NFL Player News

Dolphins head coach Adam Gase confirmed Wednesday that Tannehill (knee) will be the team's starting quarterback in 2018, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

After Tannehill underwent season-ending reconstructive surgery on his left knee in August, the Dolphins lured Jay Cutler out of retirement and signed him to a one-year, $10 million contract to serve as the team's starter in 2017, but the latter was always viewed as a stopgap solution. With Tannehill enduring no hiccups to this point in his recovery and expected to be at full strength for training camp this summer, it's not expected that the Dolphins will retain Cutler, leaving no other viable challengers on the roster for the starting role. After posting a 27:12 TD:INT ratio and clearing 4,000 yards for the first time in his career in 2014, Tannehill failed to take another step forward in his subsequent two seasons, but the 29-year-old still looks like a better option behind center than what would likely be available to the Dolphins via trade or free agency this offseason.

Goff will replace Sean Mannion as the Rams' starting quarterback for Saturday's wild-card matchup with the Falcons, Rich Hammond of The Orange County Register reports.

Since the Rams were locked in as either the No. 3 or 4 seed entering Week 17, head coach Sean McVay elected to rest Goff and several other key starters for the regular-season finale against the 49ers. Mannion ultimately garnered his first career start in the loss to San Francisco, completing 20 of 34 passes for 169 yards and losing a fumble. Goff will take back the reins of the Rams offense for his first career postseason appearance and aim to build on a breakthrough regular season in which he accrued a 28:7 TD:INT ratio and 8.0 yards per attempt in 15 outings.

Morris signed a reserve/future contract with the Redskins on Tuesday.

Morris still hasn't played in a NFL game since entering the league in 2014, but with the possibility of Kirk Cousins hitting the road, he may have a chance to make a Week 1 roster in 2017. The Redskins are likely just bringing him in for depth without much of a chance at becoming a starter.

Siemian will undergo surgery Wednesday to repair the posterior capsule in his left, non-throwing shoulder, Mike Klis of 9 News Denver reports.

Nearly one year ago, Siemian had his left shoulder surgically-repaired, so he's in line to focus on rehabilitation for a second straight offseason. Perhaps of more interest than his health is the state of the quarterback room in Denver. Change is in the air after a season in which Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Brock Osweiler all received a fair amount of first-team work en route to the 20th-ranked pass offense by the end of the year. Siemian, Lynch and Chad Kelly are all under contract in 2018, but there's little doubt general manager John Elway will add another quarterback in free agency or via the draft.

Walker signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on Monday.

Walker was a member of the Colts' practice squad for the entire 2017 season after being waived during final roster cuts in September. The former Temple standout likely will get the opportunity to compete for No. 2 or 3 quarterback duties if he remains on the roster through training camp this summer.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien confirmed Tuesday that Watson (knee) is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a torn ACL, Drew Dougherty of the Texans' official site reports.

Watson relayed about two weeks ago that he was "on the right track" with his recovery from Nov. 8 surgery to address the ligament damage to his right knee, so O'Brien's comments seemingly support the quarterback's optimism. O'Brien didn't rule out of the possibility of Watson being able to take part in Organized Team Activities, which begin in mid-April, but the 22-year-old would likely face significant restrictions if available. Regardless, it's looking promising that Watson will be at or near full strength when training camp opens in the summer, putting him on track to take back starting duties for the Texans in Week 1 of the 2018 campaign. Watson, who was enjoying a whirlwind rookie year before suffering the non-contact knee injury during a practice, should still be viewed as an upper-tier fantasy option at the position due to the dual-threat abilities he exhibited during his first season.

Bradford (knee) was on the field Tuesday for the Vikings in their first practice of the postseason, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "I just want to see where [Bradford is] at," Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said Monday. "How he's moving, things like that. I hear he's moving good. I hear he's throwing the ball good. But that's all I do is hear. We'll just go about it and see how it goes."

Bradford's return to practice for the first time in over two months initiates a three-week window through which the Vikings will be able to evaluate the quarterback for a return from injured reserve. The 30-year-old hadn't played since Oct. 9 before he was moved to IR after requiring surgery Nov. 7 on his left knee, allowing Case Keenum to direct the offense for the remainder of the regular season. With Teddy Bridgewater having also returned from IR, it looks like Bradford will be little more than an insurance option at quarterback during the postseason if he's in fact activated at some point in the next three weeks.

Taylor completed 19 of 27 passes for 204 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in Sunday's 22-16 win over the Dolphins. He also rushed six times for 35 yards.

As customary, Taylor was cautious with the football and did just enough to keep the Bills moving in the right direction throughout the contest. He got matters off on a positive note by directing a seven-play, 72-yard scoring drive on the opening possession that he capped off with a nifty 26-yard touchdown pass to Nick O'Leary. Taylor subsequently led scoring marches of 11, nine, five and 10 plays, all which culminated in Stephen Hauschka field goals. The 28-year-old wrapped up the regular season with three consecutive interception-free outings, an efficient level of play he'll hope to carry into next Sunday's AFC wild-card road tilt against the stingy Jaguars secondary.

Winston completed 28 of 51 passes for 363 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in Sundays' 31-24 win over the Saints. He also posted 32 yards and scored a touchdown on five rushes and completed a two-point conversion pass.

Winston's final effort of a tumultuous 2017 fittingly had a bit of everything thrown in. The third-year quarterback managed to display some of the best and worst aspects of his game in the wild season-ending contest, as he short-circuited a trio of drives in Saints territory with interceptions. Conversely, he also managed to set a season high in rushing yards while scoring his first touchdown on the ground since Week 4 of the 2016 campaign. Moreover, Winston finished the season with consecutive 300-yard tallies and six such efforts overall. He saved his best for last Sunday as well, hitting Chris Godwin with a perfectly thrown, go-ahead 39-yard touchdown with nine seconds remaining that capped off an 11-play, 95-yard drive, and that as per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com, also enabled him to break Hall of Famer Dan Marino's record for most touchdown passes before the age of 24. While he struggled with turnovers at times during the tail end of the campaign, Winston provided reason for optimism heading into a pivotal Year 4 with the way he led the Buccaneers to victory against a team that needed to win to ensure itself the NFC South crown.

Mahomes completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards and one interception during Sunday's 27-24 victory at Denver. He also rushed seven times for 10 yards.

With the Chiefs locked into the No. 4 spot in the AFC playoffs as the AFC West champion, head coach Andy Reid opted to sit regular starting quarterback Alex Smith, among other front-line skill-position players, Sunday. In Smith's place, Mahomes was able to earn his first NFL start, and he didn't disappoint in the win-loss columns. Granted, Mahomes didn't have his name next to any of the team's three touchdowns, but he directed a 67-yard drive to set of a game-winning 30-yard field goal for kicker Harrison Butker as time expired. As the postseason kicks off this weekend, Mahomes will revert to a reserve role in Saturday's wild-card outing against the Titans.