Three injured players return to practice Thursday

The three players who left practice early on Wednesday were Matt Shaughnessy (shoulder), Juron Criner (hip), and Mike Mitchell (ankle). At the time, the severity of their injuries was unknown. They were listed as practicing with limited participation on Thursday's injury report which is great news and suggests the injuries were minor.

On the other hand, Desmond Bryant did not practice on Thursday. He suffered an elbow injury against the Jaguars on Sunday and the injury was not thought to be serious by coach Dennis Allen. He was limited on Wednesday and it is uncertain whether his nonparticipation in practice Thursday is simply to give the elbow some rest or if it signals anything worse.

Also not practicing were OT Khalif Barnes (groin), and CB Shawntae Spencer (foot). Both have not practiced or played for much of the season and the timetable for return is unknown.

The limited participation list was a long one again. It included the three listed above as well as Keenan Clayton (shoulder), Richard Gordon (hamstring), Sebastian Janikowski (left groin), Taiwan Jones (knee), Richard Seymour (knee), Rod Streater (knee), and Dave Tollefson (shoulder).