NFL Player News

Goff, who is active for Sunday's contest at Philadelphia, isn't expected to see the field, Kristen Lago of the Rams' official site reports.

Teams are limited to placing a maximum of seven players on inactive lists, so the Rams deactivated absolute certainties like Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald and Andrew Whitworth. Nonetheless, head coach Sean McVay will hand backup QB Sean Mannion the keys to the offense Week 17, meaning Goff will be toting a clipboard for the entirety of this contest.

Smith (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Redskins.

As expected, Smith has yielded backup duty to Davis Webb, but interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo was noncommittal during the week about an appearance for the rookie signal caller. No matter how the QB situation plays out Week 17, Smith may have played his last snap for any squad based in New York City due to his status as a unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Sudfeld is expected to make his NFL debut Sunday against the Cowboys, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Eagles, who have locked up home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, have little to play for in Week 17 other than staying sharp heading into the postseason. With that in mind, head coach Doug Pederson wants starting quarterback Nick Foles, who has started the last two games after Carson Wentz (knee) suffered a season-ending injury, to play about one quarter before Sudfeld enters the game. The lack of a full four quarters -- in addition to his inexperience at the NFL level -- renders Sudfeld little more than a fantasy dart.

Heinicke (concussion) was a full participant at the Texans' practice Thursday.

Heinicke was unable to return to Monday's loss to the Steelers after sustaining the concussion and was a limited participant at practice Wednesday. The full session hardly means the 24-year-old has cleared the concussion protocol, however, and Friday's practice should provide clarity to the situation.

Heinicke (concussion) was a limited participant in practice Wednesday.

Heinicke sustained a concussion during Monday's loss to the Steelers while starting signal caller T.J. Yates was being evaluated for a head injury of his own. While Yates was cleared to return to the game, Heinicke was not. The Texans expressed concern over the latter's availability for Sunday's season finale by bringing back quarterback Josh Johnson, who spent time with the Texans in November.

Goff will be held out for Sunday's regular-season finale against the 49ers, Rich Hammond of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Rams head coach Sean McVay suggested as much Tuesday and confirmed it Wednesday, also ruling out running back Todd Gurley, left tackle Andrew Whitworth, center John Sullivan and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The reality of 53-man rosters is that it's nearly impossible to rest each of the 22 starters, but it won't come as any surprise if others players are either held out or extremely limited. Prime candidates include wideouts Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins and Cooper Kupp (knee), along with linebackers Alec Ogletree, Mark Barron and Robert Quinn. Sean Mannion will start at quarterback, with Malcolm Brown likely replacing Gurley as the lead runner.

Hackenberg could see his first NFL snaps in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Patriots, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

While still committed to Bryce Petty as the starting quarterback, Jets head coach Todd Bowles acknowledged Wednesday that Hackenberg could be used as a mid-game replacement. It's increasingly clear that the Jets don't view either player as a potential franchise quarterback, but there's no harm in giving Hackenberg a brief look, given that Petty has completed less than half his passes and produced just 4.1 yards per attempt this season. Hackenberg can't possibly be much worse.

Petty is still in line to start Sunday's game in New England, but Jets head coach Todd Bowles acknowledged that backup Christian Hackenberg might also get some playing time, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The possibility of a mid-game replacement further dampens Petty's outlook for what is already a difficult matchup. Petty hasn't looked the part of a viable NFL quarterback this season, completing only 36 of 76 passes (47.4 percent) for 312 yards (4.1 YPA) with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett confirmed Wednesday that Prescott and the team's other healthy starters would play Sunday against the Eagles, Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The Cowboys were officially eliminated from playoff contention after their Week 16 loss to the Seahawks, with Prescott's poor play during the game contributing heavily to his club's demise. Though the team has little at stake in Week 17, Garrett evidently wants the Cowboys to close the season on a high note, so the team's key contributors will suit up like usual. After posting a 16:4 TD:INT ratio and 7.0 yards per attempt while adding four scores on the ground through Dalllas' first eight games, Prescott's production has cratered in the second half of the season. Over the club's last seven contests, Prescott sports a 5:9 TD:INT, 6.6 YPA and has two rushing touchdowns.

The Texans signed Johnson to a contract Wednesday.

The re-signing of Johnson, who previously served as a third-string quarterback for Houston for two weeks in November before being released, suggests the team isn't confident backup signal caller Taylor Heinicke (concussion) will be available for the regular-season finale in Indianapolis. If that's the case, Johnson would be active for the first time all season as the No. 2 quarterback behind starter T.J. Yates.