NFL Player News

Bridgewater (finger/knee) was limited at practice Wednesday, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

Bridgewater was limited at practice last week before suiting up for Sunday's win over Jets in a backup capacity behind starter Skylar Thompson. Per Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com, head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that the Dolphins are preparing for Thompson to draw another start in this weekend's wild-card game against the Bills, with Bridgewater still working his way back from a dislocated pinky finger on his throwing hand as well as a knee issue. Top quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) has already been ruled out for a third straight game.

Huntley (shoulder) is on the field for Wednesday's practice but doesn't appear to be throwing, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Huntley was held out of the Week 18 loss to the Bengals and may be in danger of missing Sunday's rematch with Cincinnati in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Lamar Jackson, meanwhile, is absent from practice for a sixth straight week due to a PCL injury. Anthony Brown and Brett Hundley are Baltimore's healthy options at quarterback.

Jackson (knee) isn't practicing Wednesday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier Wednesday that Jackson is facing an uphill battle to play in Sunday's wild-card game against the Bengals, and the quarterback's continued absence from practice would seem to support as much. Since suffering a PCL sprain Dec. 4, Jackson doesn't appear to be progressing as the team had hoped, and he now has only two more chances to practice before the Ravens' playoff opener. Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley sat out Week 18 with a shoulder injury and was limited to non-throwing work during the open portion of Wednesday's practice, leaving Anthony Brown and practice squad member Brett Hundley as the Ravens' healthy quarterbacks for the moment.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that Bridgewater (finger/knee) is uncertain to play in Sunday's wild-card game against the Bills, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) has been ruled out for the postseason opener, leaving Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson (ankle) as the candidates to start versus Buffalo. Bridgewater was able to suit up for this past Sunday's 11-6 win over the Jets, but since he hadn't fully healed from a dislocated pinky finger, he was limited to a backup role behind Thompson. With Tagovailoa out and Thompson having struggled against the Jets, the Dolphins may view Bridgewater as their preferred quarterback for the wild-card round. Even if that's the case, Bridgewater's health may not permit him to start, as McDaniel said that as of Wednesday, the team is preparing as though Thompson will get the nod Sunday, adding that Bridgewater won't be "able to get many reps, if any" in practice this week, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Unless Bridgewater is able to quickly turn a corner in his recovery from the finger injury and start practicing in full, Thompson looks to be trending toward making a second straight start.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that Tagovailoa (concussion) has yet to be cleared for football activities and won't play in Sunday's wild-card game against the Bills, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

According to Furones, the Dolphins are preparing as though Skylar Thompson will make another start at quarterback in the postseason opener, while Teddy Bridgewater (finger/knee) is still working toward being available for Sunday at this stage but apparently isn't progressing from his dislocated finger as quickly as hoped. As for Tagovailoa, McDaniel told Furones that the signal-caller hasn't had any setbacks, but added that there are "compounding variables" that are being considered in determining the 24-year-old's status moving forward, should Miami advance beyond the wild-card round.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that Thompson (undisclosed) is preparing to start Sunday's wild-card playoff matchup against the Bills, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Thompson was nicked up with an undisclosed injury following this past Sunday's win over the Jets, but with Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) ruled out and Teddy Bridgewater (knee/finger) still not back to full health, Miami is currently preparing as if the third-string quarterback will start versus Buffalo. The rookie's only official start this season came versus New York, but he also played 98 percent of the offensive snaps Week 5. Across those two games, Thompson completed 39 of 64 attempts for 318 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, numbers which aren't cause for inspiration. Bridgewater was active Week 18 as a backup, but the veteran doesn't look like he'll be able to take enough reps in practice this week to put himself in position to start against the Bills.

Jackson (knee) faces an "uphill battle" to play in Sunday's wild-card game in Cincinnati, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo of NFL Network report.

Though Adam Schefter of ESPN reported over the weekend that Jackson had a "strong chance" to be available for the Ravens' postseason opener, Rapoport notes that optimism about the quarterback's ability to play Sunday has begun to dwindle over the past 24 hours. Jackson, who hasn't practiced since suffering a PCL sprain on his left knee Dec. 4 against the Broncos, missed the Ravens' final five games of the regular season. While Jackson is reportedly working hard to rehab the knee, he apparently hasn't made enough progress to put himself in position to resume practicing Wednesday. If Jackson remains a spectator in practice throughout the week, he'll likely be officially ruled out for the wild-card round Friday, which would then set the stage for Tyler Huntley (shoulder/wrist) to direct the Baltimore offense.

Taylor played in three games during the regular season, completing six of eight pass attempts for 58 yards and a touchdown while throwing one interception. He also rushed five times for 70 yards and lost one fumble.

Taylor came into the campaign as a candidate to see a fair amount of work with Daniel Jones having suffered through two straight poor seasons and coming off a neck injury that cut his 2021 campaign short. However, Jones stayed healthy and improved his play significantly under new head coach Brian Daboll, keeping Taylor relegated to a pure backup role. Taylor did look good in the one contest during which he was allowed to let loose, completing all five of his passes for 47 yards and a touchdown while rushing twice for 40 yards during garbage time of a blowout loss Week 14 against Philadelphia. The veteran is signed with New York through next season, whereas Jones is coming up on free agency, though Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the Giants will look to bring the latter back after their surprising success during the current campaign. Even if Jones doesn't return, it seems likely that New York would look elsewhere for a replacement rather than hand the reigns over to Taylor, who hasn't logged a full season as a starter since he was with Buffalo in 2017.

Stafford (neck) said Monday that he expects to avoid surgery to address his spinal cord contusion and plans to be a full participant for OTAs in April, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports. "I had obviously the thumb a couple years ago, and then elbow stuff that I wasn't able to really participate in a whole lot of stuff when it comes to throwing the football for a long time," Stafford said. "So to be able to do that at a way more regular pace, which is exciting for me as a player, that's what I want to do. I want to be out there, I want to be able to throw and be a part of the team."

After guiding the Rams to a Super Bowl title in his first season with the team in 2021, Stafford didn't throw in offseason workouts last spring while he battled elbow tendinitis. Even though he concluded the 2022 campaign on injured reserve, Stafford looks like he'll enter the Rams' offseason program more healthy than he was at the same point a year ago. Having received assurances from doctors that he won't require a potentially career-threatening surgery for his spinal cord, the 34-year-old Stafford has dismissed the possibility of retirement and also noted Monday that he remains committed to the Rams in spite of the uncertainty of whether head coach Sean McVay will stick with the organization in 2023.

Lawrence (toe) was a limited participant in Tuesday's practice.

Lawrence has been a fixture on Jacksonville injury reports since spraining his left big toe in a blowout loss to the Lions in Week 13, but there's little doubt that he'll be available to make his postseason debut this Saturday against the Chargers in the wild-card round. While managing the injury for the past five weeks, Lawrence has piloted Jacksonville to a 5-0 record and has completed 67.9 percent of his throws for 7.6 yards per attempt, eight touchdowns and two interceptions to go along with 80 yards and two scores on the ground.