NFL Player News

Mayfield said after Monday's 26-14 loss to the Steelers that he will require surgery to address the labrum tear in his left shoulder, but he'll confer with his agent and family before deciding whether to go under the knife prior to the Browns' Week 18 game against the Bengals or wait until the offseason, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

Even if Mayfield decides to postpone the procedure until the offseason, he may still sit out Week 18, given that the Browns are already eliminated from playoff contention in addition to the fact that he's also battled left foot soreness and a right knee contusion this season. Mayfield has been playing through the torn labrum since Week 2, and though the injury is to his non-throwing arm, playing with his left shoulder in a harness may have had at least some effect on his poor play in 2021. The 26-year-old suffered through another rough outing in Pittsburgh on Monday, taking nine sacks and throwing two interceptions while also tossing 10 consecutive incompletions at one point during the contest. The Browns and Mayfield could mutually decide that it's in his best interest to rest for the regular-season finale, which would allow Case Keenum to nab his second start of the campaign.

Sudfeld reverted to the 49ers' practice squad Monday.

Sudfeld was elevated to serve as Trey Lance's backup with Jimmy Garoppolo (thumb) out against the Texans. The Indiana product could again get the call in Week 18 depending on Garappolo's health.

Mayfield completed 16 of 38 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in Monday night's 26-14 loss to the Steelers.

Mayfield found Jarvis Landry for a 20-yard gain on his first throw before things went south. In fact, amid passes being batted down by opponents and dropped by his teammates, Mayfield's next 10 attempts were incomplete, marking a record by a quarterback this season. That streak also included an interception, which was the result on Mayfield's final throw of the night as well. In his defense, the signal-caller was under siege most of the game, taking a career-high nine sacks, and Mayfield at least contributed a pair of touchdown tosses in the second half. Still, after four picks in his outing prior, Mayfield's showing Monday didn't do anything to raise his stock heading into Week 18's finale versus the Bengals.

Browning reverted to the Bengals' practice squad Monday.

Browning was put on the active roster ahead of Week 17 in case Brandon Allen wasn't able to return from the COVID list. The Washington product will have to keep waiting for an opportunity to make his NFL debut.

Fromm is lined up to serve as the Giants' starting quarterback for Sunday's season finale against Washington after head coach Joe Judge said Monday that Mike Glennon (wrist) won't be available, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

Glennon is headed for surgery on his left (non-throwing) wrist, an injury the veteran signal-caller picked up during his dreadful four-completion, four-turnover outing in the 29-3 loss to the Bears in Week 17. The Giants swapped back to Glennon for the Week 17 contest after Fromm struggled mightily in his first career start against the Eagles in Week 16, when he completed six of 17 attempts for 25 yards and one interception before being benched midway through the third quarter. Glennon showed last week that the floor for the New York passing attack can be even lower, but Fromm's initial start doesn't offer much evidence that he'll be a dramatically better option. Even if the game versus Washington starts to turn non-competitive in the second half, it wouldn't be surprising if the Giants leaned heavily on the ground attack rather than relying on Fromm's arm to grind out first downs.

Lock (shoulder) is expected to start Saturday's game against the Chiefs, Ben Swanson of the Broncos' official site reports.

Coach Vic Fangio said Monday that Teddy Bridgewater remains in the concussion protocol and signaled that Lock is in line to start if Bridgewater is unavailable. The 2019 second-rounder briefly exited Sunday's loss to the Chargers in the first half due to a shoulder injury but was able to return to the field. Lock said after the game that he didn't think the injury impacted his play much, but the team likely will monitor his health in practice ahead of Saturday's regular-season finale. If Lock isn't able to play, Brett Rypien likely would be next in line to start.

Coach John Harbaugh said Monday that Jackson (ankle) has a chance to play Sunday against Pittsburgh, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Harbaugh said that Jackson has been pushing to play recently, but he was forced to miss a third consecutive game in Sunday's loss to the Rams. The 24-year-old was limited in last Wednesday's practice before being kept off the field Thursday and Friday, and he'll likely need to log more practice time ahead of Week 18 if he hopes to return against the Steelers. If Jackson remains sidelined, Tyler Huntley would be in line for another start.

Coach Vic Fangio said Monday that Bridgewater remains in the concussion protocol, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Bridgewater has missed each of the last two games after sustaining a concussion Week 15, and Drew Lock (shoulder) has served as the Broncos' starter since then. It's not yet clear whether Bridgewater will be cleared to return in time for Saturday's regular-season finale against Kansas City, but Lock likely will start again if the 2014 first-rounder is out.

Boyle completed 22 of 37 passes for 262 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions during Sunday's 51-29 loss to Seattle. He added 14 rushing yards on one attempt.

Boyle didn't do much until Detroit was down 38-7 minutes into the third quarter, which the Eastern Kentucky product had opened with an interception on the first offensive play. While Boyle subsequently was able to pad his stats with a couple of touchdowns to Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackle Taylor Decker, the Lions were never really in the game thanks to a terrible defensive showing that admittedly would be hard for any quarterback to overcome. That Detroit never turned to David Blough at any point suggests Boyle will remain under center Week 18 against Green Bay if Jared Goff (knee) still is unable to play, but we'd expect his production to be more similar to Week 16 against the Falcons (187 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception) than what Boyle was able to put up in garbage time against the Seahawks, who were decimated by injuries and COVID-related absences by the time Boyle made any noise.

Heinicke will start Sunday's game against the Giants, Matthew Paras of The Washington Times reports.

Heinicke once again struggled during Sunday's Week 17 loss to the Eagles and completed 27 of 36 passes for 247 yards, no touchdowns and an interception while rushing twice for 14 yards. He's now thrown at least one interception in each of the last five games, but coach Ron Rivera confirmed Monday that the 28-year-old will remain the starter for Washington's regular-season finale.