NFL Player News

Winston (knee) underwent successful surgery Friday, Jeff Duncan of The Athletic reports.

Winston tore his ACL and sustained MCL damage at the end of October, and he'll now shift his focus toward his lengthy recovery process. Whether he's available for training camp in 2022 remains to be seen, but Trevor Siemian has taken over as the Saints' starter for now.

Rodgers was activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list and will start Sunday's contest against the Seahawks.

No surprise here as it was reported earlier Saturday the star quarterback would be good to go in the pivotal matchup against the Seahawks. Rodgers curiously did get put on the injury report due to a toe injury despite never taking the field over the last 10 days, but since he doesn't carry any sort of game status designation, it's a comical moot point. Sunday will mark the first time Rodgers has his full assortment of wide receivers available since Week 4 after Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring) returned off injured reserve in Week 9.

Smith will serve as the backup quarterback behind starter Russell Wilson (finger) in Sunday's game against the Packers after the latter was activated from injured reserve Friday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Smith started the last three contests in place of Wilson, who missed the first games of his career after suffering an injury to his right middle finger Oct. 7 that required surgery. At the time he underwent surgery, Wilson was expected to be sidelined for roughly six weeks, but the eight-time Pro Bowler healed quicker than anticipated and performed well enough in practice this week for Seattle to sign off on him playing. Wilson's return should represent a boon to the Seattle offense and all its key skill-position players, though Smith was a capable game manager while the former was sidelined. In his three starts, Smith completed 70.5 percent of his throws for 7.3 yards per attempt and a 4:0 TD:INT.

Rodgers is expected to be activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list and thus will be eligible to play Sunday against the Seahawks, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

The Packers have until 4 p.m. ET to activate Rodgers from the reserve/COVID-19 list, and the star quarterback has evidently remained asymptomatic and has passed protocols to this point and has already returned to the Packers' practice facilities Saturday. The reigning NFL MVP appears to be on pace to play Sunday after a one-game absence, with his impending return expected to result in Jordan Love moving to the bench.

Grier is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Falcons due to a knee injury, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Grier popped up as a limited participant at Friday's practice due to a knee injury. It is unclear when the issue was sustained, but it presumably occurred at some point during the week. His status as the team's No. 3 quarterback will now depend on how he is feeling closer to kickoff.

Wilson (finger) was activated from injured reserve Friday evening, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

The team didn't bother waiting until Saturday, with coach Pete Carroll having already named Wilson as the starter for Sunday's game in Green Bay. Rookie WR Dee Eskridge (concussion) also is coming off IR for the Week 10 game, while RB Chris Carson (IR/neck) has been ruled out again.

The Panthers will start Walker in Sunday's game at Arizona, despite the recent signing of Cam Newton, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

After Sam Darnold sustained a broken right scapula Week 9 against the Patriots, he was given a recovery timetable of at least four weeks. Walker initially was the next man up, but Carolina opted to have a reunion with Newton on Thursday after nearly 20 months apart. According to Joe Person of The Athletic, coach Matt Rhule noted Friday it is "not very likely" that Newton plays Sunday, but his mind could be swayed by how he looks Saturday. On top of that, offensive coordinator Joe Brady said "everything's on the table" regarding Newton stepping on the field this weekend. If active Sunday, Newton likely won't earn more than situational work while Walker directs the offense.

Wilson (knee) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Bills despite logging a full practice Friday, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The Jets have little reason to rush Wilson's return, especially with Mike White avoiding the injury report altogether after hurting his forearm in last Thursday's loss to the Colts. White has outplayed Wilson this season, and the Jets have a pair of capable of veterans in Joe Flacco and Josh Johnson at the quarterback position, so Wilson will almost certainly be made inactive Sunday. Wilson should be healthy enough to retake the starting job in Week 11 against Miami, though White could hold onto it a while longer if he continues to impress.

Murray (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Carolina, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

It's a formality after coach Kliff Kingsbury deemed his quarterback a game-day decision for the second straight week. The difference this time is that Murray has practiced, albeit once (Friday) and in a limited capacity. WRs DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) and Rondale Moore (concussion) are also considered game-time calls ahead of the 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff, with the rookie the more likely of the two to play.

Siemian will start Sunday's game in Tennessee, but coach Sean Payton did suggest Friday that the Saints will have packages for Taysom Hill as well, John DeShazier of the Saints' official site reports.

Hill took just three direct snaps (and 17 offensive snaps overall) in the Week 9 loss to Atlanta, but that was his first game back in action after spending three weeks in concussion protocol. He could have a larger role this weekend, though Siemian figures to get most of the pass attempts after completing 25 of 41 throws for 249 yards and two touchdowns last week. He'll be facing a better defense Sunday, and possibly with RB Alvin Kamara (knee) on the sideline.