Bills sign WR Brandin Cooks

Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton is on his way back to the lineup.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters on Tuesday that the team will designate Hampton for return from injured reserve. Hampton has been out since suffering an ankle injury in Week 5.

Related players: Kimani Vidal

Hampton will be able to practice for the next 21 days and can be activated at any point in that window. The Chargers will play the Raiders this Sunday. This will be worth monitoring for Hampton fantasy owners to see if he'll be back this week. If the full window is used, he would return for Week 16. It's possible if he returns this week, he'll split the work with Vidal, but could at least be a flex option in a nice matchup.

Brian Schottenheimer said George Pickens will practice today.

Pickens seemed to hurt his knee (it's being described as knee/calf) during the Eagles game and did miss some time. However, he made is way back to the field and helped to clinch the game with a key catch at the end. It's a good sign he's back at practice and one would think he'll be good to go for Thanksgiving.

Could Michael Penix be the Falcons' Week 1 starter in 2026? Coach Raheem Morris said last week that he would not want to say no to that proposition. However, Morris also said that Penix's injury forces the Falcons to rethink their approach to the quarterback position in the offseason.

"You've definitely got to go and make some different plans," Morris said.

The story said Penix plans to have surgery very soon. As the story added, a full ACL reconstruction can have a player back in nine months, which in this case would mean August and perhaps some point during training camp. But there's no guarantee, especially for someone with Penix's injury history, the story pointed out. EPSN doesn't seem to think the bridge QB will be Cousins, unless he performs better rest of season. And, the story said Cousins likely won't restructure his deal, only to give the job back to Penix.