NFL Player News

Head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that the Dolphins are preparing as though Huntley will start Sunday against the Jets rather than Tua Tagovailoa (hip), Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Wolfe notes that Tagovailoa is slated to be a limited participant in practice Wednesday, and a decision on Miami's starting quarterback for Sunday likely won't be made until the end of the week. That said, Huntley looks to be trending toward another start, on the heels of helming the Dolphins' 20-3 win over the Browns this past weekend. He turned in perhaps the finest performance of his five-year career in Week 17, completing 22 of 26 pass attempts for 225 yards, one touchdown and no interception while adding 52 yards and another score on seven carries.

Head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that the Dolphins are preparing as though Tyler Huntley will start Sunday's game against the Jets rather than Tagovailoa (hip), Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

McDaniel said that Tagovailoa will be a limited participant in practice Wednesday, and while a decision on the Dolphins' Week 18 starting quarterback isn't final, Huntley looks to be trending toward directing the Miami offense for a second straight game. The 8-8 Dolphins are one of the few teams around the league with something on the line in Week 18, as they need a win plus a Broncos loss to the Chiefs on Sunday in order to clinch their spot in the postseason.

Head coach Andy Reid confirmed Wednesday that Wentz will start Sunday's regular-season finale against the Broncos, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

With the Chiefs having clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed, Reid said that "it wasn't a hard decision" to rest normal starter Patrick Mahomes in Week 18, according to Nate Taylor of The Athletic. Wentz is thus slated for his first extended action with the Chiefs, after playing just nine snaps in total over his previous two appearances this season. Chris Oladokun will likely be elevated from the practice squad to serve as the backup to Wentz on Sunday while Mahomes is expected to be inactive as the emergency No. 3 quarterback.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday that Hurts (concussion) isn't likely to play Sunday against the Giants, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Sirianni relayed that the Eagles intend to rest a number of starters in the regular-season finale, a list that includes Hurts, who remains in the concussion protocol. It's unclear if Hurts has made any progress in his recovery from the concussion, but the Eagles are still deciding on who will be under center Week 18 after Kenny Pickett started in place of Hurts in last Sunday's win over the Cowboys but was forced out with a rib injury. Tanner McKee finished out that contest and would be next in line to start Week 18 if Pickett can't go, while Ian Book also is on the active roster.

Head coach Andy Reid said that Mahomes won't start in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Broncos, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

Reid confirmed that Carson Wentz will direct the offense in Week 18, with the coach noting that the decision to rest Mahomes wasn't a difficult decision with the Chiefs having clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, per Nate Taylor of The Athletic. With Kansas City having earned a first-round bye, Mahomes' next game action won't come until the divisional round of the playoffs on Jan. 18 or 19. An extended break should be beneficial for Mahomes, who suffered a mild high-ankle sprain Week 15 and had played through the injury in the Chiefs' last two contests.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Wednesday that he's hopeful Richardson (back) will be available for Sunday's season finale against the Jaguars, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star reports.

Back issues prevented Richardson from playing in Week 17, but the quarterback could return to action this weekend depending on how he fares in practice over the next three days. With the Colts holding a walk-through session Wednesday, what Richardson is able to do during Thursday's session will provide a better indication of which direction he's trending in for Sunday's contest. For his part, Richardson -- who dislocated that he's dealing with a disc issue -- said Wednesday that he's feeling much better this week compared to last, per Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star.

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday that both Zappe and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (calf) could see snaps at quarterback in Saturday's game at Baltimore, Patrick Warren of the Browns' official site reports. "There's a scenario where we [play both], but I want to make sure we get through the week before making the final determination," Stefanski said.

Zappe was signed to the Browns' active roster Oct. 22 but has yet to make his team debut. He served as the emergency third quarterback initially upon his arrival, but Zappe was elevated to the backup spot the last two weeks with Jameis Winston (shoulder) being the emergency quarterback. Stefanski said that Winston will likely be inactive once again Saturday, but a determination on whether Thompson-Robinson or Zappe starts won't be made until the end of the practice week.

Stroud admitted to being banged up Tuesday as the Texans prepare for Sunday's game at Tennessee, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans acknowledged Stroud is dealing with soreness, as many NFL players are at this point of the season. The quarterback practiced Monday, and while he looks like he'll be available to play Sunday, Houston is locked in as the fourth seed for the AFC playoffs and can't improve its position. Though Ryans suggested that all players healthy enough to suit up will play -- including Stroud -- the Texans could turn the game over to backup players at some point during the contest.

Thompson-Robinson (calf) was listed as a limited participant in Tuesday's walk-through practice, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Thompson-Robinson suffered the calf injury in the Browns' Week 16 loss to the Bengals, but after opening Week 17 prep with a pair of limited practices, he upgraded to full participation Friday before heading into last Sunday's game against the Dolphins without a designation. While making a second straight start in Cleveland's 20-3 loss to Miami, Thompson-Robinson struggled to move the offense, completing just 24 of 47 passes for 170 yards, no touchdowns and one interception to go with 10 yards and a lost fumble on four carries. The calf issue shouldn't prevent Thompson-Robinson from being available Saturday in Baltimore, though head coach Kevin Stefanski said earlier Tuesday that he's still deciding on a Week 18 starter and could end up using both Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe in the season finale, per Cabot.

Burrow (wrist/knee) was a limited participant in Tuesday's walk-through session, Jay Morrison of SI.com reports.

For the fourth week in a row, Burrow is appearing on Cincinnati's injury report with both right wrist and knee issues, but neither injury is expected to keep him from suiting up for Saturday's game in Pittsburgh. In the Bengals' previous matchup with the Steelers back in Week 13, Burrow completed 28 of 38 pass attempts for 309 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while adding nine yards on two carries and losing two fumbles in a 44-38 loss.