NFL Player News

Winston (shoulder) is inactive Sunday against Miami and will serve as Cleveland's emergency third quarterback.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson would have started behind center for the Browns regardless of Winston's status, but the latter's inactive designation will push Bailey Zappe to the No. 2 QB role Sunday. Meanwhile, Winston will be eligible to enter the game only if both Thompson-Robinson and Zappe are forced out of the game due to injury, illness or ejection.

With Tua Tagovailoa (hip) inactive, Huntley is slated to start Sunday's game against the Browns, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

As a result of Tagovailoa (who had been listed as doubtful) being unable to helm Miami's offense Sunday, Huntley will be making his fourth start of the season. In that fill-in role, Huntley offers a lineup option for fantasy managers in Superflex formats or who are otherwise in need of Week 17 QB help. However, given the rate of production that he put up while previously subbing for Tagovailoa (377 passing yards with a TD and an interception/16 carries for 67 yards and a rushing score in three games), expectations should be tempered for Huntley, as well as Miami's Week 17 pass catchers, a group led by WR Tyreek Hill and TE Jonnu Smith.

Zappe will serve as Cleveland's backup quarterback to Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the second week in a row Sunday, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Former starter Jameis Winston is serving as the emergency third QB for the second straight week due to a shoulder injury, per Easterling. Zappe has yet to appear in a game this season after playing in 14 across his first two campaigns in the NFL in 2022 and 2023, both with New England.

Tagovailoa (hip) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Browns.

Tagovailoa, who was initially deemed questionable for the contest after being listed as limited at practice this past week, was downgraded to doubtful Saturday, so it's not surprising that he's been made inactive Sunday. As a result, Tyler Huntley is slated to start in his place while being backed up by Skylar Thompson, a scenario that figures to hamper the Week 17 fantasy upside of Miami's available pass catchers.

The Chiefs are likely to rest Mahomes and other key starters dealing with minor injuries in their Week 18 game in Denver, Jay Glazer reported on "Fox NFL Sunday."

With its win over the Steelers on Christmas Day, the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and thus have little at stake in the regular-season finale. While head coach Andy Reid likely won't disclose his plans for how the team will approach the Denver game until later in the week, Glazer specifically mentions that Mahomes and Chris Jones (calf) -- both of whom have appeared on injury reports in recent games -- will be rested, along with any other key player nursing an injury. Mahomes sustained a mild high-ankle sprain in the Chiefs' Week 15 win over the Browns, but he's managed to play through the injury at a high level over the last two games, completing 72.2 percent of his passes for 580 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions and adding 45 yards and a score on the ground. Carson Wentz will likely step in as the starter next weekend, which would give Mahomes three weeks of healing time before the Chiefs' postseason opener in the divisional round.

Pratt (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's matchup with the Panthers.

Pratt was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster Saturday, but he wasn't designated as the emergency third quarterback, so Kyle Trask will be the only signal-caller available behind Baker Mayfield in Week 17. The seventh-round pick of the Packers has yet to enter a regular-season game in his rookie campaign.

Boyle (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Colts, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

The third quarterback would need starter Drew Lock and backup Tommy DeVito to get injured, sick or ejected to be able to enter the contest. Boyle has appeared in one game since signing with the Giants in November, and that came when Lock was out with an injury and DeVito had to exit due to a concussion.

Book (coach's decision) is inactive and has been deemed Philadelphia's emergency third quarterback Sunday versus Dallas.

Book was signed to the active roster Saturday after Jalen Hurts was ruled out for Week 17 due to a concussion. Kenny Pickett will be the Eagles' starting signal-caller Sunday, while Tanner McKee is set to work as his backup. Book will be able to enter the game only if both Pickett and McKee are unavailable due to injury, illness or ejection.

Winston, who is questionable for Sunday's game against Miami due to a shoulder injury, is expected to be inactive as Cleveland's emergency third quarterback, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Winston has been dealing with a shoulder issue since last week and appears in line to be inactive for a second straight Sunday. The veteran signal-caller was deemed the Browns' emergency third quarterback for last week's loss to the Bengals, with Dorian Thompson-Robinson getting the start and Bailey Zappe working as the No. 2 signal-caller.

Stafford completed 17 of 32 passes for 189 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday's 13-9 win over the Cardinals. He added six rushes for 16 yards.

Stafford did enough to win and avoided both turnovers and sacks, but he still struggled to get the Rams' offense going. The primary exception came on a drive midway through the second quarter, when he connected on a deep pass to Cooper Kupp for 29 yards and also found Puka Nacua for a gain of 19 to set up a one-yard touchdown run for Kyren Williams. Otherwise, the only thing working for Stafford was targeting Nacua, who was on the receiving end of 10 completions. Overall, Stafford has now failed to reach 200 passing yards in four of his last five games and has only one total touchdown combined across his last three contests.