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Week 3 active/inactive roundup: Jackson, Allen cleared to play

Week 2 saw another handful of key players fall victim to injuries. Here's who's in and who's out for Week 3 of the NFL season: Active DeSean Jackson, WR,
Week 3 active/inactive roundup: Jackson, Allen cleared to play
Week 3 active/inactive roundup: Jackson, Allen cleared to play

Week 2 saw another handful of key players fall victim to injuries. Here's who's in and who's out for Week 3 of the NFL season:

Active

DeSean Jackson, WR, Washington Redskins (shoulder): We don't know how long DeSean will be able to go in his revenge kick against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, but he will indeed go against his old team today. Jackson suffered a injury to his left AC joint last week against the Jaguars, but it was determined that it was a bruise to an old injury as opposed to a new one. Through the week of practice, it was reported that Jackson didn't look 100 percent when reaching above his body to catch passes, and new starting quarterback Kirk Cousins isn't necessarily a deep-threat thrower, so we'll have to see how much of a factor Jackson is against the Eagles.

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Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers (groin): Allen has been one of the more important targets in the NFL this season, given his ability to run good routes and open things up for his teammates even when he isn't catching passes. Allen was listed as questionable this week, dealing with a groin injury, but he'll go against the Bills today. Look for this matchup of underrated players: Allen, who has befuddled cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman so far this season, should line up against Bills cornerback Corey Graham.

A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (toe): Bengals fans held their collective breath all week after it was revealed that Green suffered a toe injury against the Falcons. But he went through practice this week, and he'll start against the Titans on Sunday.

Inactive

Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals (shoulder): For the second straight week, according to multiple reports, the Cardinals will go with Drew Stanton at quarterback in place of Palmer, whose nerve issue in his throwing shoulder may stem from a neck injury he suffered in Arizona's Week 1 win over the Chargers. In a 25-14 win over the New York Giants last Sunday, Stanton completed 14-of-29 passes for 167 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Against San Francisco's defense, Stanton may face a stiffer challenge, if only in playing catch-up with a 49ers offense that is more dangerous than Big Blue's.

Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans (hamstring): Foster had an NFL-high 55 carries through the Texans' first two games, and it's possible that head coach Bill O'Brien should have divided the workload. Foster will be out against the Giants, which means that rookie Alfred Blue will get the majority of reps against the Giants' struggling defense.

Bernard Pierce, RB, Baltimore Ravens (thigh): More running back issues for the Ravens, only this is an on-field thing. Pierce, expected to be Baltimore's main man in the backfield after Ray Rice's release, will miss today's game against the Browns with a thigh injury. You'll see a lot of Justin Forsett in Pierce's place, with Lorenzo Taliaferro expected to be the change-of-pace back against Cleveland's formidable run defense.


Published
Doug Farrar
DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009,  Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine.  He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.