NFL Player News

Wolford (neck), who is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Raiders, will go through a pregame warmup before the Rams decide on whether he'll start the contest, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The Rams will release their inactive list 90 minutes ahead of the 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff, but even if Wolford isn't included on the list, he may not be guaranteed to make his second consecutive start like the team planned. If Wolford's sore neck doesn't respond as well to warmups as hoped, the Rams could still keep him available as an emergency backup, in which case new acquisition Baker Mayfield would likely step in to start in his L.A. debut. Despite being claimed off waivers from the Panthers on Tuesday and not arriving in Los Angeles until later that day, Mayfield is already up to speed with the Rams' game plan after practicing Wednesday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The Rams also have Bryce Perkins on hand as another option at quarterback, but both Wolford and Mayfield look to be ahead of him on the depth chart.

Mariota will cede the Falcons' starting quarterback duties to Desmond Ridder following the team's Week 14 bye, with the rookie set to direct the offense in his NFL debut Dec. 18 in New Orleans, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Mariota's benching comes with the Falcons having dropped four of their last five games to enter the bye week at 5-8, which puts Atlanta two games behind the Buccaneers in the loss column for the NFC South lead. Under the stewardship of Mariota, the Falcons offense has been a bottom-five unit in yards per game this season, and the veteran signal-caller has turned the ball over 11 times (nine interceptions, two lost fumbles) through 13 contests. Much like Mariota, Ridder presents a threat as a runner, but the Falcons are likely hoping the rookie third-round pick out of Cincinnati can provide enough of an upgrade in the passing game to keep the team alive in the NFC playoff picture over the final four weeks of the regular season.

The Falcons plan to install Ridder as their new starting quarterback after their Week 14 bye, with the rookie set to make his NFL debut in the team's Dec. 18 game in New Orleans, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The shakeup at quarterback comes after the Falcons dropped four of their last five games heading into the bye week, with incumbent starter Marcus Mariota having completed 59 percent of his throws for 6.5 yards per attempt and a 5:3 TD:INT over that stretch. Ridder, a third-round pick out of Cincinnati, possesses a dual-threat skill set like Mariota, and Atlanta is hoping that his insertion as the new starter can help jumpstart an offense that ranks in the bottom five in the NFL in points per game. Ridder hasn't seen any action in relief of Mariota this season, but he showed promise in the preseason. In three exhibition contests, he completed 34 of 56 attempts (60.7 percent) for 431 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while carrying eight times for 58 yards.

Mayfield, who is expected to be active for Thursday's game against the Raiders, will be in line to start if John Wolford (neck) isn't deemed healthy enough to play in the Week 14 contest, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Even though Mayfield has only practiced once for the Rams after being claimed off waivers from the Panthers on Tuesday, he already appears to have leapfrogged Bryce Perkins on the depth chart at quarterback. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Mayfield is already up to speed with the Rams' game plan after joining the team late Tuesday, but the team would presumably to keep him in a backup capacity this week if Wolford is ready to play. Wolford is listed as questionable and will go through pregame warmups before the Rams make a decision on his availability leading up to the team's 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff.

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski said Watson will start Week 14 against the Bengals, despite showing some rust in his season debut during last week's win over the Texans, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. " Deshaun is our quarterback. We're focused on having a really good day of practice [Wednesday] and having a great day on Sunday," Stefanski said.

While taking the field last week for his first regular-season action since Week 17 of the 2020 campaign, Watson completed 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. At 5-7, the Browns hope to keep their slim playoff chances alive, but Stefanski has no plans to turn the offense back over to Jacoby Brissett, who closed his tenure as Cleveland's starting quarterback on a high note before Watson was reinstated from his suspension last week. Cabot notes that Watson looked sharper during Wednesday's practice, but those sessions are much different than game conditions.

Bridgewater (knee) was limited in Wednesday's practice, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Bridgewater once again practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday while tending to a knee issue. The veteran quarterback hasn't been available for each of the Dolphins' last six contests, and rookie Skylar Thompson has thus served as Tua Tagovailoa's primary backup in that stretch. Bridgewater will have two more opportunities to ramp up to full speed before the team is forced to make a decision on his weekend availability.

Tagovailoa (ankle) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday, Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald reports.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network previously relayed that Tagovailoa -- who suffered an ankle injury late in the Dolphins' Week 13 loss to the 49ers -- could have returned to the contest and is expected to start this weekend against the Chargers. That said, the quarterback's activity in practice over the next few days is still worth tracking as Sunday's game approaches.

Wolford (neck) is listed a questionable for Thursday's game against the Raiders, Anthony Galaviz of The Fresno Bee reports.

Wolford drew the start at quarterback for the Rams in Week 13, a contest in which he missed one snap after getting his foot stepped on by a Seahawks defender. On Monday, head coach Sean McVay said Wolford was dealing with a sore neck, which resulted in him being listed as a non-participant on Monday's estimated practice report before upgrading to limited listings during Tuesday's walk-through session and Wednesday's jog-through session. With Wolford's status in question for Thursday, the Rams' quarterback situation remains unsettled, especially after the team's claim of Baker Mayfield off waivers Tuesday. If he's active, Wolford likely will be out there for L.A.'s first offensive snap, but Mayfield and Bryce Perkins are the other candidates to get reps Thursday.

Head coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that he's leaning toward keeping Mayfield active for Thursday's game against Las Vegas, Stu Jackson of the Rams' official site reports.

The Rams claimed Mayfield off waivers Tuesday and presumably won't start him two days later, but they might make him active as the backup, especially if incumbent starter John Wolford (neck) doesn't play. Wolford and Perkins both have made starts in recent weeks with Matthew Stafford (neck) out for the season, and neither has been impressive. Mayfield didn't perform any better for the Panthers this season, but he might get another chance to start all the same at some point in December and January while the Rams play out the string.

Mahomes (foot) was a full practice participant Wednesday.

The foot bruise he picked up in Sunday's loss to Cincinnati shouldn't be an issue for the upcoming matchup with Denver. Mahomes will be without wideout Mecole Hardman (abdomen) for at least one more week, while receiver Kadarius Toney (hamstring) returned to practice Wednesday as a limited participant and could be ready to rejoin the lineup.