NFL Player News
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C.J. Stroud QB | HOU
Texans' C.J. Stroud: Delivers two TDs in Week 18 win
Stroud completed 14 of 23 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 38-30 win over the Colts. He added five rushing yards and a TD on two carries.
With the Texans coming into Sunday with a chance to win the AFC South, Stroud got the start and connected with Jayden Higgins on an 11-yard score before running in a two-yard TD himself, both in the second quarter. With the out-of-town scoreboard not cooperating and the Jaguars winning big, however, Stroud gave way to Davis Mills in the second half. Stroud wraps up the regular season with a career-high 64.5 percent completion rate, along with 3,041 passing yards and a 19:8 TD:INT in 14 games, and he'll be under center in the wild-card round when Houston hits the road to take on the winner of Sunday night's Baltimore-Pittsburgh clash to decide the AFC North.
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Cooper Rush QB | BAL
Ravens' Cooper Rush: Emergency QB for Week 18
Rush (coach's decision) is inactive but will serve as the Ravens' emergency quarterback for Sunday night's game against the Steelers.
Rush served as the backup to Tyler Huntley in Week 17 against the Packers, but the former will revert to his emergency role after Lamar Jackson was cleared to play Week 18. As such, Rush will not be allowed to play Sunday unless both Jackson and Huntley leave the game due to injury, illness or ejection.
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Riley Leonard QB | IND
Colts' Riley Leonard: Produces three TDs in first start
Leonard completed 21 of 34 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in Sunday's 38-30 loss to the Texans. He added 21 rushing yards and a TD on three carries but lost two fumbles.
Despite the turnovers, it was a surprisingly productive performance from the sixth-round rookie in his first career NFL start against an elite Houston defense that still had something to play for when the game began. Both of Leonard's passing TDs went to Alec Pierce, and the QB's one-yard rushing score in the third quarter briefly gave Indy a 24-23 lead. The Colts' quarterback situation heading into 2026 remains murky with Daniel Jones (Achilles) a free agent and Anthony Richardson (eye) barely playing this season and getting little chance to further his development, but Leonard is unlikely to find himself at the top of the depth chart in Week 1.
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Joe Burrow QB | CIN
Bengals' Joe Burrow: Tosses three TDs in Week 18 loss
Burrow completed 29 of 39 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in Sunday's 20-18 loss to the Browns. He added 17 rushing yards on two carries.
The star quarterback hit all his biggest targets -- Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown -- for scores, but Evan McPherson had a rough day, getting one PAT blocked and missing his second before the Bengals failed to convert a two-point attempt on their final TD. Burrow wraps up a tough 2025 season with a 17:5 TD:INT in only eight games, the second time in the last three years he's missed significant time due to injuries.
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Kirk Cousins QB | ATL
Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Serviceable finish to season
Cousins completed 18 of 32 passes for 180 yards with a touchdown and an interception while adding three carries for no gain in the Falcons' 19-17 win over the Saints on Sunday.
Cousins, who was dealing with an illness that came on overnight, averaged a modest 5.6 yards per attempt and took four sacks, so it wasn't the smoothest of afternoons for the veteran signal-caller. However, Cousins was able to fire a 15-yard touchdown pass to Drake London late in the first quarter, and he displayed his usual chemistry with both his No. 1 receiver and tight end Kyle Pitts. Cousins opened the season with a bleak fantasy outlook and uncertain future as the No. 2 quarterback behind Michael Penix (IR, knee), but the former started the final seven games (and eight overall). Cousins completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards with a 10:5 TD:INT while adding 14 rushes for seven yards and another score across 10 appearances overall. Penix should have a solid chance of being ready for the start of the 2026 regular season, while Cousins remains under contract with the Falcons through the 2027 campaign.
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Shedeur Sanders QB | CLE
Browns' Shedeur Sanders: Quiet in Week 18 win
Sanders completed 11 of 22 passes for 111 yards without a touchdown or an interception in Sunday's 20-18 win over the Bengals. He also lost a fumble.
The Browns did score two touchdowns in the win, but neither had anything to do with Sanders and the offense -- Devin Bush had a 97-yard INT return in the first quarter, and Sam Webb took a fumble 47 yards to the house in the second. Sanders, a fifth-round rookie, wraps up his first NFL season having completed just 56.6 percent (120-for-212) of his passes with a 7:10 TD:INT in eight games, and he likely hasn't done enough to convince Cleveland not to look for an upgrade at quarterback in the offseason.
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Tyler Shough QB | NO
Saints' Tyler Shough: Strong finish to rookie campaign
Shough completed 23 of 35 passes for 259 yards with one touchdown and one interception while rushing three times for 34 yards and another score in the Saints' 19-17 loss to the Falcons on Sunday.
Shough was able to head into the offseason with yet another encouraging outing, capping off a second half of the season in which the 2025 second-round pick cemented himself as the Saints' starter heading into 2026. Shough opened New Orleans' scoring with a one-yard run late in the second quarter, and he went on to add a 16-yard scoring toss with just over a minute remaining that featured a nifty one-handed catch from Ronnie Bell. Shough finished his rookie season having completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 2,384 yards and a 10:6 TD:INT while adding a 45-186-3 rushing line across 11 games.
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Dak Prescott QB | DAL
Cowboys' Dak Prescott: Throws for 4,552 yards in 2025
Prescott completed seven of 11 passes for 70 yards and rushed twice for minus-1 yard, in addition to losing a fumble, in Sunday's 34-17 loss to the Giants. He finishes the 2025 season with 4,552 passing yards and a 30:10 TD:INT.
Prescott came into the regular-season finale with the most passing yards, completions and pass attempts in the NFL. With the Cowboys eliminated from playoff contention, he didn't add much to those totals before being replaced by backup Joe Milton at halftime. Prescott is set to carry a cap hit slightly north of $74 million in 2026, but the Cowboys have little choice but to stick with the 32-year-old quarterback despite the team's lack of playoff success.
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Max Brosmer QB | MIN
Vikings' Max Brosmer: Wraps up regular-season finale
Brosmer completed seven of eight passes for 57 yards without a touchdown or interception in Sunday's 16-3 win over the Packers. He did lose a fumble.
J.J. McCarthy (hand) left the game in the third quarter and didn't return, putting Brosmer under center to finish out the season for the Vikings. The undrafted rookie appeared in eight games overall as McCarthy battled injuries, and Brosmer wound up completing 66.2 percent of his passes (47-for-71) for 328 yards, albeit with zero TDs and five turnovers -- four INTs and Sunday's lost fumble. Minnesota still seems committed to McCarthy as its QB of the future, but given his inability to stay healthy, the team may look to bring in a more established backup in the offseason rather than relying on Brosmer to fill that role in 2026.