NFL Player News

Tannehill (ankle) will start Sunday's game at Minnesota, Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Tannehill picked up an ankle injury Week 14 against the Patriots that limited him in each practice this week. To ensure he has the proper mobility, he's expected to have his right ankle heavily wrapped against a Vikings defense that has given up 236.1 yards per game but just a 15:12 TD:INT to quarterbacks in 13 games this season.

Mahomes completed 24 of 34 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Chiefs' 29-28 loss to the Chargers on Thursday. He also rushed twice for three yards and fumbled once, but it was recovered by the offense.

Mahomes turned in another solid and clean stat line, and his night could have been much bigger had Tyreek Hill not had a perfectly thrown deep ball bounce off his facemask on a play where he was also guilty of an illegal shift. The second-year gunslinger did manage to extend his multi-touchdown streak to nine games, and he's now completed over 70 percent of his passes in six of his last eight contest. Mahomes also managed to make his initial connection with new arrival Kelvin Benjamin, and he demonstrated his adaptability to the personnel carousel in his backfield by connecting with backup running back Damien Williams, who started in place of Spencer Ware (shoulder), on six occasions for a team-high 74 yards. Mahomes will look to help the Chiefs bounce back from their upset loss against the Seahawks in a Week 16 Sunday night road battle.

Stafford (back) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday.

Stafford was tagged as limited on Wednesday's estimated injury report, so maintaining that level of activity in an actual practice signals he'll be fine to play through a back injury for a second consecutive game Sunday against the Bills' top-ranked pass defense. In the first one, he managed a career-worst 101 yards, no touchdowns and zero picks on 15-for-23 passing Week 14 in Arizona.

Coach Jay Gruden is "optimistic" McCoy (fibula) will play again this season, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

In the wake of Alex Smith's gruesome season-ending leg fractures, McCoy lasted just seven quarters as the Redskins' primary signal-caller before breaking his own fibula. The offense has since cycled through two more quarterbacks, replacing Mark Sanchez with Josh Johnson during a Week 14 loss to the Giants. Johnson is the starter for the time being, but McCoy seems to be a candidate to start Week 16 or 17 if the healing process goes as planned.

Jackson (ankle) was a full participant at Wednesday's practice.

In addition to the good news about Jackson's ankle injury, coach John Harbaugh confirmed Wednesday morning that the rookie will continue to start at quarterback. Joe Flacco (hip) is expected to return for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay as the backup signal-caller, though it isn't out of the question he could play a few snaps, specifically in obvious passing situations. Jackson's ability to practice without any restrictions suggests the injury shouldn't hinder his mobility Sunday.

Stafford (back) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

Stafford played through the same injury during Sunday's 17-3 win over the Cardinals, completing 15 of 23 passes for a career-low 101 yards. He should be able to play again this week, but there isn't much cause for optimism in a road matchup with a Buffalo defense that has surrendered just 6.4 yards per pass attempt, the second-best mark in the NFL.

Coach Adam Gase said Tannehill (ankle) looked good during practice Wednesday and will play in Sunday's game at Minnesota "unless something crazy happens," Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald reports.

Beasley agreed with Gase's assessment of Tannehill looking good Wednesday, noting that the quarterback moved around well even though his entire right cleat was covered in tape. While he may be slightly limited in terms of mobility, Tannehill doesn't seem to be in much danger of sitting out Week 15. The bigger concern is his tricky road matchup with a Vikings defense ranked seventh in the NFL in opponent passer rating (86.7) and 16th in yards per attempt (7.5).

Tannehill (ankle) was spotted on the field at practice Wednesday, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

While it remains to be seen how the Dolphins will list Tannehill's participation level, his presence on the field Wednesday is a good sign with regard to his status for Sunday's game against the Vikings. Thanks to their improbable last-second win over the Patriots in Week 14, the Dolphins sit at 7-6 and remain in the AFC playoff hunt. As a result, Tannehill will no likely do whatever he can to be on the field this weekend.

Coach John Harbaugh confirmed that Jackson (ankle) would remain the team's starting quarterback Sunday against the Buccaneers, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Though longtime No. 1 signal-caller Joe Flacco (hip) is scheduled to return from a four-game absence this weekend, he'll dress as the backup for the first time in his career after Harbaugh stated that Jackson "gives the team the best chance to win right now," per Zrebiec. It's hard to quibble with Harbaugh's assessment, given that the Ravens sat at 4-5 under Flacco's stewardship while Jackson has helped guide the team to three wins in his four starts, with the lone loss coming in overtime on the road to the 11-2 Chiefs. Jackson tweaked his ankle during that contest, but it's expected that he'll be a full practice participant by the end of the week to erase any concerns about his availability versus Tampa Bay.

Darnold (foot) was a full participant in Tuesday's practice, Darryl Slater of NJ.com reports.

After missing three straight games with a sprained right foot, Darnold practiced fully throughout last week and gained clearance to start Sunday against the Bills. He departed in the first half after aggravating the injury, but re-entered the contest and helped guide the Jets to a 27-23 comeback victory. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Darnold split first-team reps with Josh McCown in the portion of Tuesday's practice open to the media, but the full participation listing suggests the rookie's health is on solid ground entering a tough Week 15 matchup with the Texans.