NFL Player News

Sources have indicated the Texans will sign quarterback Thad Lewis to replace Ryan Mallett, according to NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Mallett was lost for the season after tearing his pectoral muscle Week 12 and the Texans have Ryan Fitzpatrick as their only healthy quarterback on the roster.

In six career starts, Lewis has thrown five touchdown passes and four interceptions. In Week 13, the Texans play against Tennessee.

All the Jets who were probable on the injury report are active for Monday's game against the Bills in Detroit.

The list includes running backs Chris Ivory (shoulder) and Chris Johnson (knee), guard Oday Aboushi (shoulder), linebacker Antwan Barnes (knee), guard Willie Colon (knee), wideout T.J. Graham (neck), linebacker David Harris (shoulder), safety Jaiquawn Jarrett (calf), center Nick Mangold (shoulder), linebacker Trevor Reilly (knee), receiver Greg Salas (wrist), cornerback Darrin Walls (calf) and quarterback Geno Smith (right shoulder).

Texans coach Bill O'Brien said Monday quarterback Ryan Mallett is still being evaluated and would not confirm the report Mallett is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn right pectoral, according to The Houston Chronicle.

O'Brien said he will have "more to report" on Mallett's status later in the week. O'Brien would not name a starting quarterback for Week 13 against the Titans. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tom Savage are the two other quarterbacks on the roster.

"I'm trying to get ready for Tennessee," O'Brien said. "Whether (Mallett is) there or not, the next guy's gonna step up, whoever it is."

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer was not pleased with his three-interception performance following Sunday's last-second win over the Falcons in Week 12, per Cleveland Plain Dealer. Two of his three interceptions came on passes intended for Josh Gordon in the final five minutes of the game.

"It's great to win but I'm really disappointed in myself," said Hoyer. "I feel like I let the team down even though we won. That's not how I play. Obviously it's great to get a win and be 7-4, but I have to do a better job."

Hoyer has cracked the 300-yard mark for the third time in his last four games. He has three touchdowns and six interceptions over that strech.

Here's the thing: If you've been starting Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford in Fantasy all this time, your season is probably just about over anyway. He's contributed multiple scores in only five of 11 games this season, and he just had his second straight with no scores at all Week 12 at New England. At a position where the minimum expectation is two scores in a standard 12-team league -- and some of the best are liable to have three or four -- that's a backbreaker.

Of course, Stafford himself has been one of the best of the best before. In 2011, he threw for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns. But that was three years ago. Any hope of a coaching change helping him recapture that form is long gone now.

To some degree, you could have seen his last two games coming given the matchups. The Patriots and Cardinals have two of the more opportunistic pass defenses in football. But interceptions weren't as much the problem for Stafford in those games as a lack of touchdown passes. Zero over a two-game stretch is unacceptable for a presumed top-12 quarterback, regardless of the competition.

But all that being said ... he's going against a Bears defense in Week 13 that has been absolutely dreadful against the pass, he has two of probably the NFL's best 25 wide receivers in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, and he had his best three-game stretch of the season prior to these last two games. If you've stuck it out this long with him, might as well go down with the ship, right?

For the third time in four games, Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer threw for 300 yards Week 12 at Atlanta.

He had 322, to be exact. It was his second-best single-game total this season. But because of some miscommunication with star wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was making his season debut after serving a 10-game suspension, he also had a season-high three interceptions, including two in the fourth quarter, both on passes that sailed well beyond Gordon's reach.

That's what miscommunication will do for a quarterback.

What will Gordon do for a quarterback? Well, even with all that miscommunication, he still led the Browns with 120 receiving yards. And that was with his longest catch going for just 24 yards. He and Hoyer failed to connect on all the deep balls -- again, a product of miscommunication.

The takeaway for Hoyer owners: Just imagine what can do when he and his star wide receiver are communicating. And I don't mean via text. Imagine when they've had more than just a few days of practice, when they've had a chance to get in sync and aren't missing on all those plays they could have made in Week 12.

Hoyer may be a so-so quarterback, but he's a so-so quarterback who could be in for a big finish, making him a player to monitor even in standard 12-team leagues.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 211 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions while racking up a team-high 73 rushing yards on 10 carries in Seattle's 19-3 win over Arizona in Week 12.

Wilson has been a little uneven in the passing game lately, completing less than 50 percent of his attempts in Week 9 and less than 60 percent in Week 10, but played exceedingly well against a very good Arizona defense Sunday, posting a season-high 77.3 completion percentage while rushing for at least 70 yards for his third straight game. His touchdown came after the Seahawks put four field goals on the board, connecting with Cooper Helfet on a 20-yard score in the third quarter. He'll look to keep rolling when the Seahawks head to San Francisco Thursday.

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill put together arguably the finest performance of his career in Week 12, in a 39-36 loss to the Broncos.

Tannehill found the end zone for the first time all season on the ground, and added three more through the air, en route to a 32-point Fantasy game that stands as his second best of the season. However, he also delivered a crushing late interception as the Broncos worked their way back for the win.

This might have been the most promising performance of Tannehill's career, as he was effective in the red zone and made plays with his arm and his legs. He heads into a solid matchup against the Jets in Week 13 riding high, and could be a solid Fantasy play against a defense that ranks dead last against quarterbacks. 

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill had one of his better games of the season in Week 12, accounting for four touchdowns in a 39-36 loss to Denver.

Tannehill completed 26 of his 36 pass attempts for 228 yards and threw for three touchdowns. He also added a rushing score which was his first of the season and the first time he scored four touchdowns in a game this season. He added 15 rushing yards on four attempts.

Tannehill connected with rookie wide receiver Jarvis Landry on two of his passing touchdowns, with Mike Wallace also catching a touchdown from Tannehill. The Dolphins next Monday against the Jets.

The Cowboys have listed the following players as inactive for Sunday night's Week 12 matchup with the Giants: cornerback Tyler Patmon (knee, ankle), defensive tackles Josh Brent (groin) and Terrell McClain, offensive tackles Tony Hills and Donald Hawkins, safety Jakar Hamilton and quarterback Dustin Vaughan.

Patmon had previously been ruled out of Week 12 action, while Brent had been listed as probable. Five other probables are active for the Cowboys, including quarterback Tony Romo (back), offensive tackle Doug Free (foot), linebacker Rolando McClain (knee), defensive tackle Nick Hayden (shoulder) and defensive end Tyrone Crawford (knee).