NFL Player News

The surgery Winston underwent on his left knee last week in Los Angeles involved no repair of his MCL and was solely to address a torn ACL, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

In addition to the torn ACL, Winston was diagnosed with associated MCL damage after suffering the season-ending knee injury in an Oct. 31 win over the Buccaneers. Though Winston's procedure was believed to have address both ligaments, Dr. Neal ElAttrache and his medical team determined that the quarterback's MCL would heal on its own without a repair being necessary. With one fewer complication to worry about as he rehabs the knee, Winston is projected to be ready for full-contact drills in about six months. That timeline puts him on track to miss OTAs, but Winston should be at close to 100 percent by the time NFL training camps begin in late July. The 27-year-old will become a free agent this spring after he completed 59 percent of his passes for 7.3 yards per attempt and a 14:3 TD:INT in the Saints' first seven games prior to sustaining the knee injury.

Mayfield (knee/foot/shoulder) logged a limited practice Thursday, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Mayfield, who's dealing with three listed injury issues, acknowledged earlier this week that he's pretty banged up at this stage, but coach Kevin Stefanski has expressed optimism that the QB will be able to play Sunday against the Lions, per Dan Labbe of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Friday's injury report will clarify whether Mayfield heads into the weekend fully cleared to play or carrying a Week 11 injury designation.

Tagovailoa (left finger) was listed as a full participant in Thursday's walkthrough, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

Barring any setbacks, Tagovailoa remains on track to start Sunday's game against the Jets, though Friday's final injury report of the week will cement whether or not the QB heads into the weekend carrying a Week 11 injury designation.

Mayfield (knee/foot/shoulder) is taking part in practice Thursday, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Mayfield was held out of Wednesday's session while he contends with three different injuries, with a bruised right knee being the newest of his concerns. Though Mayfield admitted that he's more banged up than he has been at any point in his career, his ability to return to practice Thursday suggests he's on track to tough it out through the injuries during Sunday's game against the Lions. The Browns will release their second practice report of Week 11 later Thursday, when it will be known whether Mayfield was a limited or full participant.

Rodgers (toe) was a spectator at Thursday's practice, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Rodgers hasn't logged an on-field practice rep since Nov. 1, the result of a stay on the reserve/COVID-19 list and a toe injury. The latter is impacting his activity level this week, but as he told Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Wednesday, Rodgers is "definitely playing Sunday" in Minnesota. Whether or not Rodgers heads into the weekend with an injury designation remains to be seen, though.

Jackson (illness) remained sidelined at practice Thursday, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Shaffer adds that the Ravens are hoping that the quarterback can bounce back from his non-COVID-19-related illness in time to practice Friday. Earlier Thursday, offensive coordinator Greg Roman told Shaffer that Jackson was "feeling better," but following back-to-back missed sessions, the signal-caller will likely need to get back on the field Friday for the Ravens to be more comfortable that he'll be ready to go Sunday against the Bears.

Goff (oblique) didn't take part in the open portion of Thursday's practice and is set to be listed as a non-participant for the second day in a row, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

The consecutive absences from practice as the Lions prepare for Sunday's game in Cleveland isn't a great early sign for Goff's availability, but the coaching and training staff will wait and see if the signal-caller is able to get back on the field Friday before updating his status. For his part, Goff believes that as long as the oblique injury doesn't affect his "functionality" as a quarterback, he thinks he'll be able to play through the pain in Cleveland, according to Chris Burke of The Athletic. If Goff ultimately can't go Sunday, Tim Boyle (thumb) -- who remains on injured reserve but is taking reps in practice this week -- would likely be activated for his first career NFL start.

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski is confident Mayfield (shoulder, knee, foot) will play Sunday against Detroit, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Both Mayfield and Stefanski expressed optimism that the quarterback will play Sunday despite being a non-participant at Wednesday's practice. Mayfield told Ulrich that his knee went "numb" after getting hit in the Week 10 loss to the Patriots. That sensation has since gone away, but Mayfield moved slowly when walking to the podium to address the media Wednesday. That play knocked him out of the New England game and made his Week 11 status worth tracking.

Grier (knee) was able to log a full practice for the Cowboys Wednesday.

Grier suffered a knee injury at practice before the Cowboys' Week 10 contest with the Falcons. The quarterback's status won't have much of an impact on the Cowboys' offense.

Luton signed a deal to join Miami's practice squad on Wednesday.

After getting cut loose from Seattle, Luton will now join Miami's practice squad, as starter Tua Tagovailoa has been battling injuries all season long. Expect the quarterback to stay on the Dolphins' practice squad unless they face any further injuries in their QB room.