NFL notebook: Vikings RB Cook might return vs. Lions

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who has missed the last three games and five of the last six because of a hamstring injury, might play Sunday against the Detroit Lions. On Friday, Cook was listed as questionable, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Cook is healthy enough that the Vikings plan to give him limited snaps against the Lions (3-4). He was injured in the second game of the season against the Green Bay Packers. "It's a learning tool and I've just been learning through the whole process," said Cook, who has practiced on a limited basis this week. "Just been gaining knowledge from my teammates, all the older guys, the guys in my room, just been pushing me through it. "I've been learning through this whole process and I'm just trying to become a better player and better person. That's what I've been getting from the whole experience and it's nothing negative. Yeah, I've been injured and banged up. But just learning through the whole experience. Once I get back, it's going to be on." The Vikings (4-3) have missed Cook's explosiveness and versatility during his absence, even though Latavius Murray has filled in well while taking over the No. 1 running back spot in the last month. Cook rushed for 98 yards on 36 carries and added 107 yards on nine receptions in three games to start the season before being injured. Murray has rushed for 386 yards and four touchdowns on 82 carries this season. --Running back Melvin Gordon was a full participant in practice on Friday, but the Los Angeles Chargers listed him as questionable for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks because of a hamstring injury. Gordon missed the Chargers' victory over the Tennessee Titans at Wembley Stadium in London two weeks ago before their bye week. "We'll see," Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said, according to ESPN. "I don't want to speak for Melvin, but if he's feeling well, I know he wants to play." Without Gordon, the Chargers were limited to 47 yards on 16 carries in their 20-19 victory over the Titans on Oct. 21. The week before, in a 38-14 win at Cleveland, he rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Gordon has rushed for 466 yards and six touchdowns on 91 carries this season in addition to catching 30 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns. --Wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been cleared to play Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams play the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. Kupp has not played since he sustained a knee injury on Oct. 14 in a game against the Denver Broncos. Having Kupp available will help the Rams exploit any openings in the Saints' defense as they try to put the clamps on running back Todd Gurley and the Rams' ground game. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound Kupp, who was selected in the third round (69th overall) of the 2017 draft out of Eastern Washington, has 30 receptions for 348 yards and five touchdowns this season. As a rookie, he caught 62 balls for 869 yards and two scores. --Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams underwent surgery on his right thumb and will miss Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. Williams suffered a dislocated thumb last week against the New York Giants. Redskins coach Jay Gruden on Friday did not give a definitive timetable for the absence of Williams. "We will take it week to week," Gruden told reporters, per the Washington Post. Williams has been named to the Pro Bowl each of the past six seasons and has made 113 NFL starts. The 30-year-old Williams was the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. --An outstanding night by the San Francisco 49ers was tarnished by an ugly injury to Raheem Mostert. The fourth-year running back suffered a broken right arm in Thursday's 34-3 rout of the Oakland Raiders and likely is out for the season. He exited the field wearing an air cast. Mostert was injured at the end of the run in the third quarter when his right arm bend back awkwardly after he planted his hand to break his fall. "They didn't tell me, but I assume (his season is over)," coach Kyle Shanahan said, per NBC Bay Area Sports after the game. --Just as wide receiver Rashard Higgins was returning to practice with the Cleveland Browns, rookie Antonio Callaway turned an ankle Thursday and was unable to practice Friday. It's unclear if either player will be available for Sunday's home game against the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs. The Browns entered the preseason with a glut of talent at the position, acquiring Jarvis Landry from Miami via trade and drafting Callaway to go along with holdovers Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman. The trades of Coleman and Gordon, along with the early struggles of Callaway, provided an opportunity for Higgins, who had 15 of his 16 catches in a four-game stretch before spraining a medial collateral ligament that forced him to sit out the past three games. --Four days after returning to the lineup, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Geronimo Allison could be back on the shelf. Allison sustained a groin injury during Thursday's practice, putting his availability in doubt for Sunday's matchup against the New England Patriots. "We'll see where he is tomorrow," Packers coach Mike McCarthy told reporters after Thursday's practice, per ESPN. Allison had missed two games because of a concussion and hamstring injury before returning against the Los Angeles Rams last weekend. He had one catch for 14 yards. --Despite his stunning performance in Thursday night's romp over the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers are not committing to giving quarterback Nick Mullens another start. Mullens passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns to guide the 49ers to a 34-3 mauling of their Bay Area rival. "It's everything I dreamed of. It's only one game, though," Mullens said in a postgame interview on FOX Sports. "I've been in the organization for two years, just trying to learn as much as I could, prepare like I'm the starter every week. This week was my week." Still, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was not ready to anoint Mullens the start for the 49ers' next game on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants on Nov. 12. "Yeah, definitely we'll consider it," Shanahan told reporters after the game of Mullens possibly getting a second straight start after he received his opportunity to start because of an injury to backup quarterback C.J. Beathard. Starter Jimmy Garoppolo is out for the season with a knee injury. --The Denver Broncos activated safety Su'a Cravens from the injured reserve list on Friday and promoted wide receiver River Cracraft to the active roster from the practice squad. To make room on the roster, the Broncos waived wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. The 6-foot-1, 224-pound Cravens was acquired by Denver from the Washington Redskins and began the season on injured reserve because of a knee injury. Cravens played 11 games, with three starts, for the Redskins as a rookie before spending last season on the Redskins' exempt list. He was selected by Washington in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2016 draft out of USC. --Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced Friday that former executive Gil Brandt will become the 22nd member of the team's Ring of Honor. Brandt will be inducted during a ceremony on Nov. 29 at halftime of the Cowboys' Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. "When Jerry called me with the news, it was on par with walking off the field after winning the Super Bowl," said the 85-year-old Brandt, who spent 29 seasons -- through 1988 -- in the Cowboys' front office as the team's lead scout and contract negotiator. Brandt personally acquired via the draft or trade 15 of the 19 Dallas players who are in the Cowboys' Ring of Honor. As the Cowboys' vice president of player personnel, Brandt was responsible for the acquisition of 15 players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and 53 who made the Pro Bowl at least once.