NFL Player News

Prescott (finger) will be limited in Wednesday's practice due to a right shoulder injury he picked up during the first half of Sunday's 44-21 win over the Rams, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Prescott also hurt his right index finger in the Week 14 loss to the Bears, but neither that injury nor the shoulder issue seems to pose much threat to his availability for a crucial Week 16 matchup with the Eagles. Coach Jason Garrett said Prescott won't do much throwing at Wednesday's practice but is "fully expected to play" this weekend in Philadelphia. The quarterback seemed fine in the blowout victory over Los Angeles, completing 15 of 23 passes for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Jones (ankle) is working with the starters at Wednesday's practice, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

Jones practiced with the second unit at the same point last week; a clear indication that the Giants expected Eli Manning to garner the Week 15 start. The rookie's presence with the first-team offense offers another hint that Jones could return to the lineup for Sunday's game at Washington, after coach Pat Shurmur said earlier this week that the Giants tentatively expect their rookie quarterback to play. It remains to be seen if Jones is a limited or full participant in Wednesday's practice.

Winston (thumb/knee) was a limited participant in Tuesday's practice, Carmen Vitali of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Winston may be "limited" to open Week 16, but he appeared anything but in the Buccaneers' 38-17 victory over the Lions this past weekend. While playing without any significant protection on his fractured right thumb, Winston completed 28 of 42 attempts for a season-high 458 yards and four touchdowns, with his 221 first-quarter yards representing the most by any quarterback since 2004. Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Winston didn't throw in the portion of Tuesday's practice open to the media, but the signal caller will likely resume doing so in the Buccaneers' final session of the week Thursday. Winston appears in little danger of missing Saturday's game against the Texans.

Stafford (back/hip) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

Stafford had been sidelined for each of the past six games with multiple fractures in his back in addition to a minor hip issue, but he maintained hope he would be able to make it back into action before the season ended. The typically durable veteran ultimately wasn't able to heal as quickly as he anticipated, prompting the Lions to shut him down for their final two games. With top understudy Jeff Driskel (hamstring) having previously moved to IR, the Lions will turn to David Blough and Kyle Sloter as their quarterbacks for the remainder of the season.

Brissett completed 18 of 34 passes for 165 yards in Monday night's 34-7 loss to the Saints.

Brissett endured a lackluster showing, not leading the Colts to any points until their final offensive drive of the game. The signal-caller's 4.9 yards per attempt marked a season low, and Brissett has now thrown for under 175 yards in three of his last five outings. He's also managed just four passing touchdowns versus three interceptions over that span, and although top wideout T.Y. Hilton was missing most of that time, Brissett's stock has taken a hit ahead of Week 16's matchup against the Panthers.

Coach Jason Garrett said Monday that Prescott is playing through "a little injury to his (right) index finger," Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

During the Fox broadcast of Sunday's 44-21 smackdown of the Rams, analyst Troy Aikman said Prescott had a "hairline fracture on the top of" the finger in question. Aikman was referencing one of the injuries (also a sprained left hand) he sustained in a Week 14 loss at Chicago. According to Archer and Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News, Prescott does not have a fracture. Instead, Prescott's right index finger was smashed against the Bears, and there's a lot of residual bleeding under the skin on the top of that finger. He had the tip of it taped this past Sunday, completing 15 of 23 passes for 212 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while incurring no sacks. The 23 attempts marked a season low as the backfield duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard compiled 36 combined carries, with Prescott adding seven himself.

Allen will likely be replaced by rookie Will Grier at quarterback for Sunday's game at Indianapolis, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Allen kicked off his starting tenure this season with a 5-1 record but has since lost six consecutive contests. During that latter stretch, he's averaged 289.3 yards per game and completed 63 percent of his passes but racked up an 8:11 TD:INT. With the Panthers out of the playoff picture, interim coach Perry Fewell will look to see what Grier, a 2019 third-round pick, can offer, relegating Allen to a reserve role.

Grier is expected to get his first NFL start Sunday at Indianapolis, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

He'll take over for a struggling Kyle Allen, who has quarterbacked the Panthers during their current six-game losing streak. According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, Grier has yet to receive first-team reps in practice, so the 2019 third-round pick will be leading the offense for the first time when Carolina takes the practice field Wednesday.

Coach Pat Shurmur stated Monday that the Giants will proceed with the expectation that Jones (ankle) will be ready to start Week 16 in Washington, but a decision on the rookie's status will be made based on how he progresses as the week rolls along, Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York reports. "We'll just have to see. We'll just push him along like we did last week. We started [last] week with the idea he might be ready to play. We'll do the same this week," Shurmur said.

In other words, the Giants aren't viewing Jones as a shutdown candidate, even with the team sitting at 3-11 and having little to gain by rushing the rookie first-round pick back into action. Jones never advanced beyond limited participation in practice last week before being ruled out two days ahead of Sunday's win over the Dolphins, so he'll probably need to put in a full workout or two during the current week for the Giants to sign off on his availability. Per Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record, Shurmur said Monday that it would be "overthinking it a little bit" for the Giants to give the third option on the depth chart, Alex Tanney, work under center for either of the final two games, so Eli Manning would be in position for a third straight start if Jones fails to gain clearance this week.

Interim coach Perry Fewell said that he's evaluating the Panthers' quarterback position and will announce Wednesday whether Grier or incumbent Kyle Allen draws the Week 16 start in Indianapolis, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Grier, a 2019 third-round pick, has yet to make his NFL debut after opening his rookie campaign third on the depth chart before moving up to the No. 2 spot Week 3, when Cam Newton went down with what ultimately was a season-ending foot injury. Allen guided the offense effectively in the Panthers' first handful of games sans Newton, but the second-year signal-caller has been a turnover machine of late, tossing 15 interceptions -- including three in the Week 15 loss to the Seahawks -- and fumbling seven times (losing three) over the past eight contests. The 5-9 Panthers don't have much at stake over the final two contests, so it makes sense for the organization to give Grier a look and see if he can be a potential long-term answer behind center.