Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders, son of head coach Deion Sanders, has been dealing with an unknown, undisclosed injury that has left his status up in the air against USC in Week 5. Will Sanders play this week, and if not, when will he return to action?

Shilo Sanders Injury Update

Sanders has been downgraded to doubtful to play against the eighth-ranked USC Trojans on Saturday, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Sanders didn’t practice this week after being taken to the emergency room following last week’s loss against Oregon. The senior safety told Well Off Media he was urinating blood due to a kidney injury.

“I can’t say I didn’t play hard. I’m peeing blood right now,” Sanders said after getting off the plane. “I made a tackle, and I landed on my kidney or something. I got to go to the ER to get checked.”

Sanders was marked as questionable to play throughout the week, but on Saturday, it was revealed that he was not expected to play. Rodrick Ward is expected to start in his place.

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Colorado already was at a major talent disadvantage in this game. Star receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter is out with his own lacerated kidney, and USC is one of the most powerful offenses in the nation. Losing Sanders further complicates things for a team that ranks 111th in passing defense.

Sanders has racked up 26 tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble in 2023. Previously an unheralded defender, the 6’0″, 195-pounder began his career at South Carolina before transferring to Jackson State when his father took the head coaching job. Sanders followed his father and his brother, Shedeur Sanders, to Colorado.

Shilo has emerged as a potential 2024 NFL Draft prospect in his own right. He has another year of eligibility, so there’s no guarantee he’ll come out this year.

We’ll continue to update this article as new information emerges.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jaylen Waddle is back for the Miami Dolphins, and not a moment too soon.

The third-year wide receiver cleared the concussion protocol Thursday, which is a big boon to a Dolphins receiver room that is banged up. River Cracraft is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, and Erik Ezukanma has a neck issue.

But the No. 1 reason why it’s important for the Dolphins to have Waddle on the field Sunday? Except for one terrible drop in the Dolphins-Bills playoff game in January, he kind of owns Buffalo.

From the current NFL standings to team depth charts to coverage of every game in the 18-week NFL schedule, we have all the news from around the league to keep you up to speed!

Awful drop by Jaylen Waddle in a big spot.

Why did he jump?pic.twitter.com/TRTWBSedRr

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 15, 2023

Miami Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle Set To Make His Return

In four regular-season games against the Bills, Waddle has 17 catches for 293 yards and a touchdown. His 17.2 yards-per-catch average against the Bills in his career is the second-highest among any teams he’s faced at least twice (Chargers, 18.2).

In two 2022 regular-season games last year, he was electric.

Waddle went 3-114-1 in the Dolphins’ Week 14 loss and 4-102-0 in their Week 3 win.

Quick math: That’s an absurd average of 30.9 yards per catch and 17.4 yards per target.

Now add that to a Dolphins offense that dropped 70 points a week ago against the Broncos, and the scoreboard operator at Highmark Stadium would be advised to get a good night’s rest on Saturday.

“Only time will tell, I guess,” Waddle said this week. “But 70 is historical. It’s a tribute to the guys that we’ve got that are unspoken heroes that really don’t get too much glory that go out there and play.”

What does Waddle’s return mean for Tyreek Hill?

“Guys can’t double then,” Hill said. “Teams aren’t able to just put me as the key focal point. You have two guys on the same team who can do literally the same thing. It’s more dangerous when we’re both on the field.“

So good luck to cornerback Christian Benford, who has allowed 15 yards per completion and a 99.3 passer rating this year. Plus, the Bills’ secondary is banged up, with safety Jordan Poyer (15.7 yards per completion, 113.5 passer rating) dealing with a knee injury.

But don’t sleep on the Bills’ defense, which has been opportunistic in 2023.

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They lead the NFL in opponent passer rating (54), interceptions (7), and turnovers (9) but are 16th in yards per pass allowed (6.4).

“You want to talk about making people pay for their mistakes,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said this week. “If they get their hands on any sort of ball, they are turning the ball over. It’s a very, very important thing to be good at.”

Antwane Wells had a massive amount of offseason hype surrounding him as an NFL Draft prospect for the Gamecocks. That focus has since shifted to teammate Xavier Legette, who is the nation’s leading receiver heading into the team’s fifth game. Wells’ foot injury is to blame for his absence, but it might also be why a diamond in the rough has been found.

As the potential 2024 NFL Draft prospect works to get back on the field, we have the latest on Wells’ injury status and what to expect from the playmaker.

Antwane “Juice” Wells Injury Update

Wells injured his left foot over the summer and had surgery on it during Fall camp. Although college football does not offer the kind of in-depth injury reports as the NFL, any foot injury for a wide receiver is a scary proposition. After working through it and trying to play in the first three weeks of the season, it was time to shut things down and let it heal.

“Let’s just let the foot settle down a little bit, see where we are, and then we’ll go from there,” head coach Shane Beamer said before last week’s game against Mississippi State.

Wells could miss significant time in 2023. Any kind of serious foot ailment in a wide receiver could hinder not only the present but the future. Wells is already a fifth-year player, and the NFL is coming up next. Risking long-term complications may not only hurt his play but also where he is selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, which gets into his wallet.

That’s not fair to him or his family, so it is nice to see that Beamer and the Gamecocks staff is at least facing this issue publicly with Wells’ best interest in mind.

The team ruled out Wells against Tennessee on Saturday night.

Current Draft Projection

Wells will receive the “possession WR” tag throughout the process, but that’s somewhat unfair. His nickname isn’t “Juice” for no reason.

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Wells is explosive. He’s also a stellar post-catch player displaying the kind of contact balance, creativity, and freedom of movement consistent with stellar route runners.

To reach his NFL Draft ceiling, he will need to transfer that free-flowing movement and reactive creativity into proactive attention to detail. That will allow Wells to create more consistent separation without having to rely on lean-and-drive tactics on in-breakers.

His stock was firmly inside the Day 2 range. If Wells participates in Indianapolis during the NFL Combine and tests well, teams might forget that he missed a good chunk of the 2023 college season. But he’ll need to pass the physical tests on the field and in the medical examination room.

If not, we could see another receiver with a Puka Nacua arc at the NFL level.