls the defensive signals, so the Chiefs would need to shift that responsibility to another player. His backup is undrafted rookie Ben Niemann, who played well during the preseason but doesn’t have Hitchens’ experience. — Adam Teicher

Running back Melvin Gordon was a limited participant Wednesday with a hamstring issue that forced the Wisconsin product to miss his team’s win over the Titans two weeks ago in London. If Gordon continues to practice this week, Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn is hopeful that he can make it onto the field on Sunday against the Seahawks. — Eric D. Williams

As the Raiders continue their deconstruction and reconstruction under Jon Gruden, one of those seeming foundation pieces remains hobbled. Pro Bowl left guard Kelechi Osemele has not played since Sept. 30 with a right knee injury, and the Raiders are unsure if he will miss his fourth straight game, plus the bye, on Thursday at the 49ers. “We are trying to get the big man back as soon as possible,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “I think he’s a difference-maker in the NFL. We will see what happens. We will get him out there early in pregame and see if he is ready to go.” Jon Feliciano played well in Osemele’s absence in last week’s loss to the Colts. — Paul Gutierrez

NFC EAST

The Cowboys are coming off their bye week and did not practice Wednesday, but the belief is the extra time will allow defensive end Randy Gregory to play at least a little against Tennessee following knee surgery last week. Against a mobile quarterback such as Marcus Mariota, having Gregory in the pass-rush rotation will help. Wide receiver Tavon Austin will not play because of a groin injury, and he is looking at a long-term absence. The time off also allowed quarterback Dak Prescott to rest up. He took some big hits against Washington, including getting checked for a concussion, and was sore last week. — Todd Archer

The extra time of the bye week should benefit starting middle linebacker Alec Ogletree. He injured his hamstring in the Giants’ Monday night loss to the Falcons in Week 7 and missed Sunday’s loss to the Redskins. But Ogletree was doing some stretching and light work last week. With extra time to get healthy, he should be back when the Giants play the San Francisco 49ers a week from Monday. — Jordan Raanan

The Eagles could be getting some players back after the bye. Two names to keep an eye on: RB Darren Sproles, out since Week 1 with a hamstring injury, and DT Tim Jernigan, who hasn’t played this season following surgery to repair a herniated disc. Both appear to be inching closer to a return. — Tim McManus

The Redskins have several key players dealing with injuries, including running back Chris Thompson (rib) and left tackle Trent Williams (dislocated thumb). Thompson said he’s “day-to-day,” but at this point that day might not be for another week. Williams has played hurt quite often, but he expressed concern after the game about his availability for Sunday’s game against Atlanta. The hard part is being able to use his hands. Meanwhile, corner Quinton Dunbar (hamstring/shin) returned, and there’s optimism that he’ll play Sunday. Safety Montae Nicholson underwent a procedure on his hip, coach Jay Gruden said, but there’s still a chance he’ll play. — John Keim

NFC NORTH

Bears head coach Matt Nagy said the team will continue to take a cautious approach with linebacker Khalil Mack (right ankle) and wide receiver Allen Robinson (groin). The plan is for both players to rest most of the week and return to practice on a limited basis Friday, but it’s still unclear if either will be active for Sunday’s game at Buffalo. Nagy called right guard Kyle Long “week to week” with tendon damage in his right foot, adding that the team has not ruled out placing him on injured reserve. — Jeff Dickerson

While all Lions players practiced in at least a limited fashion Wednesday, two are going to be worth monitoring this week: RB Theo Riddick (knee) and DE Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder). Ansah has been a weeks-long will-he/won’t-he situation, and on Monday, Matt Patricia explained that for a guy such as Ansah, there needs to be a ramp-up to game shape because he has been out since Week 1. If he ends up practicing in full for any of the three workouts this week, that would be a good sign. That Riddick was back and dressed is also a good sign for the running back, who still has a role as a third-down and two-minute-drill pass-catcher. Both players would make an impact if they can return against the Vikings on Sunday. — Michael Rothstein

The Seahawks’ recent run of good health continued when they made it out of their win over Detroit without suffering any significant injuries. Pete Carroll said linebacker K.J. Wright and tight end Ed Dickson didn’t have any issues while making their season debuts. The Seahawks could get another player back this week in rookie defensive end Rasheem Green, who missed the past four games with an ankle injury. It seems likely that he’ll be available Sunday against the Chargers, with Carroll saying he was “all but ready” to play against Detroit, but the team decided to give him one more week. — Brady Henderson