NFL Player News

Stafford (thumb) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.

Stafford has regularly had his practice reps capped since suffering a right thumb injury Week 11, but he hasn't actually missed any games. The veteran signal-caller put up 42 pass attempts versus the Texans in the Lions' Thanksgiving Day loss, so his sore thumb doesn't appear to be hampering him too significantly. Top wideout Kenny Golladay (hip) couldn't practice to begin the week, but reliable slot man Danny Amendola (hip) managed a limited session.

Washington intends to sign Heinicke to its practice squad if he can pass the six-day pre-entry COVID-19 testing program, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Likely spooked by last week's situation in Denver, as none of the Broncos' quarterbacks were available after all coming in contact with a teammate who tested positive for COVID-19, Washington plans to keep Heinicke away from the facility as an emergency "quarantine quarterback." He'll like take part in virtual meetings to familiarize himself with the game plan but will remain physically distanced from the facility so he can safely remain eligible to play in the event of an outbreak.

Tagovailoa (thumb) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Safid Deen of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

According to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com, Tagovailoa said he felt good while wearing a wrap on his left thumb at practice, but he reiterated that a final decision on his Week 13 availability will come down to the coaching staff. Coach Brian Flores has already stated that Tagovailoa will start Sunday against the Bengals as long as he's healthy, but Ryan Fitzpatrick would be more than capable of commanding Miami's offense once more if the rookie isn't cleared to play.

Jones (hamstring) didn't practice Wednesday, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Jones avoided suffering a major hamstring injury during Sunday's win at Cincinnati, giving him a shot to suit up Week 13 at Seattle. That said, Jones wasn't present for the open portion of Wednesday's session, and he eventually went down as a non-participant to kick off the week of prep. He'll look to get on the field in some capacity Thursday or Friday, but if he eventually needs time off, Jones will yield starting duties to Colt McCoy, who took on most of the first-team reps Wednesday.

Huntley has been elevated from the practice squad for Wednesday's game against the Steelers.

Huntley will be the team's No. 3 quarterback behind Robert Griffin and Trace McSorley, while Lamar Jackson is on the reserve/COVID-19 list and thus unavailable to suit up.

Giants head coach Joe Judge said McCoy will handle most of the reps with the first-team offense at practice Wednesday, Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York reports.

With Daniel Jones tending to a hamstring injury, McCoy will cover for the second-year signal-caller during his recovery period. In this past Sunday's win against the Bengals, McCoy came on in relief of Jones and completed six of 10 passes for 31 yards and compiled seven yards on five carries. If Jones sits out this weekend at Seattle, McCoy is slated to start his first game since Week 5 of last season with Washington.

Head coach Doug Marrone said Wednesday that Minshew's sprained right thumb is "fine," but the second-year quarterback will serve as the backup quarterback to Mike Glennon in the Jaguars' Week 13 game in Minnesota, Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com reports.

Marrone noted that team trainers have informed him that Minshew will be a "full go" in practice Wednesday after his thumb injury prevented him from playing in each of the past four games, but the Jaguars will stick with Glennon at quarterback for now after he turned in a serviceable outing in his first start since 2017 in last week's two-point loss to the Browns. The coach still left the door open for the team's starting quarterback situation to come down to a week-to-week decision, so Glennon's performance against the Vikings will likely dictate whether or not Minshew eventually recaptures the job over the final quarter of the season.

Coach Kyle Shanahan is optimistic Garoppolo (ankle) will return for the "last couple weeks" of the season, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Garoppolo hasn't suited up since Week 8, when he suffered his second (and more significant) high-ankle sprain of the campaign. By Nov. 17, he had shed the walking boot on his right foot, but only this week will Garoppolo start to do individual work on a side field. Speaking of a potential return date, Shanahan noted "whether it's two games or one game or none," suggesting a decision on Garoppolo's activation from IR may depend on the 49ers' odds of making the postseason.

Rypien was activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

Following an unprecedented situation that led to practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton playing quarterback in Sunday's loss to the Saints, things are back to normal in Denver. Rypien, Drew Lock and Blake Bortles have all been restored from the COVID-19 list. Lock will start under center in the Week 13 matchup against the Chiefs.

The Broncos activated Lock (undisclosed) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, Aric DiLalla of the team's official site reports.

Lock was placed on the list after the rest of the Broncos quarterback room was deemed to be high-risk close contacts of Jeff Driskel, who tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday. All of Lock, Brett Rypien and practice-squad member Blake Bortles were ineligible to play this past Sunday against the Saints, leaving QB in the hands of practice-squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton. With Lock back in the building, he'll be under center for Denver's next game Sunday night at Kansas City.