NFL Player News

Flacco won't start Sunday's game against the Bengals, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

With the Browns locked into the No. 5 playoff seed in the AFC playoffs, Flacco will be rested in Week 18. As a result, Jeff Driskel will start Sunday's game, with PJ Walker backing him up. Flacco's next game action will come during the wild-card round the following weekend.

Head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Mahomes won't play in Sunday's regular-season finale versus the Chargers, Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports.

The Chiefs are locked in as the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs regardless of how all the Week 18 games play out, so Mahomes and some other key starters will be rested while little is at stake in the regular-season finale. Blaine Gabbert is slated to make his first start of the season Sunday in Mahomes' stead, but he may not have his full complement of weapons available.

Head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Wilson hasn't cleared the NFL's concussion protocol and won't play in Sunday's season finale against the Patriots, Eric Allen of the Jets' official site reports.

With Wilson unavailable for Week 18, Trevor Siemian will make a third straight start under center. Meanwhile, Saleh was non-committal Wednesday regarding Wilson's future with the franchise, noting that he believed that the signal-caller has a long career ahead of him, but whether that will be with the Jets or elsewhere remains to be seen. In any case, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft finishes up his 2023 campaign with 2,271 passing yards and 211 rushing yards to go along with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Siemian will start Sunday's season finale against the Patriots with Zach Wilson (concussion) having been ruled out for Week 18, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Siemian will make a third consecutive start to close out the season. Across two previous starts and two relief appearances, Siemian has produced a 2:4 TD:INT while averaging a paltry 4.9 yards per pass attempt. With Siemian and Bailey Zappe at quarterback for the Jets and Patriots, respectively, Sunday's game is unlikely to feature much offensive firepower.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Mayfield (ribs) wouldn't have participated if the Buccaneers held practice Wednesday, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

Tampa Bay has a walk-through scheduled Wednesday, and Mayfield will likely be listed as a non-participant when the Buccaneers release their estimated injury report later in the day. Bowles added that Kyle Trask will likely get more reps in practice Thursday in anticipation of a possible absence from Mayfield on Sunday against the Panthers. The Buccaneers would clinch the NFC South crown with a win in Carolina, so Mayfield will do all he can to be available by Sunday. However, Bowles seemed less sure about Mayfield's availability for the regular-season finale than he did when asked about the quarterback's injury Monday.

Heinicke (ankle) will be a limited participant at practice Wednesday, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

The fact that Heinicke is slated to practice in any capacity to open Week 18 prep offers hope that the quarterback could play in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Saints. However, ift Heinicke is deemed unavailable this weekend while he tends to a left ankle injury, Desmond Ridder would draw the start in the Falcons' must-win contest.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Wednesday that Taylor will remain the team's starting quarterback for Sunday's season finale versus the Eagles, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

Though the Giants have been eliminated from playoff contention, Daboll will stick with the veteran signal-caller in Week 18 rather than pivoting back to undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito. While making his fourth start and 10th appearance of the season in this past Sunday's 26-25 loss to the Rams, Taylor completed 27 of 41 passes for 319 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding 40 yards on six rushing attempts.

Lawrence (shoulder) is scheduled for limited practice participation Wednesday, Mia O'Brien of 1010 XL 92.5 FM Jacksonville reports.

Head coach Doug Pederson referred to Lawrence as day-to-day at the beginning of the week and again Wednesday when he spoke to the media. The quarterback missed Sunday's 26-0 win over Carolina with an injury to his throwing shoulder, but the Jaguars seemingly have some hope of getting both Lawrence and wideout Christian Kirk (groin) back in the lineup for Sunday's all-important game against the Titans. A win would make the Jaguars the No. 4 seed, while a loss would leave them needing help to land the seventh and final spot in the AFC playoffs.

Head coach Sean McDermott said Tuesday that while Allen is sore after suffering a neck stinger on the final drive of Buffalo's win over the Patriots on Sunday, the quarterback's practice schedule this week or availability for this weekend's regular-season finale in Miami isn't likely to be affected, Alec White of the Bills' official site reports.

The Bills are playing for the the AFC East crown in a huge primetime matchup Sunday, and even if enough things break their way ahead of the NFL's final regular-season game to ensure they are guaranteed at least a wild-card spot, a loss to the Dolphins would cost the team home playoff games and significant seeding. As such, it's hard to picture a scenario in which Allen won't play, setting the stage for him to be one of the better fantasy options in a week where several starting quarterbacks will be rested or are already hurt.

The Rams signed Winn to their practice squad Tuesday.

The Rams cut Winn from their practice squad back in early November, but they've now decided to bring him back into the fold ahead of Week 18. Assuming Matthew Stafford and Carson Wentz remain healthy, Winn will probably remain on the practice squad for the rest of the season.