Friday NFL preview: Injuries have stars' status up in the air
— -- NFL Nation reporters look ahead to what Friday has in store for each team.
AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills: The Bills' preparations for the Patriots hit a speed bump Thursday when LeSean McCoy left practice with hamstring tightness. The Bills listed him as a limited participant on their injury report and will have to assign him a status (out, doubtful, questionable or probable) for Sunday's game vs. New England. Expect word on that to come around 12:30 p.m. ET. -- Mike Rodak
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens are sticking with wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. as their punt returner. The 36-year-old Smith would rank as one of the oldest returners in NFL history. Baltimore doesn't believe it's a risk to use its No. 1 wide receiver in that role. "The way we look at it, we want to put our best football team out there," Ravens special teams coach Jerry Rosburg said. -- Jamison Hensley
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans: Texans coach Bill O'Brien is creating a competitive environment for his players, and reminding them that their positions are never safe. He added two players to the team's 53-man roster this week, and traded one. O'Brien said Thursday that might not be the end of his moves before the week's over. -- Tania Ganguli
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos: The Broncos again split the carries fairly evenly between C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman in Thursday night's win over the Chiefs. After each getting 12 carries in the season opener, Anderson got 12 in the win over the Chiefs and Hillman got nine. Coach Gary Kubiak has only vowed to find a way to run the ball better as an offense, which could mean more carries overall, but it also likely means the two backs simply split more carries overall as well. -- Jeff Legwold
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys: Safety J.J. Wilcox suffered a broken nose and needed eight stitches to close a gash after a hit he put on Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the first series last week. The Cowboys believe that physical play set a tone for the game, and they will need that again this week against Philadelphia's receivers. "That's a great start when you get those guys back there with a hit like that," defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. "You know where he's at." -- Todd Archer
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears: The key player to watch on Friday is outside linebacker Pernell McPhee, who skipped Thursday's workout with wrist and knee injuries. The Bears brought McPhee to Chicago to rush the passer. In a backup role, McPhee had 7.5 sacks for the Baltimore Ravens last year. The Bears, however, had little pass-rush against Green Bay in Week 1. Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer is far less mobile than Aaron Rodgers, but the Bears need McPhee at close to full strength to harass Palmer on Sunday. The official injury report listed McPhee as limited on Wednesday, meaning he's regressed. -- Jeff Dickerson
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons: No matter what day of the week it is, any mention of Julio Jones and a hamstring injury is a cause for alarm. But Falcons coach Dan Quinn insisted Jones would be ready to go for Sunday's road matchup with the New York Giants. And Quinn indicated Jones would be on the field for practice Friday. We'll see if Jones looks hobbled at all. He can dominate even if not 100 percent healthy. -- Vaughn McClure
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals: Friday will be make-or-break for running back Andre Ellington. If he can practice, he'll likely play. If he can't, then he'll won't play in Chicago and the ball will go to Chris Johnson as the feature back. -- Josh Weinfuss
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