NFL Player News
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Patrick Mahomes QB | KC
Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes: Light workload in win
Mahomes completed 18 of 26 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Saturday's 31-13 win over the Raiders. He added three rushes for 29 yards.
Mahomes made quick work of the Raiders defense on the Chiefs' first offensive possession, as he completed a deep 67-yard pass to Justin Watson prior to capping the drive with a two-yard pass to Jerick McKinnon to find the end zone. Kansas City continued to move the ball effectively throughout the game, though all three of the team's additional touchdowns came on the ground. With the game comfortably in hand, Mahomes attempted only nine passes in the second half. He'll end the regular season with 5,250 passing yards to go along with 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He'll be off next week with the Chiefs securing their first-round bye.
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Trevor Lawrence QB | JAC
Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence: Active versus Titans
Lawrence (toe) is listed as active for Saturday night's game against the Titans.
Though Lawrence was listed as limited at practice both Wednesday and Thursday before being listed as questionable for the contest, there was little doubt regarding the Week 18 availability of the QB, who continues to play through a toe issue. While other signal callers around the league have different things to play for during the last weekend of the regular season, Lawrence and the 8-8 Jaguars will be all-in Saturday, with the AFC South title on the line. Through 16 games to date, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has recorded 3,901 passing yards to go along with 24 TDs and eight picks.
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Daniel Jones QB | IND
Giants' Daniel Jones: Not expected to start Sunday
Jones isn't expected to start Sunday's game against the Eagles, as the Giants are instead planning on having Davis Webb direct the offense in Week 18, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports.
More clarity on the Giants' plans at quarterback should arrive in the hours leading up to Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, but with the Giants locked into the No. 6 playoff seed in the NFC, the team appears inclined to play it safe with Jones, and possibly other key players in advance of the postseason. If Jones ends up inactive for the contest, Tyrod Taylor, who has served as the Giants' No. 2 quarterback throughout the season, would remain in a backup role behind Webb.
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Jalen Hurts QB | PHI
Eagles' Jalen Hurts: Expected to start
Hurts (shoulder), who is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Giants, is expected to start, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Hurts' status won't be officially confirmed until the Eagles release their inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, but all signs point to the quarterback putting an end to his two-game absence after he managed to practice in some capacity all week. The Eagles are guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a win over the Giants, who are already locked into the No. 6 seed and are expected to start third-stringer Davis Webb in place of Daniel Jones, according to Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record. With that in mind, Hurts likely won't be at risk of being limited Sunday, at least as long as the game is competitive.
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Lamar Jackson QB | BAL
Ravens' Lamar Jackson: Optimism for playoff return
Jackson (knee), who has already been ruled out for Week 18 against the Bengals, could play in the team's playoff matchup the following week, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Jackson has not practiced in a month and didn't seem to be all that close for a pivotal Week 18 return against the Bengals, but the superstar quarterback may attempt to gut it out with the Ravens' 2022-23 season on the line next week. Coach John Harbaugh was "hopeful" Jackson could make his return next week, but as Schefter noted, there's still swelling in the quarterback's knee, which complicates a firm timeline for return.
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Jake Browning QB | TB
Bengals' Jake Browning: Jumps up to active roster
Browning was elevated from the Bengals' practice squad Saturday.
It's possible Browning could see time in the second half depending on how other games go throughout the early afternoon, but with the Bengals still poised for a possible top-two seed in the AFC, it's hard to imagine the No. 3 quarterback seeing much playing time.
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Mike White QB | CAR
Jets' Mike White: Not in line to start Sunday
The Jets officially list White (ribs) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, but head coach Robert Saleh previously said Friday that the quarterback won't play.
Per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Joe Flacco is in line to start the Jets' season finale, with Zach Wilson slated to serve as the team's No. 2 quarterback. After practicing fully Wednesday, White was limited in practice on Thursday, and now he's in line to sit out after aggravating his rib injury last Sunday against the Seahawks. White revealed Friday that he's been dealing with five fractured ribs since initially suffering the injury Week 14 in Buffalo.
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Kirk Cousins QB | LV
Vikings' Kirk Cousins: May not play full game
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.
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Jimmy Garoppolo QB | LAR
49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo: Could be back late in playoffs
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.
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Brock Purdy QB | SF
49ers' Brock Purdy: Cleared to play
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).