NFL Player News

Fox's Jay Glazer confirmed on their Sunday pregame show that Garoppolo (thumb) is expected to start and not share duties with Trey Lance in Sunday's game against the Rams.

What the Niners plan and what actually happens could be two different things - Garoppolo will have to demonstrate that his ability to throw isn't compromised in order to stay in the game. However, this report confirms the Niners view him as their best chance to prevail in this must-win game to make the playoffs.

Washington head coach Ron Rivera didn't close the door on the possibility of Allen having a role in the game plan behind starter Taylor Heinicke in Sunday's contest against the Giants, Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington reports. "We'll start off with Taylor, then we'll go from there," Rivera said.

Prior to Week 17, Rivera suggested that Allen would "probably" play behind Heinicke in both of the final two games of the regular season. That didn't come to fruition in the 20-16 loss to the Eagles last week, as Heinicke played all 61 of Washington's snaps on offense. Rivera could be more open to getting Allen some work in the season finale, but it may first take a poor showing from Heinicke early in the contest for the coach to turn the offense over to the backup quarterback. Allen's only two appearances this season have both come against the Cowboys in Week 14 and 16. On the first occasion, Heinicke missed a few plays with an injury, and on the second, Washington was resting him after the game turned into a blowout.

Goff (knee) is listed as active Sunday against the Packers.

Coming off a two-game absence in which he had a bout with COVID-19 and dealt with a knee injury that he sustained in his last appearance Week 15 versus the Cardinals, Goff logged three consecutive limited practices in advance of the season finale. It was enough to fulfill coach Dan Campbell's assertion that Goff was probable to play. Goff will look to put a cap on a modest first campaign in Detroit, which so far has included 3,007 yards, 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 67 percent passing in 13 appearances.

The Browns will plan to head into the offseason with the intention of retaining Mayfield (shoulder) as their starting quarterback entering 2022, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report.

Mayfield will miss Sunday's season finale against the Bengals while he rests up in advance of his Jan. 19 surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, an injury he had been playing through since Week 2. The 26-year-old also played through a number of other injuries during the campaign, with his poor health perhaps contributing to his underwhelming statistics (60.5 percent completion rate, 7.2 YPA, 17:13 TD:INT) over 14 outings. According to Rapoport and Pelissero, Mayfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski met Friday, and sources say the two are on the same page as the 2018 No. 1 overall pick enters the final year of his contract in 2022, which is worth a fully guaranteed $18.86 million. The report suggests that if Mayfield plays well under the final year of his deal, Cleveland could place its franchise tag on him next offseason or look to work out an extension with him entering 2023.

Garoppolo (thumb) remains listed as questionable but is expected to start Sunday's game against the Rams, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area report.

Adam Schefter of ESPN previously relayed that the 49ers were leaning toward going with Garoppolo, who was inactive Week 17, in Sunday's game. The quarterback practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday through Friday, and though he wasn't cleared ahead of the weekend, the 49ers' decision not to promote another signal-caller from the practice squad in advance of the Week 18 contest points to Garoppolo getting the nod over Trey Lance. Rapoport adds that players who saw Garoppolo throw in practice this week indicated that he looked normal when passing the ball.

Minshew completed 19 of 33 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in Saturday's 51-26 loss to the Cowboys.

Minshew got off to a decent start, capping the Eagles' opening drive with a three-yard shovel pass to Tyree Jackson for a touchdown. He later had a deep, would-be touchdown dropped by J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, who also couldn't haul in a pass that floated on Minshew before being intercepted in the second half. Fortunately, though, the signal-caller closed on a high note, hitting Quez Watkins for a 36-yard score with under two minutes remaining. Although usual starter Jalen Hurts (coach's decision) should reclaim his job for next weekend's playoff game after resting Saturday, Minshew at least embodies a serviceable backup if needed.

Lance is expected to move into a backup role for Sunday's game against the Rams with Jimmy Garoppolo (thumb) -- who is listed as questionable -- viewed as a better bet to be the 49ers' starting quarterback this weekend, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Lance stepped in for Garoppolo in Week 17 when the latter was held out due to a sprained right thumb en route to 16-for-23 passing for 249 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while turning eight carries into 31 yards. Garoppolo returned to the practice field Wednesday and proceeded to put together three consecutive limited practices, splitting reps with Lance. Head coach Kyle Shanahan likely wants the experienced hand to be under center with the 49ers requiring a win to reach the postseason. Ultimately, if Garoppolo gets the nod, Lance could be relegated to clipboard duty, as he was in nine of 11 games following the team's Week 6 bye.

Prescott completed 21 of 27 passes for 295 yards and five touchdowns in Saturday's 51-26 win over the Eagles.

Prescott was excellent in the first half, throwing for four touchdowns for the second time in his last three games. With another passing score to begin the fourth quarter -- his last play of the night -- Prescott set a career high in the category Saturday. The signal-caller did so while continuing to incorporate Cedrick Wilson in Michael Gallup's (knee) absence, boding well for the Cowboys' offensive options in the playoffs. While Prescott now enters the postseason on a high note, he finishes the regular season with a personal-best 37 passing touchdowns in 16 appearances as well.

The 49ers are leaning toward starting Garoppolo (thumb) on Sunday at the Rams, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Garoppolo split reps with rookie first-rounder Trey Lance while working as a limited practice participant all week. The 49ers need to win Sunday in order to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, so it appears Garoppolo showed enough progress with the Grade 3 sprain in his right thumb to be available to the offense. When he faced the Rams back in Week 10, he completed 15 of 19 passes for 182 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 31-10 victory.

Mahomes completed 27 of 44 pass attempts for 270 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday's 28-24 win over the Broncos. He also rushed the ball nine time for 54 yards.

Mahomes played the majority of the game without Tyreek Hill (heel), though he still managed to move the ball effectively. He showed particular rapport with Mecole Hardman, as the duo connected on gains of 44 and 21 yards. Meanwhile, Mahomes threw for multiple touchdowns for the fifth consecutive game, finding Travis Kelce for a three-yard score and Jerick McKinnon from 14 yards away. To round out his line, Mahomes topped 50 yards on the ground for only the second time this season. Though Mahomes hasn't surpassed 300 passing yards in six of his last seven starts, he will lead Kansas City into the playoffs with plenty of confidence after his solid showing.