NFL Player News

The Texans made it official Tuesday, placing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on injured reserve with a broken leg. Coach Bill O'Brien has said Thad Lewis or newly-signed Case Keenum will start Sunday against the Ravens.

The Redskins put quarterback Colt McCoy on injured reserve Tuesday, two days after he aggravated his neck injury in the loss to the Giants. McCoy played in five games this season, completing 71.1 percent of this throws for 1,057 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions.

McCoy will be a free agent in 2015.

Washington will start Robert Griffin III on Saturday against the Eagles.

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has had decent success as a rookie quarterback in 2014. He has a .500 record through his first 10 starts, while completing 63.5 percent of his passes and posting an 82.7 quarterback rating.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer understood the risk of Bridgewater losing confidence had he struggled immensely as a rookie, but luckily that hasn't been the case.

"I know this guy's got a chance to be the guy for a long, long time here, and what I was nervous about at the beginning of the year was I didn't want to get him beat up," Zimmer said, per the Pioneer Press. "I didn't want to get him gun-shy; I didn't want to get him a bunch of bad outings where he didn't have the confidence and that attitude that he was going to do the things that he's doing.

"The one thing I do know about Teddy is he learns from the experiences he's had. I expect him to continue to improve in those ways. I'm really glad that he's playing."

The emergence of Jeremy Hill, who ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns in Week 15, as the Bengals' go-to running back probably gives them less incentive to throw the ball going forward. They'll obviously have to when playing from behind, which could be the case Week 16 against Denver, and when they do, quarterback Andy Dalton could put up decent numbers with star wide receiver A.J. Green at his disposal. But when they don't, he's liable to disappear entirely.

Week 15 was amazingly Dalton's third game this season with less than 150 passing yards. Granted, it was the first win, but he's had enough sub-200-yard games in general that you really don't want to be in the business of making predictions with him.

For more major takeaways from Week 15, be sure to check out my latest post to the Fantasy Football Today blog.

While Jets quarterback Geno Smith has been benched because of his poor play during his second season, coach Rex Ryan told reporters Monday he has been pleased with Smith, reports Newsday.

"I've been happy with Geno," Ryan said.

Smith had his best performance of the season Sunday at Tennessee. The game marked the first time this season Smith was able to throw a touchdown pass without throwing an interception in a game. The Jets host the Patriots Sunday.

While the Redskins are still evaluating quarterback Colt McCoy’s injured neck before making a roster decision, sources have indicated the team is leaning toward placing McCoy on injured reserve, reports csnwashington.com.

McCoy was listed as questionable heading into Week 15’s game against the Giants with a neck injury and McCoy aggravated the injury on the team’s opening drive. He was forced to exit the game and did not return.

The Texans announced that Tom Savage will miss Week 16 against the Ravens due to a knee injury he suffered on the penultimate play of Sunday's loss against the Colts. The loss of Savage, Ryan Fitzpatrick (broken tibia) and Ryan Mallett (pectoral) means that the starting job will come down to Thad Lewis and newly-signed Case Keenum, coach Bill O'Brien told reporters, per the team's official website.

Lewis was signed to the 53-man active roster on Nov. 26, when Mallett landed on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. He was the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart entering Sunday's game against Indianapolis before Fitzpatrick went down with a season-ending injury. Second-stringer Tom Savage took over for Fitzpatrick but hurt his knee late in the game. As a result, the team signed Case Keenum on Sunday night, who played eight games in 2013 with the Texans and is familiar with the offensive.

"He'd been in our system not long ago," O'Brien said of Keenum, per the Houston Chronicle. "A lot of the things we're doing are what we were doing. He's a bright guy."

Texans coach Bill O'Brien told reporters Monday that rookie quarterback Tom Savage will not start Week 16 against Baltimore because of a knee injury, per the team's official website. According to the Houston Chronicle, Savage may miss the final two games of the season.

Savage relieved Ryan Fitzpatrick (broken tibia) and sustained the injury on the penultimate play of Sunday's loss to Indianapolis. He completed 10 of his 19 passes for 127 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Savage underwent an MRI on his knee after the game, but O'Brien did not reveal the results of his exam. The Texans will now turn to Thad Lewis or newly-signed Case Keenum to start against the Ravens.

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Monday the plan is for Robert Griffin III to start at quarterback Saturday against the Eagles.

Griffin replaced Colt McCoy in Sunday's game against the Giants after McCoy aggravated a neck injury on the opening drive. Gruden said McCoy will continue to be monitored by doctors during the week.

Gruden added the team will try to build the offense around Griffin's strengths. He said it's important for the run game to be effective in order for Griffin to be productive.

"It's important for our offense to rally around him, and to play well around him, also," Gruden said. "Moving forward, this is Robert's team right now."

Texans backup quarterback Thad Lewis told the Houston Chronicle Monday he has "no question" he can be ready to start Week 16 against the Ravens, if needed.

"I actually don’t know anything," Lewis said. "I'm like you guys, just waiting and trying to find out. You can only control what you can control. I'm just trying to be ready and whatever the coach's decision, just roll with that."

Lewis was signed to the 53-man active roster on Nov. 26, when Ryan Mallett landed on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. He was the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart entering Sunday's game against Indianapolis before Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a broken leg. Second-stringer Tom Savage took over for Fitzpatrick but hyper-extended his knee on the penultimate play of the game. He is expected to undergo an MRI. The team also signed Case Keenum following Fitzpatrick's injury.