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  • Saints' Spencer Rattler: Starting again Week 18

    Rattler will remain the starting quarterback Sunday against the Buccaneers, as Derek Carr (hand) has been ruled out, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

    Rattler will make his sixth NFL start, having lost the first five. Including one relief appearance, the rookie fifth-round pick has posted a 3:5 TD:INT. The banged-up Saints will face an uphill battle Sunday on the road against a Buccaneers team that would clinch a playoff berth with a win.

  • Derek Carr QB | NO

    Saints' Derek Carr: Ruled out for Week 18

    Carr (hand) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

    Reports suggested Carr was unlikely to play again this season after he suffered a concussion and broken left hand during a Week 14 win over the Giants. Interim coach Darren Rizzi decided to treat it as a week-to-week matter, at least publicly, but Carr never even returned to practice. Spencer Rattler will make another start Sunday, with Carr then having plenty of time to recover this winter and get back to full strength before OTAs. Carr doesn't currently have any guaranteed money for the final two seasons of his four-year contract, but it'll be difficult for the Saints to move on and absorb a huge dead cap hit given their unusual salary-cap situation/management. Carr's $30 million base salary and $10 million roster bonus for 2025 both become guaranteed in mid-March, which means there will be some kind of renegotiation/restructure before then even if the Saints plan to keep him around as their starting QB for 2025. Carr will turn 34 shortly thereafter, at the end of March.

  • Derek Carr QB | NO

    Saints' Derek Carr: Not spotted at practice

    Carr (left hand) isn't present for the start of Friday's practice, Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football reports.

    It isn't yet clear if the Saints will rule Carr out Friday or further extend the charade of him possibly returning this season to play through a broken hand for a 6-11 team. Either way, Spencer Rattler likely will be under center for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay.

  • Drake Maye QB | NE

    Patriots' Drake Maye: Status in question for Sunday

    Maye (right hand) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Bills, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reports.

    Despite being limited in practice all week and listed as such for Week 18 action, Maye is expected to be under center this weekend, as coach Jarod Mayo told Mike Reiss of ESPN.com on Wednesday and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt relayed to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe on Thursday. The Patriots will post their list of inactives about 90 minutes before Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff, so a decision on Maye's status should become known by that point. Jacoby Brissett and Joe Milton are the other signal-callers on New England's active roster.

  • Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes: Out for Week 18

    Coach Andy Reid said Friday that Mahomes (ankle) won't play Sunday at Denver, Charles Goldman of AtoZSports.com reports.

    Reid relayed Wednesday that Mahomes wouldn't start the Chiefs' regular-season finale, instead yielding starting QB duties to Carson Wentz in Week 18 with the No. 1 seed in the AFC locked up, per Matt McMullen of the team's official site. Mahomes also continues to deal with the residual effects of the mild high-ankle sprain that he suffered Week 15 in Cleveland, so he'll get two weeks to rest and rehab before Kansas City next takes the field in the divisional round on either Jan. 18 or 19.

  • Tanner McKee QB | PHI

    Eagles' Tanner McKee: Expecting to start Week 18

    McKee is preparing to start Sunday's game against the Giants, Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sports Radio 94 WIP Philadelphia reports.

    The Eagles are locked in as the NFC's No. 2 seed and thus have no reason to rush Jalen Hurts (concussion) or Kenny Pickett (ribs) back from their respective injuries. McKee fared well in his Week 17 cameo, completing three of four passes for 54 yards and two TDs after replacing an injured Pickett. Things will be tougher this week, with McKee presumably throwing to backups rather than A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

  • Mason Rudolph QB | PIT

    Titans' Mason Rudolph: Won't start, but in line to play Sunday

    Will Levis will start Sunday's season finale against the Texans, per Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site, but Rudolph will also see action in the contest.

    The prospect of a signal-caller timeshare Sunday isn't appealing from a fantasy perspective, but in a week with multiple moving parts at the QB position due to injuries or starters being limited or rested this weekend, Levis and/or Rudolph represent lineup options for those in deep leagues scrambling for a Week 18 fill-in.

  • Will Levis QB | TEN

    Titans' Will Levis: In line to start Sunday

    Head coach Brian Callahan relayed Friday that Levis will start Sunday's season finale against the Texans, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

    Per Wyatt, Callahan said that fellow QB Mason Rudolph also will play in Sunday's contest. Of the two, however, Levis profiles as the higher-percentage Week 18 fantasy dart, with Turron Davenport of ESPN.com and John Glennon of NashvillePost.com suggesting that if Levis plays well Sunday, the snap share could tilt in his favor.

  • Joe Flacco QB | CIN

    Colts' Joe Flacco: Set to start Sunday

    Flacco will start Sunday's season finale against the Jaguars, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

    The veteran QB will get his second straight start, with Anthony Richardson (back) having been ruled out for Sunday's contest, per head coach Shane Steichen. While filling in for Richardson in Week 17, Flacco completed 26 of 38 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in the Colts' 45-33 loss to the Giants. Flacco thus represents a Week 18 lineup option for those in need of QB help due to injuries or scenarios in which their signal-callers will be limited or rested this weekend.

  • Colts' Anthony Richardson: Ruled out for Sunday

    Head coach Shane Steichen noted Friday that Richardson (back) has been ruled out for Sunday's season finale against the Jaguars.

    Per James Boyd of The Athletic, Steichen also relayed that veteran QB Joe Flacco will start in place of Richardson on Sunday. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft thus finishes his second season as a pro having completed 126 of his 264 pass attempts for 1,814 yards with eight TDs and 12 picks to go along with 86 carries for 499 yards and six rushing scores in 11 games. Now that he's been deemed out for Week 18, Richardson will turn his focus to moving past his back issue and approaching the 2025 campaign healthy.

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