NFL Player News

Smith was arrested Monday in King County, Wash. on suspicion of DUI, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports. "Geno is fully cooperative with the investigation. I hope that an open mind can be kept by all as the facts are ascertained," Smith's attorney Jon Fox said in a statement regarding the incident.

Smith was arrested at 2:10 a.m. local time and released from a King County correctional facility at 9:27 a.m. on his personal recognizance. Head coach Pete Carroll relayed that Smith was present at the Seahawks facility later Monday to take part in end-of-season meetings, so the team will presumably leave it to the NFL to decide whether the 31-year-old quarterback is subject to a fine and/or suspension. Smith, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March, appeared in four games (three starts) during his second season in Seattle, completing 65 of 95 attempts for 702 yards and a 5:1 TD:INT to go with 42 rushing yards and one score on the ground.

Coach Sean McVay said Monday that Stafford injured his toe during a Week 18 loss to the 49ers, Cameron DeSilva of USA Today reports.

Stafford was seen limping around during Sunday's game, which inhibited McVay from calling plays like designed rollouts. In the end, Stafford put together a fair performance, completing 21 of 32 passes for 238 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while playing all 65 snaps on offense. McVay relayed Stafford should be OK to play in next Monday's wild-card game against the Cardinals, but it seems as if the quarterback will be under some restrictions once the Rams get on the practice field later this week.

Garoppolo (thumb) will follow a similar practice plan in advance of Sunday's wild-card game at Dallas as he did during Week 18 prep, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Coach Kyle Shanahan told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area on Monday that the 49ers will have half-speed sessions Wednesday and Friday with a full practice Thursday, as they've been operating under for awhile. If Garoppolo has a similar regimen to last week, he'll be limited in all three as he continues to deal with a sprained right thumb. The issue didn't make an impact in the box score during Sunday's overtime win at the Rams, with the quarterback completing 23 of 32 passes for 316 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while playing all 70 offensive snaps. Shanahan added that Garoppolo came out of the game fine on the health front, so he shouldn't have a problem being able to play this coming weekend.

Boyle completed 61 of 94 passes for 526 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions over five game appearances in 2021. He added 13 rushing yards on two carries.

On the surface, Boyle was beyond underwhelming as a fill-in starter during the three games that Jared Goff missed this season. The Eastern Kentucky product threw more picks than touchdowns in each appearance while clearing 200 yards once and averaging 5.6 yards per pass attempt, which would have ranked last among starting QBs if Boyle had attempted enough passes to make the leaderboard. However, Goff only ranked 27th in that category with a 6.6 YPA, and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn suggested in early January that he is content with Boyle as a backup quarterback, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. While Boyle is now set to become an unrestricted free agent at year's end, it sounds like both parties may have interest in a reunion for the 2022 campaign.

Jones (neck) said Monday that he doesn't have any limitations when lifting, running and throwing, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports.

Jones missed the final six games of the regular season due to his neck injury but doesn't expect the issue to be a long-term concern. The 24-year-old won't face contact until at least August, and he said Monday that he expects to be fully cleared by this summer. Across his 11 appearances in 2021, Jones completed 232 of 361 passes for 2,428 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing 62 times for 298 yards and two touchdowns.

Walker will sign a one-year contract extension with the Panthers on Monday, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

Walker appeared in six games for the Panthers during his second season with the team, and he completed 36 of 66 passes for 362 yards, a touchdown and an interception while rushing seven times for 13 yards. Since Sam Darnold remains under contract with Carolina for the 2022 season, Walker should compete for a backup role during the offseason.

Coach Pete Carroll said Monday he expects Wilson to remain the Seahawks' starting quarterback in the 2022 campaign, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

Carroll responded, "[Wilson's] our quarterback," when asked about the standout veteran's future in Seattle. Of course, the Seahawks will have ample time to mull over any personnel decisions during the upcoming offseason, and there's plenty of precedence that says coach's comments in early January shouldn't exactly be considered a guarantee. A serious finger injury caused Wilson to miss three contests during the 2021 campaign, and upon returning he logged a seven-game slump with only an 8:4 TD:INT. However, Wilson looked more like himself during the final two games of the season, when he posted eight total touchdowns and just one interception.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said Monday, after the firing of coach Brian Flores, that a decision on whether or not to stick with Tagovailoa under center will be up to the next coaching staff, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

Ross said he "has a lot of confidence" in Tagovailoa, per Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network, but he also noted that it will be up to the next head coach to make a decision about the Dolphins' starting quarterback for 2022. When asked, Ross said he currently has "no plans" to pursue Deshaun Watson this offseason, per Safid Deen of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, but the fact that non-commmital langauge is being used to describe Tagovailoa's job security after a coaching change would seem to speak volumes. Prior to the 2021 in-season trade deadline, Miami reportedly pursued a potential deal involving Watson. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa finished with an uninspiring 17:10 TD:INT and 2,762 passing yards across 14 appearances in his sophomore season, and he only reached the 300-yard mark through the air on one occasion. That said, he did showcase solid chemistry with rookie first-round pick Jaylen Waddle, and battled through both rib injuries and unreliable O-line play.

Tagovailoa completed 15 of 22 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown and gained 38 rushing yards on five carries in Sunday's 33-24 win over the Patriots.

Aside from a seven-yard TD strike to Jaylen Waddle in the first quarter, Tagovailoa didn't contribute much to the Dolphins' victory, instead allowing Duke Johnson and the defense to do most of the heavy lifting. The second-year QB failed to reach 200 passing yards in three of his last four games this season, wrapping up the campaign with a sharp 67.8 percent completion rate but far more pedestrian 17:10 TD:INT and 2,762 passing yards through 14 games, and Tua may not have done enough to dissuade the Dolphins from bringing in competition, or even an outright replacement for him, this offseason.

Carr completed 20 of 36 pass attempts for 186 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 35-32 win over the Chargers.

It wasn't Carr's finest performance, but he made the necessary throws on the back of a strong rushing performance by Josh Jacobs (26-132-1) to secure the win and a playoff berth for the Raiders. It was a voluminous regular season for the veteran, as he set new career highs in completions (428) and passing yards (4,804). The 30-year-old's 23:19 TD:TO ratio is what held him back from truly taking that next step in fantasy circles. Carr may be asked to shoulder more of the offensive load in a playoff matchup against the high-powered Bengals next week.