NFL Player News

Head coach Kevin O'Connell intimated Friday that Cousins and other key starters on offense and defense may not play the entirety of the Vikings' Week 18 game in Chicago, Joe Nelson of SI.com reports. "We've got a pretty clear cut plan with how we want to go about the whole game, but we're going to go in with the expectation of our guys going and try to get off to a good start and play good football," O'Connell said.

Minnesota is assured no worse than the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs regardless of how this weekend's games transpire, but since the Vikings will need a win over the Bears plus a Cardinals win over the heavily-favored 49ers to climb to the No. 2 seed, O'Connell may not have much incentive to expose key players to an injury heading into the wild-card round. While Cousins and all of the Vikings' other starting skill-position players look poised to play at least one series, the uncertainty of whether they'll play much beyond that makes it tough to reliably project any in Week 18 season-long or DFS lineups.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday that Garoppolo (foot) remains on track to be available late in the playoffs, if the 49ers are still alive, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Based on Shanahan's comments, a return in the NFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl would seem to be a realistic outcome for Garoppolo, who has recently been cleared to resume putting some weight on the left foot he fractured Dec. 4. Because he was able to avoid surgery to address the injury, Garoppolo has a chance to play again in the postseason, though given the length of his layoff in addition to how well rookie veteran Brock Purdy has performed in his stead, the 31-year-old veteran may not be guaranteed to get his job back once he's medically cleared. Even if that's the case, having a battle-tested quarterback like Garoppolo available off the bench in a high-pressure playoff setting would still be a welcome development for the Niners.

Purdy (oblique/ribs) has no injury designation for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

With Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey and wideout Deebo Samuel all cleared from the final injury report, the Niners are decisive favorites for their season finale against the injury-depleted Cardinals. The rookie seventh-round pick has thrown exactly two touchdowns in each start, and he'll now face a mostly subpar Arizona defense that's surprisingly played better in recent weeks despite some big-name injuries (safety Budda Baker and cornerback Byron Murphy both are done for the season).

The Dolphins list Bridgewater (finger/knee) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Jets, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Though Bridgewater appears on the Dolphins' Week 18 injury report with two health concerns, it's his dislocated right pinky finger that will be preventing him from picking up a second straight start this weekend, even though Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) remains sidelined. Because Bridgewater was unable to advance beyond limited participation in practice this week, head coach Mike McDaniel announced Friday that third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson will direct the offense Sunday with a playoff spot on the line. According to Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com, McDaniel said Bridgewater may still be active as Thompson's backup after making "unbelievable" progress throughout the week, but the veteran signal-caller's status won't be confirmed one way or the other until Miami releases its inactive list 90 minutes before Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff.

Hurts (shoulder) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Giants, Martin Frank of The Delaware News Journal reports.

Hurts was a limited practice participant Wednesday through Friday, though head coach Nick Sirianni noted after the final session of the week that the quarterback is "trending in the right direction" for Sunday, per Zach Berman of The Athletic. The Eagles may treat him as a game-day decision ahead of their 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, with Gardner Minshew ready for a third straight start if Hurts ultimately is declared inactive. A win Sunday would give the Eagles the No. 1 seed in the NFC, while a loss would drop them to No. 5 if the Cowboys beat the Commanders. The Giants, meanwhile, are locked in as the No. 6 seed and may pull or rest some starters to prepare for the wild-card round.

White, who won't play in Sunday's game in Miami, revealed Friday that he's been playing through five fractured ribs, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

White was noticeably hampered when he tried to play through the injury in the Week 17 loss to Seattle, even after sitting out the Jets' previous two games. The 27-year-old quarterback will be a free agent at the end of the season, and it's possible the Jets view White as a candidate for the starting job in 2023. He finishes the 2022 season with 1,192 passing yards and a 3:4 TD:INT across four starts.

Huntley (shoulder/wrist) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Bengals after practicing in a limited fashion this week.

Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson (knee) has been ruled out for a fifth consecutive contest, while Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com relays that head coach John Harbaugh noted Friday that he expects Huntley to start at quarterback for the Ravens this weekend. Official confirmation of Huntley's availability will arrive prior to the first wave of games Sunday, with the Ravens and Bengals kicking off at 1 p.m. ET.

Allen (ankle/elbow) was a full participant in Friday's practice and doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game against the Patriots.

Even though Allen was a limited participant in Thursday's session, the Bills never seemed to have much concern about his ability to play in a Week 18 game in which Buffalo can clinch home-field advantage for the postseason with a win plus a Chiefs loss to the Raiders. Allen will have his full complement of weapons available, as none of the 12 skill-position players on the Bills' 53-man roster will enter the weekend with injury designations.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that "there's a good chance" Huntley (shoulder/wrist) will start Sunday's game against the Bengals, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.

Harbaugh confirmed Friday that Lamar Jackson (knee) has already been ruled out for a fifth straight game this weekend, leaving Huntley as the next man up at quarterback. Though he's started each of the past four games in Jackson's absence, Huntley's Week 18 status is more muddled than usual while he fights through tendinitis in his right shoulder as well as a wrist injury. According to Hensley, Harbaugh said the Ravens opted not to have Huntley do any throwing during the open portions of practice this week due to the lingering tendinitis issue, but Huntley participated in all walk-through drills and team meetings to keep himself prepared for the starting assignment. Huntley is still likely to carry an injury designation into the weekend, and if the Ravens have any concerns about his ability to throw while he manages the two injuries, he'll likely give way to undrafted rookie Anthony Brown at quarterback.

Jackson (knee) won't play Sunday against the Bengals.

Per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh noted that he's "hopeful" about the quarterback's chances of being ready to go for the start of the playoffs. At least for one more contest, however, Jackson will remain sidelined, which sets the stage for Tyler Huntley (shoulder/wrist) to make a fifth straight start, health permitting. Though Harbaugh is optimistic Huntley will be ready to play Sunday, undrafted rookie Anthony Brown took some reps with the first-team offense this week and is prepared to start, if needed.