NFL Player News

Dalton completed 33 of 48 passes for 325 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions and rushed once for seven yards in the Bears' 31-17 Week 18 loss to the Vikings. He ended the season with 1,515 passing yards, eight touchdown passes and nine interceptions over eight games.

On the season, Dalton had six starts, but in only one of those contests did he have more touchdown passes than interceptions. Although he technically has a $5 million contract in 2022, it's a void year, and the Bears would owe him nothing if they choose to part ways with the 11-year veteran. Regardless, he'll likely continue to be a useful backup in the league in his age-34 season, and his fantasy value would be dependent upon whether he's able to draw any starts.

Walker (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Buccaneers. Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Walker will watch from the sidelines Sunday as Sam Darnold and Cam Newton see any and all of the quarterback work Sunday against the Buccaneers.

Lance will return to a backup role Sunday at the Rams with Jimmy Garoppolo (thumb) active for the contest, Keiana Martin of the 49ers' official site reports.

The 49ers are turning back to Garoppolo after he showed enough in practice this week to be able to play through his sprained right thumb. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported earlier Sunday that Garoppolo also would start and not yield many, if any, reps to Lance, indicating coach Kyle Shanahan will be relying on the veteran quarterback to deliver a much-needed victory. As a result, Lance seems to be in line for clipboard duty Sunday, as he was from Weeks 7-16.

Garoppolo (thumb) is active for Sunday's game at the Rams, Keiana Martin of the 49ers' official site reports.

After taking a seat Week 17 due to a sprained right thumb, Garoppolo was able to get back on the practice field Wednesday and thereafter demonstrate that he could make the throws necessary to lead the 49ers offense effectively. Coach Kyle Shanahan likely considered the must-win nature of Sunday's contest, too, as San Francisco requires a victory to ensure a playoff berth. On Fox NFL Sunday's broadcast, Jay Glazer reported that Garoppolo was slated to start and not yield any reps to rookie Trey Lance, so it appears the status quo from Weeks 7-16 will return to the fore. During that 10-game stretch, Garoppolo averaged 256.9 yards on 68.7 percent passing, tossed 14 touchdowns versus eight interceptions and tacked on two more scores on the ground.

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.