NFL Player News

Hurts (ankle) practiced in full Thursday.

Hurts got in his first uncapped session one day earlier than he did last week, paving the way for him to be under center for the Eagles on Sunday at Washington. When he faced the Football Team two weeks ago, he completed 20 of 26 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown and one interception while turning eight carries into 38 yards and two more scores in the team's 27-17 win.

Winston's doctor shared a video Thursday featuring the quarterback throwing a football without any visible limitations for the first time since undergoing surgery last month to repair a torn ACL and a damaged MCL in his left knee, Luke Johnson of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. "Jameis is looking great [and] progressing extremely well in his recovery following knee surgery," Dr. Kevin Wilk wrote in the caption for the video. "He's ahead of schedule [and] we have to hold him back at times!"

Winston's ability to run at full speed in a straight line and change direction without any discomfort at some point down the road will ultimately provide a better indication that he's 100 percent following surgery, but the fact that he's walking around without the aid of crutches and taking part in some football-related activities is a good early sign for his rehab. The 27-year-old, who will be a free agent at season's end, likely won't be fully healed for the start of OTAs, but he appears as though he's on the right track toward being available for Week 1 of the 2022 season, if not sooner than that.

Rodgers (toe) didn't practice Thursday, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

Rodgers has gutted out a broken toe over the last five games and even aggravated the injury this past Saturday against the Browns. Still, he's been on point during that span, with three 300-yard efforts and 16 touchdowns versus no interceptions. If past weeks are any indication, Rodgers won't have a game-day designation once the Packers post their final Week 17 practice report Friday.

Jackson (ankle) isn't practicing Thursday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

As Hensley notes, this comes a day after Jackson was limping badly during Wednesday's session. Now that he's off the reserve/COVID-19 list, Tyler Huntley is expected to handle the Ravens' first-team QB reps Thursday. In light of Jackson's absence, what he's able to do Friday will be telling with regard to his status for Sunday's game against the Rams, but now that Huntley is back in the mix, Baltimore's signal-caller situation is less taxed that this past weekend, when Josh Johnson drew a spot start and Kenji Bahar served as his backup.

Johnson should return to a backup role Sunday against the Rams after Tyler Huntley (illness) was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Johnson was relatively effective as a spot starter in Sunday's loss to the Bengals, as he completed 28 of 40 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while rushing twice for 10 yards. However, Lamar Jackson (ankle) has returned to practice in a limited capacity this week, and Huntley will likely be in line to fill in as the starter against Los Angeles if Jackson isn't deemed ready to return.

Baltimore activated Huntley (illness) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Huntley missed this past weekend's loss to the Bengals, and with Lamar Jackson (ankle) also out, Josh Johnson was pressed into a spot start. As Sunday's game against the Rams approaches, Jackson is trending in the right direction after logging a limited practice Wednesday. If, however, Jackson doesn't progress as hoped in the coming days, Huntley once again is available to fill in.

Barkley was claimed off waivers by the Falcons on Wednesday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Barkley was waived by the Panthers on Tuesday and will remain in the NFC South with the Falcons. Feleipe Franks tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, so Barkley provide quarterback depth along with Josh Rosen behind starter Matt Ryan.

Though Lock was limited in practice Wednesday due to an ankle injury, Ryan O'Halloran of the Denver Post indicates that all signs continue to point to the QB starting Sunday's game against the Chargers.

At this stage, fellow signal caller Teddy Bridgewater, who suffered a concussion on back on Dec. 18, remains in the NFL's concussion protocol and Lock is trending toward his second straight start for the Broncos, in spite of the ankle issue that popped up on Wednesday's injury report.

Garoppolo (thumb) was held out of practice Wednesday, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan went into more detail Wednesday on the nature of Garoppolo's injury, labeling it as a Grade 3 sprain of the UCL in his right thumb that "pulled off a fleck of the bone," per Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News. According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Garoppolo won't require surgery and has a shot to suit up Sunday against the Texans, which the quarterback himself mentioned during media availability Wednesday. In order to so, Garoppolo may have to log at least a limited session before week's end. If Garoppolo ends up sidelined for Week 17, rookie first-round pick Trey Lance would earn the second start of his career.

The Saints activated Siemian (illness) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Likewise for Taysom Hill (illness), allowing the Saints to have a more desirable Hill-Siemian setup at the top of the quarterback depth chart heading into Sunday's game against the Panthers. Siemian will serve as Hill's backup moving forward, while Week 16 starter Ian Book slides back down to third in the pecking order.