NFL Player News

Peterman (concussion) was a full participant in practice Thursday, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

After logging only a limited session Wednesday, it's clear Peterman is progressing from the concussion, but he still remains in the protocol. Peterman nonetheless looks like he's in line to gain clearance for contact before Sunday's game against the Dolphins, which would set the stage for him to reprise his normal backup role behind Tyrod Taylor (knee). After practicing fully the last two days, Taylor is on track to return from a one-game absence and start Sunday.

Taylor (knee) practiced again Thursday but coach Sean McDermott would not commit to him as a starter for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports. "We're working that direction. We just got to see. Obviously he's worked more this week than last week, so that's a step in the right direction," said McDermott. "I want to come out tomorrow and see how he does tomorrow."

Fellow quarterback Nathan Peterman remains in concussion protocol and practiced again Thursday around the restrictions that get placed in such situations. The thinking is Taylor will be the guy this week, since McDermott has said all along he's the starter once fully ready to play, but owners should certainly wait for official confirmation following Friday's practice or ahead of Sunday's 1pm ET start time.

As of Thursday, Peterman remains in the NFL's concussion protocol, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports.

He's been able to work in a limited fashion, but with fellow QB Tyrod Taylor (knee) practicing fully, Peterman is poised to revert to backup duty if he gains medical clearance in advance of Sunday's game against the Dolphins. In the event that Peterman is unavailable this weekend, Joe Webb would slot in behind Taylor in Week 15.

Jets head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that there isn't a scenario "right now" where Hackenberg plays over the team's final three games, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports.

With Josh McCown (hand) hitting injured reserve Tuesday, Bryce Petty will take over as the team's starting quarterback in Week 15 against the Saints. Like Hackenberg, Petty is a similarly youthful developmental quarterback who has yet to prove his worth at the NFL level, but based on Bowles' comments, it seems as though Petty has demonstrated enough in practices this season to create clear separation from Hackenberg, who will be active for the first time in 2017 as the backup signal caller. Even if an injury to or poor play from Petty were to open up an opportunity over the final three contests, Hackenberg wouldn't warrant a look outside of deep two-quarterback formats.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said after Wednesday's practice that Savage (concussion) wouldn't play Sunday against the Jaguars, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This isn't a surprising development after Savage was knocked out of the Week 14 loss to the 49ers, though he was briefly allowed to reenter the contest despite appearing to lose feeling in his hand when he suffered the concussion. The handling of that situation will be the subject of a joint investigation by the NFL and NFL Players' Association, but it shouldn't have any bearing on Savage's status. He'll be held to the normal standards of the NFL's concussion protocol, with O'Brien holding out hope that Savage might be ready to play Week 16 against the Steelers. T.J. Yates, who relieved Savage last week, will pick up the start in Jacksonville, with practice-squad quarterback Taylor Heinicke likely to earn a promotion to the 53-man roster and act as the backup.

Mariota (knee) was a full participant at Wednesday's practice, but his hamstring injury from earlier this season is still having an impact, and his fibula fracture from last year may require a clean-up procedure at the end of the campaign, according to Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com.

Mariota finds himself on the injury report ahead of the Titans' Week 15 game in San Francisco with a minor injury in the same left knee that he has worn a brace on ever since suffering the second MCL injury of his playing career in 2015 (the first occurred in 2013, while he was still in college). Though it doesn't seem that any of these lingering leg injuries pose a threat to his availability, they might help to explain why Mariota has taken a clear step back in his third professional season. If he does end up having surgery on his leg or ankle, it probably won't have a major impact on his offseason preparation, assuming he's able to go under the knife shortly after the season. The Titans enter Week 15 positioned for a playoff spot, but their recent form doesn't exactly hint at a deep run.

Savage (concussion) didn't practice Wednesday.

It's looking highly unlikely that Savage will pass all phases of the concussion protocol before Sunday's game against the Jaguars after suffering a serious-looking head injury just three days ago. With that in mind, T.J. Yates is in line to draw the starting assignment in Jacksonville, according to ESPN.com.

The Texans are expected to promote Heinicke from the practice squad in advance of Sunday's game against the Jaguars, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Heinicke is set to act as the backup to T.J. Yates in Week 15 with Texans head coach Bill O'Brien effectively ruling out normal starter Tom Savage (concussion) for the weekend. A third-year quarterback that spent time with the New England and Minnesota organizations, Heinicke has yet to play in an NFL game and will only see the field Sunday if Yates struggles mightily or succumbs to an injury.

Lynch (ankle) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Colts.

With Lynch still recovering from a sprained right ankle that he suffered back in Week 12, Trevor Siemian will continue to start at quarterback for the Broncos on Thursday, with Brock Osweiler acting as the backup.

Taylor (knee) was a full participant in practice Wednesday.

As head coach Sean McDermott predicted before the session, Taylor was able to take part in the majority of the drills during the Bills' first practice of the week, which should eliminate any concern about his availability for Sunday's game against the Dolphins. The Bills finished out the Week 14 overtime win over the Colts with their third-string quarterback (Joe Webb) running the offense after Taylor was made inactive shortly before the contest and fill-in starter Nathan Peterman exited early with a concussion. Taylor had previously ceded starting duties to the rookie Peterman in a Week 11 loss to the Chargers, but McDermott reiterated Wednesday that Taylor would start for the rest of the season if healthy enough to do so.