NFL Player News
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Justin Fields QB | KC
Bears' Justin Fields: Dealing with bruised hand
Fields suffered a bruised left hand in Sunday's loss to the Packers, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Fields wasn't sidelined due to his injury Sunday, and coach Matt Nagy didn't sound too concerned about the issue Monday. The issue is to Fields' non-throwing hand, and he isn't expected to miss any time. While the Bears could monitor the rookie's workload during practice this week, especially because Andy Dalton (hand) was unavailable Week 14, it wouldn't be surprising to see Fields play Monday against Minnesota.
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P.J. Walker QB | SEA
Panthers' P.J. Walker: Expected to be part of game plan
Coach Matt Rhule said Monday that the plan is to continue to play both Walker and Cam Newton, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Walker has played exactly 15 offensive snaps in each of the last two contests, completing 50 percent of his 22 passes for 162 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Rhule reiterated after the 29-21 loss that Cam Newton remains the starting quarterback, but he won't hesitate to give Walker a chance if the offense is struggling, which it has during the past two games. Nonetheless, as long as Newton remains in the picture, Walker's fantasy potential is hindered. Both signal-callers face an interesting test Week 15 as the Panthers will travel to Buffalo to face a struggling Bills defense.
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Sam Darnold QB | SEA
Panthers' Sam Darnold: Late return still possible
Coach Matt Rhule said Monday that it's a "possibility" Darnold (shoulder) returns down the stretch, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.
Rhule also noted that Darnold still is a few weeks away from being fully recovered, per David Newton of ESPN.com, so it appears that his earliest possible chance to come off IR might be Week 16. Cam Newton has proven to be mistake prone and struggled to move Carolina's offense through the air since his reunion with the team, and David Newton reports that he and P.J. Walker may split reps under center going forward. As a result, Rhule still has real motivation to explore other possibilities at quarterback.
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Aaron Rodgers QB | PIT
Packers' Aaron Rodgers: Hopes to avoid minor surgery
Rodgers hopes to avoid minor surgery to immobilize his fractured toe, but he did acknowledge it as a possibility Sunday night after aggravating the injury during a 45-30 win over the Bears, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. "That would be last resort, for sure," Rodgers said. "But I've got to see what kind of setback it was tonight."
While surgery wouldn't automatically mean missing a game, Rodgers hopes to avoid it after throwing for 300-plus yards and multiple touchdowns in each of his first three contests since suffering the toe fracture. He said a decision would come Monday after more testing, with Rodgers aiming for a plan that would allow him to play this Sunday in Baltimore. Kurt Benkert served as Rodgers' backup for the primetime win over Chicago, with Jordan Love (illness) on the reserve/COVID-19 list since last Monday (Dec. 6).
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Josh Allen QB | BUF
Bills' Josh Allen: Mild case of turf toe, per report
Allen, who had a walking boot on his lower left leg after Sunday's 33-27 loss to the Buccaneers, is dealing with a mild case of turf toe, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Per Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com, the quarterback is slated to undergo additional tests Monday. For his part, Allen, who continued to play on after suffering the injury, says he doesn't "think it's going to be a big deal." For now, consider the signal-caller day-to-day in advance of the Bills' Week 15 game against the Panthers.
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Case Keenum QB | CHI
Browns' Case Keenum: Enters for two snaps
Keenum played two snaps and did not attempt a pass in Sunday's 24-22 win over the Ravens.
Keenum entered the contest after a sack of starter Baker Mayfield forced him to the sidelines for evaluation. The backup handed off the ball to D'Ernest Johnson for a couple of plays before the Browns punted. Mayfield was back in the game by the time Cleveland had possession again.
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Justin Fields QB | KC
Bears' Justin Fields: Combines for 300+ yards plus 3 TOs
Fields (ribs) completed 18 of 33 pass attempts for 224 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing nine times for 74 yards in Sunday's 45-30 loss to Green Bay. He also lost a fumble.
The entire Bears' unit put up an exciting fight against the Packers for the majority of the contest, but Fields didn't have a particularly strong game in terms of passing. The rookie quarterback was returning from a rib injury that cost him two weeks of action, but it wasn't like he was performing that well from the pocket prior to getting hurt (58 percent completion rate with a 6:10 TD:INT prior to Sunday's loss). The Vikings have been one of the worst passing defenses this season, so perhaps Fields can offer streaming value in next Monday's divisional matchup.
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Aaron Rodgers QB | PIT
Packers' Aaron Rodgers: Carves up Bears' secondary
Rodgers (toe) completed 29 of 37 pass attempts for 341 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday's 45-30 win over the Bears, but Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Rodgers suffered a setback with his fractured toe and will have the injury reexamined.
Chicago appeared to use Rodgers' comment about his relationship with the team as bulletin board material in the first half of this contest, but the cream eventually rose to the top in yet another win for the quarterback in this rivalry. The 38-year-old has been on an absolute roll recently, passing for 1,033 yards with 10 touchdowns and no turnovers over his last three games. It was reported that the toe that Rodgers injured three weeks ago will continue to bother the quarterback for the rest of the season, but it clearly hasn't affected his play on the field. Assuming Rodgers is able to continue playing through his toe injury, the next defense that has to deal with the star quarterback will be the Ravens next Sunday.
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Taylor Heinicke QB | LAC
Football Team's Taylor Heinicke: Getting MRI on knee
Heinicke will have an MRI on Monday on the knee injury he suffered Sunday against Dallas, but he's optimistic he'll be able to start in Week 15 against the Eagles, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Heinicke was replaced by Kyle Allen in what ended up being a 27-20 loss to the Cowboys. Schefter reports that Heinicke's optimism about his status moving forward is shared by his team, but a more definitive prognosis on the starting quarterback's injury should emerge once his MRI results become available.
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Joe Burrow QB | CIN
Bengals' Joe Burrow: Big numbers in tough loss
Burrow completed 25 of 34 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 26-23 overtime loss to the 49ers.
The Bengals' offense was sluggish through three quarters before Burrow caught fire in the fourth, hitting Ja'Marr Chase for a pair of scores to force extra time and then leading Cincy to a field goal on the opening possession of OT. However, San Francisco responded with a game-winning touchdown when they got their turn with the ball. Burrow's dislocated pinkie finger didn't stop him from reaching 300 yards for the second straight game and tossing multiple TDs for the first time since Week 8, but he faces a tough test in Week 15 on the road against the Broncos.