NFL Player News

The Falcons placed Mariota (knee) on injured reserve Wednesday.

Rookie Desmond Ridder will take over as the starting quarterback, backed up by recent signing Logan Woodside. Mariota, meanwhile, will undergo a procedure on his knee and will be ineligible for the final four weeks of the regular season.

Wilson (concussion) won't practice Wednesday, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Neither will wideout Courtland Sutton, who missed Sunday's loss to the Chiefs with a hamstring injury, per Troy Renck of Denver 7 News. Renck also notes that Wilson is doing some form of physical activity, which suggests he's making progress in the five-step concussion protocol even if he isn't ready to practice. The Broncos will turn to Brett Rypien under center if Wilson isn't ready for Sunday's matchup with Arizona.

Lawrence (toe) wasn't spotted at practice Wednesday, John Shipley of SI.com reports.

Lawrence missed practice last Wednesday and Thursday due to the same injury before returning to a limited session Friday. The quarterback was then listed as questionable ahead of last Sunday's game against the Titans, but he suited up and turned in one of the best outings of his career in the 36-22 win, completing 30 of 42 passes for 368 yards with three touchdowns to go along with three carries for seven yards and another score. With no reported setbacks in that contest, Lawrence's absence from practice to begin Week 15 prep is likely maintenance-related.

Head coach Arthur Smith confirmed Monday that Ridder will take over as Atlanta's starting quarterback beginning with Sunday's game in New Orleans, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported during the Falcons' Week 14 bye that Ridder was in line to make his NFL debut Week 15, but it wasn't until Smith spoke to the media Monday before the team confirmed as much. Ridder will be displacing Marcus Mariota, who started the team's first 13 games before being placed on injured reserve Wednesday due to a knee injury that will require surgery, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. The Falcons signed Logan Woodside off the Titans' practice squad over the weekend to add depth at quarterback, but he's not expected to seriously challenge Ridder for the starting job over the final four weeks of the season, barring an injury to the rookie. Though Ridder didn't play at any point before the bye week, he showcased a dual-threat skill set in the preseason, completing 34 of 56 pass attempts for 431 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while carrying eight times for 58 yards across three appearances.

Minshew took five snaps on offense in Sunday's 48-22 win over the Giants, handing off four times and then kneeling down for a one-yard loss on the Eagles' final possession to run out the clock.

Minshew has now played in two straight games, with both appearances coming in relief of starting quarterback Jalen Hurts when the outcome of the game has been well in hand. Now sitting at 12-1 and holding a two-game edge on the Cowboys and Vikings for the NFC's top seed, the Eagles could secure a first-round bye plus home-field advantage before Week 18. If that's the case, Minshew could get the opportunity to start the regular-season finale against the Giants if the Eagles are eager to avoid exposing Hurts to a potential injury ahead of the playoffs.

Fields won't practice Wednesday due to an illness, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Though Fields isn't practicing Wednesday, head coach Matt Eberflus told Biggs that the quarterback is "day-to-day" and isn't dealing with a significant ailment. Assuming Fields' condition doesn't worsen and he's able to make it back to practice Thursday and/or Friday, he should be able to start Sunday's game against the Eagles.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said that Mariota will be placed on injured reserve later Wednesday and is set to undergo a knee procedure next week, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

Mariota was already set to move to the bench coming out of the Falcons' Week 13 bye, as the team was eager to give rookie third-round pick Desmond Ridder an opportunity to start. With knee surgery now on tap, Mariota won't be available even in a backup capacity, paving the way for recent signing Logan Woodside to back up Ridder for the Falcons' final four games. Per D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons won't have a timeline for Mariota's recovery from surgery until the procedure is completed. He'll be entering the second season of a two-year, $18.75 million contract in 2023 after he completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 7.4 yards per attempt and a 15:9 TD:INT while adding 438 yards and four touchdowns on the ground through 13 appearances during his first campaign in Atlanta.

Head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Wilson will replace Joe Flacco as the Jets' backup quarterback behind starter Mike White (ribs) in Sunday's game against the Lions, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.

Though Wilson isn't poised to recapture the starting role just yet, he'll at least be on track to dress this weekend after he was inactive for the past three weeks as New York's No. 3 quarterback. White is slated to begin Week 15 prep as a limited participant due to the rib issue that twice caused him to exit last Sunday's loss to Buffalo, but Saleh noted that the Jets are preparing as though White will be ready to start against Detroit, barring any setbacks, per Andy Vasquez of The Bergen Record. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Saleh said he views the Jets' quarterback situation as a week-to-week one, so it's conceivable that another injury or poor performance on White's part could reopen the door for Wilson to start again before season's end.

Head coach Robert Saleh said White (ribs) will be a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, but the Jets are still preparing as though the quarterback will start Sunday's game against the Lions, Andy Vasquez of The Bergen Record reports.

Though White exited on two occasions in this past Sunday's 20-12 loss to the Bills due to the rib issue, he proceeded to miss only six snaps on offense and finished the day with 27 completions for 268 yards on 44 pass attempts. White was briefly checked out in a Buffalo-area hospital following the game, though no serious damage was detected. The fact that he'll be on the practice field in any capacity to begin Week 15 prep is a good sign that he'll be good to go this Sunday, but if White doesn't progress from the injury as well as anticipated and isn't available to start, the Jets would likely turn the offense back over to Zach Wilson. Saleh confirmed that Wilson will leapfrog Joe Flacco on the depth chart this week to serve as White's top backup.

The Texans signed Driskel to their 53-man roster Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com reports.

Houston had already exhausted its three elevations for Driskel from the practice squad, so the team needed to give him a permanent roster spot in order for him to be eligible to play again this season. Though he served as the backup to Davis Mills in the team Week 14 loss to the Cowboys, Driskel ended up splitting work with the starter. Driskel was on the field for 33 snaps and was primarily used as a rushing threat, recording seven carries for 36 yards while completing four of six pass attempts for 48 yards and a touchdown. According to Wilson, the Texans are expected to maintain a two-quarterback system Week 15 against the Chiefs, so Driskel may have some value in deeper leagues that start two signal-callers or have a superflex spot.