Higher marks for NFL hiring

Report: Diversity most improved at league office level.

The NFL received a high grade for its racial hiring practices and a C+ for its gender hiring efforts in 2016, according to a diversity report released Wednesday.

The annual report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport gave the league its seventh consecutive A on racial hiring practices and a combined grade of B for hiring minorities and women. The second straight C+ indicates the NFL still has a long way to go in improving hiring opportunities for women.

The NFL’s greatest gains in both categories have come at the league office level, while the teams have been slow to become more diverse.

“The league itself is setting a kind of model for the teams that the teams haven’t fully followed and embraced,” said Dr. Richard Lapchick, the report card author.

Texans: J.J. Watt is out until at least December and could miss the rest of the season with an injured back,. Watt was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.

Cowboys: Dez Bryant has a slight hairline fracture in a bone in his right knee, though coach Jason Garrett said the receiver might not miss a game.

Seahawks: Quarterback Russell Wilson practiced Wednesday and all indications are he will be able to play Sunday against the Jets.

Wilson sprained the MCL in his left knee while being pulled down awkwardly by San Francisco’s Eli Harold on Sunday.