NFL Player News

Coach Mike Vrabel hopes that Mariota (stinger) can practice Thursday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Mariota didn't practice Wednesday, instead undergoing treatment related to the stinger he suffered in Week 16. His status for Sunday's win-or-go-home contest against the Colts won't be clarified until later this week, but the quarterback previously stated that he intends to give do whatever he can to give it a go. In Mariota's absence at practice, Blaine Gabbert handled first-team reps.

Coach Ron Rivera confirmed Allen will start Sunday's season finale at New Orleans, Bill Voth of the Panthers' official site reports.

The Panthers will have a new starting signal-caller for the third straight game in Allen, an undrafted rookie out of Houston who was called up from the practice squad last week. Cam Newton was lost after the Week 15 loss to the Saints due to lingering discomfort in his right throwing shoulder, while Taylor Heinicke was moved to injured reserve Wednesday due to a left elbow. That leaves Allen as the next man up after he worked as the backup to Heinicke in Week 16 against the Falcons and completed all four of his passes for 38 yards in abbreviated action. With the Saints' 28th-ranked pass defense on tap, he could be a decent one-week replacement in spite of the visit to the raucous confines of the Superdome.

Bridgewater will likely see action on offense Sunday against the Panthers, as coach Sean Payton is expected to rest a number of key regulars with the Saints having clinched the NFC's top seed, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

Payton hasn't officially revealed his intentions for the regular-season finale, but his prior history in Week 17s when the Saints' playoff seeding has been secure suggests top signal-caller Drew Brees won't be pressed into extensive duty. Triplett notes that when the Saints were locked in as the No. 1 seed in 2009 and the No. 2 seed in 2006 heading into those respective season finales, Payton rested starters on both occasions. Further influencing Payton's case to follow that plan again is the fact that after four down performances in a row, Brees got back on track in the Week 16 win over the Steelers with his sixth 300-yard performance of the season. In addition to keeping the 39-year-old healthy for the divisional round, resting Brees would have the added benefit of giving the Saints a longer look at Bridgewater, who might be viewed as a successor to the aging veteran. Bridgewater will hit in free agency in March and could increase his earning potential with the Saints or another team if he turns in a quality showing versus Carolina.

Allen is expected to serve as the Panthers' starting quarterback Sunday against the Saints after Carolina placed Taylor Heinicke (elbow) on injured reserve Wednesday, Max Henson of the team's official site reports.

After being promoted from the practice squad ahead of the Panthers' Week 16 game against the Falcons, Allen made his NFL debut in the second quarter when Heinicke exited the contest with the elbow injury. Allen acquitted himself well by completing all four of his passes for 38 yards before Heinicke was cleared to return to action and finish out the 24-10 loss. The Panthers sent Heinicke for a follow-up exam Monday, with an MRI evidently determining that the signal-caller's injury was significant enough to keep him sidelined for the season finale. That opens the door for Allen to receive the starting assignment in the season finale, as coach Ron Rivera acknowledged earlier in the week that the team doesn't intend to use Cam Newton (shoulder) in Week 17. Given that he lacked any track record at the NFL level until last week, Allen doesn't make for anything more than a speculative punt play in DFS contests or as a No. 2 option in season-long formats that start two quarterbacks.

The Panthers placed Heinicke on injured reserve Wednesday, Max Henson of the team's official site reports.

After suffering a left elbow injury during his first NFL start in Sunday's loss to the Falcons, Heinicke required an MRI a day later. The results of Heinicke's examination aren't known, but the Panthers apparently determined he wouldn't be able to make it back for a Week 17 matchup with the Saints. With coach Ron Rivera suggesting earlier in the week that Cam Newton (shoulder) would remain shut down for the season finale, undrafted rookie Kyle Allen is on track to receive the starting assignment. To replace Heinicke on the roster, the Panthers signed Garrett Gilbert, who will presumably work as Allen's backup this weekend.

Mariota said Wednesday in an interview with 104.5 The Zone Nashville that the elbow stinger he suffered in Saturday's 25-16 win over the Redskins resulted in the right side of his body becoming "numb and tingly," Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports. "I'll do everything in my power to see if I can go [Week 17 against the Colts]," Mariota said. "Again, it is just taking it one day at a time."

Mariota's comments regarding the injury aren't nearly as optimistic as those from coach Mike Vrabel two days earlier, when Vrabel indicated the quarterback's latest elbow setback wasn't related to the one from earlier in the season that limited him to a backup role Week 2 against the Texans. The 25-year-old noted that a better idea regarding his availability for a de facto play-in game for the postseason this weekend won't come into focus for a few more days, with Mariota's activity in practices Wednesday through Friday likely to hold significant weight in how the Titans to decide to proceed with him. Given that the Titans have already added another signal-caller (Austin Davis) to the roster, it seems that at the very least, there's some early apprehension about Mariota's ability to suit up in Week 17. If Mariota ends up sitting out, Blaine Gabbert would be called upon for his second start of the campaign.

Carr completed 19 of 26 attempts for 167 yards during Monday's 27-14 win against Denver.

With another interception-free performance against Denver on Monday night, Carr has now gone 10 consecutive games without throwing a pick. This after committing eight interceptions over Oakland's first five outings of 2018. The Broncos did, however, succeed in holding him without a touchdown for the first time in his past six outings, while simultaneously breaking his three-game streak of 260-plus yard passing performances. Outside of the first quarter of the regular season, Carr has been an exceptionally conservative thrower in his fifth pro campaign. Since putting up 343.3 passing yards per game between Weeks 1 and 4, Carr has averaged 226.5 yards per game through the air over his past 11 appearances. He'll have an opportunity to close out the 2018 season with a boom, as the Raiders travel to Arrowhead to face a Chiefs pass defense that's allowed an NFL-high 6,401 passing yards on the year.

Keenum completed 23 of 37 passes for 202 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Broncos' 27-14 loss to the Raiders on Monday. He also rushed three times for 19 yards and fumbled once, but it was recovered by the offense.

Keenum produced mixed results in the Christmas Eve loss, hitting DaeSean Hamilton and Courtland Sutton for touchdowns of seven and 19 yards, respectively, in the second half. However, Keenum also threw interceptions on back-to-back fourth-quarter drives, short-circuiting any chance at a Broncos comeback. It was a second straight two-interception outing for the six-year veteran, who's finishing his first Denver season with a short-handed receiving corps. He'll look to put together a better performance to wrap up the 2018 campaign versus the Chargers in Week 17.

Coach Adam Gase said Tannehill will start in the Dolphins' season finale at Buffalo, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

With Miami sitting at 7-8 and officially out of the playoff picture, Gase would be warranted giving another signal-caller a chance due to Tannehill's mediocre (at best) play in 2018. The QB room currently is composed of Tannehill, Brock Osweiler and David Fales, though, so Gase doesn't have much choice with a .500 record on the line. Tannehill has fallen shy of 200 yards passing in six of 10 appearances this season, including his previous matchup with the Bills in Week 13, but he made up for it with three touchdowns in a 21-17 victory.

Coach Mike Vrabel confirmed Monday that Mariota is dealing with a stinger, but noted the injury isn't related to the one he dealt with earlier in the season, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

Per Travis Haney of The Athletic, Vrabel relayed that Mariota feels better than he did after games against the Dolphins in Week 1 and Colts in Week 11, when the quarterback suffered an elbow injury and stinger, respectively. Mariota is slated to go through individual work over the next couple days before the Titans reassess his status, but based on Vrabel's early evaluation, it doesn't sound like the signal-caller is at major risk of missing the regular-season finale versus Indianapolis. It's effectively a win-or-go-home matchup for both the Titans and Colts, who carry identical 9-6 records into the contest.