NFL Player News

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Monday that Goff (illness) will return from the reserve/COVID-19 list and be ready to start Week 17 in Seattle, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.

Detroit has yet to officially activate Goff from the list, though that looks to be just a formality now that the quarterback has cleared the NFL's COVID-19 return-to-play protocol. Goff was able to test out of the protocol in one week, as he reportedly first contracted the virus last Monday. While Goff was sidelined for Sunday's 20-16 loss to the Falcons over the weekend, Tim Boyle stepped in for his second start of the season and completed 24 of 34 attempts for 187 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Barkley was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Barkley spent 10 days on the COVID list before gaining clearance. Now that he's healthy, he should revert to his role as the Panthers' No. 4 quarterback behind Cam Newton, Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker.

Head coach Ron Rivera said he expects Allen to appear in relief of starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke at some point during Sunday's game against the Eagles, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Though Heinicke will retain the top job heading into Week 17, his place atop the depth chart is on shaky ground on the heels of disastrous starts against the Cowboys that bookended a Week 15 absence against the Eagles while he was on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Between the two games against Dallas, Heinicke completed only 18 of 47 attempts (38.3 percent) for 243 yards (5.2 YPA) and a 2:3 TD:INT ratio, with Washington losing by a combined margin of 83-34. Allen, meanwhile, relieved Heinicke in both contests, though the latter's brief departure from the Week 15 loss was the result of an injury. In small samples of action in those games, Allen completed 12 of 19 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, but over a larger body of work in his first three professional seasons, the 25-year-old was one of the more turnover-prone signal-callers in the NFL. Assuming Rivera sticks to his plan to have both quarterbacks play Week 17, neither will be an appealing fantasy option while handling less than a full workload. Rivera is leaving the door open for Allen to potentially start the team's Jan. 9 season finale against the Giants if Heinicke struggles again Week 17.

Head coach Ron Rivera said that Heinicke will remain Washington's starting quarterback in Sunday's game against the Eagles, but backup Kyle Allen is expected to receive some reps in the contest, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

After both Heinicke and Allen weren't able to clear the NFL's COVID-19 protocols ahead of a Week 15 loss to Philadelphia, the two signal-callers were activated prior to the matchup with Dallas. Though he got in a pair of practices before the game, Heincke struggled to move the offense in an embarrassing 56-14 loss to the Cowboys, completing only seven of 22 attempts for 121 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions before he was benched in favor of Allen. The outcome was already decided by the time he took the field, but Allen looks like he'll get an opportunity to at least play a drive or two Week 17 after he completed eight of 10 attempts for 67 yards and a touchdown over his 17 snaps versus Dallas. Given the possibility that he won't handle a full workload against Philadelphia, Heinicke will be tough to trust for managers who may be thinking of using him in fantasy championship matchups.

Cincinnati placed Allen on the reserve/COVID-19 list after he tested positive for the virus, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Allen will need to clear the NFL's COVID-19 protocols before seeing action again, and the Bengals will be left without their top backup behind starter Joe Burrow for the time being. Jake Browning will slot in as Cincinnati's No. 2 quarterback until Allen returns.

Heinicke (illness) completed seven of 22 pass attempts for 121 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in Sunday's 56-14 loss to Dallas.

Heinicke returned from the reserve/COVID-19 list for this contest, only to be greeted with a rude welcome from a relentless Dallas defense. Washington started the second half down 42-7, so head coach Ron Rivera rolled out backup Kyle Allen -- who threw for 67 yards and a touchdown -- to get some work in garbage time. The Football Team may opt to go with Allen over Heinicke moving forward based off of the contrasting performances Sunday, with whoever ends up starting having the task of keeping Washington's slim playoff hopes alive against the Eagles in Week 17.

Prescott completed 28 of 39 pass attempts for 330 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 21 yards on four carries in Sunday's 56-14 rout of Washington.

This was one of Prescott's cleanest performances of his career, and he accomplished most of it in the first half alone. The star quarterback's gaudy results are even more impressive when you consider the same Washington defense picked him off twice and held him to 211 passing yards when the two teams met just two weeks ago. Prescott hadn't quite looked like his usual self in the seven games since returning from injury, but this dominant performance against a team that was fighting for its playoff life is a great sign for his fantasy managers at a pivotal point of the fantasy season. Prescott will look to build a hot streak in another important NFC showdown against the Cardinals next Sunday.

Carr completed 20 of 25 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown with an interception in Sunday's 17-13 win over the Broncos.

It wasn't a particularly productive performance for Carr, but it was an efficient one, and he led the Raiders on two second-half scoring drives to overcome a 13-7 halftime deficit. The 30-year-old QB has failed to toss multiple TDs in six straight games, managing only a 5:4 TD:INT over that stretch, but he's doing enough to keep his team in the playoff picture heading into a Week 17 clash with the Colts.

Mills completed 21 of 27 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Sunday's 41-29 win over the Chargers.

Mills continued to show signs of being a capable quarterback in the NFL, tallying lengthy touchdown passes of 41 and 13 yards. He was aided by a strong rushing offense and defensive performance from the Texans, though he also showed the ability to push the ball down the field effectively by completing four passes of more than 20 yards. Since taking over as the Texans' full-time starting quarterback in Week 14, Mills has thrown five touchdowns as opposed to only one interception while throwing for more than 250 yards in two of three games.

Cousins completed 27 of 38 passes for 315 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 30-23 loss to the Rams.

The Vikings were playing from behind for nearly the entire game, which allowed Cousins to rack up plenty of volume. He connected on four completions that went for over 20 yards with Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn and Adam Thielen (ankle). The result was only his third game with 300 or more passing yards in his last nine starts. Despite the gaudy yardage total, Cousins' fantasy production was held back by the fact that he managed to throw for only one touchdown, which came midway through the fourth quarter. Cousins may have to take to the air plenty once again in Week 17 for a matchup against the Packers.