NFL Player News

Head coach Matt Eberflus confirmed Wednesday that Williams will remain the Bears' starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Packers, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

The Bears have lost each of their three games following their Week 7 bye, and Williams has taken a step backward in his development after he had completed 74.1 percent of his passes for 530 yards and a 6:1 TD:INT in the two games prior to the bye. Since the bye week, Williams has completed just 50.5 percent of his throws for 4.9 yards per attempt while committing one turnover (a lost fumble) and taking 18 sacks. Despite those struggles, Williams didn't look to be in any immediate danger of losing his starting job, but after the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday, Ebeflus reaffirmed that the No. 1 overall pick wouldn't be benched for 2023 undrafted free agent Tyson Bagent. Bears passing game coordinator Thomas Brown is now set to take over as the interim offensive coordinator, and while Williams has nowhere to go but up following the coaching staff shakeup, he'll still represent a volatile fantasy option heading into a Week 11 matchup with Green Bay. Williams and the Bears will face a tough road over their final eight contests of the season, as a Week 17 game against the 4-5 Seahawks is Chicago's only matchup left with a team that's currently under .500.

Prescott underwent surgery Wednesday to address the partial avulsion of his right hamstring, David Moore of The Dallas Morning News reports.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Prescott will likely need three months to fully recover from surgery, which means that he should be ready for some, if not all, of the offseason program. With his 2024 season over, he'll finish with 1,978 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 64.7 percent passing and 13 carries for 54 yards and one touchdown in eight appearances. Cooper Rush will continue to direct the Cowboys offense, but the potential exists for Trey Lance to see time under center or even start at some point over the final eight contests of the regular season.

Darnold was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice due to a right hand injury.

Darnold offered up sterling quarterback play through the first four weeks of the campaign, tallying an 11:3 TD:INT and completing 68.9 percent of his passes. In five games since then, his completion percentage (68.4) is nearly the same, but he's fallen off to a 6:7 TD:INT during that stretch. Darnold now is dealing with a health concern to his throwing hand, so even if he doesn't miss Sunday's game against the Titans, his accuracy could take a hit in the short term.

Love (groin) was a full practice participant Wednesday.

Love exited early during the Packers' Week 8 win at Jacksonville due to a strained groin but was able to play every snap in a Week 9 loss to the Lions. He struggled in rainy conditions in the latter contest, completing 23 of 39 passes for 273 yards, no touchdowns and one interception while being credited with three fumbles, none of which he lost. With the team's Week 9 bye to heal up, Love is good to go moving forward, but running backs Josh Jacobs (quadriceps) and MarShawn Lloyd (ankle/hamstring) both were limited participants Wednesday, leaving the backfield in some flux ahead of Sunday's contest at Chicago.

Cousins was a limited participant in practice Wednesday due to right shoulder and elbow injuries, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

Cousins apparently came out of Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Saints with a pair of injuries to his throwing arm. His participation in practice to start the week, even in a limited capacity, suggests he'll likely play this Sunday at Denver in the final game before Atlanta's bye.

Ridder will remain the Raiders' backup quarterback in Sunday's game against the Dolphins after head coach Antonio Pierce announced Wednesday that Gardner Minshew will retain starting duties, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.

Though Minshew was pulled early for performance-related reasons for the third time in seven starts in the Raiders' Week 9 loss to the Bengals, Pierce said coming out of a Week 10 bye that Minshew gives the team the best chance to win. Ridder came on in relief of Minshew versus Cincinnati and wasn't overly impressive, as he completed 11 of 16 passes for 74 yards (4.6 YPA) and a touchdown, but he also lost a fumble. While Minshew will keep the job for now, he remains a weekly candidate to be benched if he struggles to move the offense, so it may not be long before Ridder gets another opportunity.

McCarthy underwent a procedure on his right knee this week after an increase in his rehab work caused some swelling, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

In the wake of a successful preseason debut back on Aug. 10, McCarthy reported soreness in his right knee, and he eventually was diagnosed with a torn meniscus, which required surgery Aug. 14. Considering he was placed on injured reserve before Week 1, the rookie first-round pick isn't eligible to play this season, so getting him healthy will be a priority for the Vikings as he heads into his first full offseason. In the meantime, the Vikings will continue to entrust the offense to quarterback Sam Darnold.

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said that Minshew will remain the team's starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.

Following the Raiders' 41-24 loss to the Bengals in Week 9, Pierce said that he would evaluate the team's quarterback situation during the Week 10 bye, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic. Pierce has ultimately decided to stick with Minshew, with Pierce telling Gutierrez that Minshew gives the team "the best opportunity to move forward, and he has every opportunity to go out there and help us get to a win." Desmond Ridder will thus remain in a backup role behind Minshew, who had opened the season as Oakland's starter before losing the job to Aidan O'Connell in Week 6 and then regaining it after O'Connell suffered a fractured thumb in a Week 7 loss to the Rams.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday that Flacco will return to a backup role with Anthony Richardson having been named the team's starting quarterback for the rest of the season, JJ Stankeviz of the team's official site reports.

After Richardson was benched following the Colts' Week 8 loss to the Texans, Flacco started both of the past two contests. However, he struggled to protect the ball in losses to the Vikings and Bills, as Flacco completed 67.7 percent of his throws for a respectable 7.3 yards per attempt between the two games but tossed four interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) and lost two fumbles. Despite Flacco's struggles, Steichen previously said Monday that the 39-year-old veteran would continue to direct the offense in Week 11, only to change course on that decision two days later. Richardson has had his own issues with both accuracy (44.4 percent completion rate) and turnovers (seven interceptions, two lost fumbles) over his six starts this season, but the 4-6 Colts are hoping that the two-week benching will have the 22-year-old in a better position to succeed as he returns to the lineup this Sunday against the Jets. Meanwhile, Flacco will stay ready in the event Richardson misses time with an injury over the final seven games of 2024 before heading into free agency this offseason.

Head coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday that Richardson will serve as the Colts' starting quarterback, beginning with Sunday's game against the Jets, JJ Stankevitz of the team's official site reports.

The Colts turned to Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback for the past two games, but after losing both contests while Flacco turned the ball over six times, the team will hand the keys to the offense back over to Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Though Richardson's struggles in the passing game led to the prior change, the 22-year-old carries enough upside a rusher to merit fantasy lineup consideration, especially with four teams on bye in Week 11. Steichen cited the strides the young quarterback has made over the last couple of weeks in terms of attention to detail led to the decision to reinstall him as starter, according to James Boyd of The Athletic.