NFL Player News

Dalton (hand) won't take part in Wednesday's practice, Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Meanwhile, head coach Matt Nagy relayed Wednesday that Justin Fields (ribs) has been medically cleared and will start Sunday at Green Bay. Nagy also noted that it's unclear if Dalton or Nick Foles will serve as Fields' backup Week 14, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Such a determination likely will come down to Dalton mixing into drills in some capacity Thursday and/or Friday as he tends to an injury to his non-throwing hand, but in any case, he's back in a reserve role with Fields healthy.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy said Fields (ribs) has been medically cleared and will start Sunday's game at Green Bay, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

Fields missed the last two games after he suffered multiple small rib fractures in a Week 11 loss to the Ravens. Andy Dalton (hand) started for him in the interim, but now that Fields is healthy again, the rookie first-round pick will direct the Bears offense. When he faced off with the Packers back in Week 6, Fields completed 16 of 27 passes for 174 yards, one touchdown and one interception while carrying six times for 43 yards.

Burrow said Wednesday that his dislocated right pinkie finger is feeling better, despite a degree of swelling, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Burrow -- who hasn't thrown since Sunday's loss to the Chargers -- added that he plans to practice a little bit Wednesday. Whether that translates into him officially being listed as a limited participant won't be known until the Bengals release their first official Week 14 injury report, but in any case, the signal-caller said he doesn't expect to sit out this weekend's game against the 49ers, according to Baby.

Rodgers said Tuesday during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" that his fractured left pinkie toe showed improvement during the Packers' Week 13 bye, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. "The biggest key is rest. I wish there was another one of these [bye] weeks so I could get 14-to-21 great days without doing anything, but the toe is improving," Rodgers said.

Rodgers' comments about his improving health offers some reassurance that he'll be in less pain during the Packers' Week 14 game against the Bears, but as he acknowledges, the toe injury likely won't be resolved completely until he receives some extended rest. Even so, Rodgers opted to forgo surgery during the bye week to address the injury, hoping that he'll be able to play through the issue for the rest of the regular season and playoffs before likely going under the knife at some point over the offseason. Even while playing at less than 100 percent health following his return from a Week 9 absence due to a positive COVID-19 test, Rodgers performed at a high level over the Packers' final three games prior to the bye week. Between wins over the Seahawks and Rams and a road loss to the Vikings, Rodgers completed 64.3 percent of his throws for 984 yards and a 6:1 TD:INT while contributing 29 yards and another score on the ground.

Hurts (ankle) will be the team's starting quarterback if healthy following a Week 14 bye, Tim McManus of ESPN.com reports.

Hurts was sidelined for the Eagles' Week 13 win over the Jets due to a left high-ankle sprain, which he sustained in Philadelphia's 13-7 loss to the Giants in Week 12. Though fill-in starter Gardner Minshew was highly efficient (20-for-25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns) in his stead, Hurts' overall body of work looks like it'll be enough for him to maintain the top spot on the depth chart if he's deemed ready to go for the Eagles' Week 15 game against Washington. While Minshew likely amounts to an upgrade in terms of accuracy, Hurts' proficiency as a runner -- he's totaled 695 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground through 12 games -- makes him the higher-ceiling fantasy option of the two.

Jones completed two of three passes for 19 yards in Monday night's 14-10 win over the Bills.

Jones entered Monday coming off a career-high 310 passing yards last week, but extremely windy conditions in Buffalo resulted in New England running the ball almost every play. In fact, Jones began the fourth quarter with just one attempt, then threw passes on back-to-back plays on the Pats' second-last drive. Despite being on handoff duty basically all night, Jones did enough to help clinch a seventh straight victory, sending him into the bye week on a positive note. He'll surely assume a more conventional role playing indoors versus the Colts in Week 15.

Allen completed 15 of 30 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown in Monday night's 14-10 loss to the Patriots. He also rushed six times for 39 yards but lost a fumble.

Allen unsurprisingly wasn't particularly efficient on a night when wind gusts around 50 miles per hour made it extremely difficult to throw. Compared to opposing quarterback Mac Jones' mere three attempts, however, Allen had far more chances through the air. He capitalized on a New England fumble by throwing a 14-yard touchdown to Gabriel Davis in the first quarter, but that only came after a bad handoff exchange between he and tailback Matt Breida resulted in a fumble of Allen's own. While he managed to compensate with decent yardage on the ground, leading the Bills in the category, the inclement weather combined with a stingy Patriots defense restricted Allen's overall output.

The Packers placed Love on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday.

According to Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Love previously disclosed to reporters that he's vaccinated, which means his placement on the list is the result of a breakthrough positive test. Love will be eligible to rejoin the Packers as soon as he's showing diminished symptoms of the virus and tests negative on two occasions at least 24 hours apart, giving him a chance to make it back as the backup to Aaron Rodgers for Sunday's game against the Bears. With Rodgers nursing a toe injury that will likely result in him sitting out portions of practice this week, practice squad quarterback Kurt Benkert could take most of the first-team reps over the next few days.

Head coach Zac Taylor said Burrow could be limited in practice for the start of Week 14 prep after dislocating his right pinkie finger in Sunday's 41-22 loss to the Chargers, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

According to Ben Baby of ESPN.com, Taylor noted that Burrow "feels good" after playing through the injury Sunday, but the second-year quarterback could get some extra maintenance early on this week in any case to relieve some of the pressure on his pinkie finger. Unless the finger swells up and presents more difficulty with his throwing in practice than expected, Burrow doesn't look to be at any major risk of missing the Bengals' upcoming game against the 49ers this weekend.

Fromm is expected to prepare for his first NFL start Sunday against the Chargers during practices this week with the statuses of Daniel Jones (neck) and Mike Glennon (concussion) uncertain, Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports.

After being signed off the Bills' practice squad last Tuesday, Fromm served as the backup to Glennon in Sunday's 20-9 loss to the Dolphins. Though Glennon took every snap in the contest, he was diagnosed with a concussion afterward. While Jones has yet to be cleared for contact and is considered week-to-week, Glennon's status is more up in the air, given the volatile nature of recovery timelines for concussions. At the very least, Glennon seems unlikely to clear the protocol before the Giants resume practicing Wednesday, setting Fromm up to take all the first-team reps to begin the week. The 23-year-old's lone NFL action has come with Buffalo in the 2021 preseason, with Fromm completing 21 of 36 attempts for 172 yards and no touchdowns while taking five sacks. He also added 17 yards and a touchdown on three carries.