NFL Player News

Hurts (shoulder) was a limited participant at Wednesday's walk-through practice.

Per Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Hurts worked with the first-team offense to kick off Week 18 prep, but his eventual workload wasn't enough for him to be considered a full participant. There's an expectation that Hurts will return from a two-game absence Sunday against the Giants, but he may need to log full activity in a practice to prove he's past his sprained right throwing shoulder.

Thompson took the first-team reps at practice Wednesday with Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) and Teddy Bridgewater (finger) both unavailable, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com reports.

Thompson entered Sunday's 23-21 loss to the Patriots in relief of Bridgewater, who dislocated his right pinky finger and still wasn't able to properly throw a football as of Wednesday. Head coach Mike McDaniel said Monday that he hasn't even thought about playing Tagovailoa in Week 18, suggesting Thompson and Bridgewater are the likely options under center this Sunday against the Jets, per Travis Wingfield of the Dolphins' official site. Miami needs a win over the Jets plus a Bills win over the Patriots to grab the last wild-card spot in the AFC.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Murray underwent knee surgery Tuesday on the injury that ended his 2022 season on Dec. 12, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The procedure included an ACL reconstruction and a meniscus repair on Murray's right knee and not his left one, per Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com. Murray thus will be focusing on rehab in the offseason and is a prime candidate to begin training camp on the active/PUP list, which would give the Cardinals time to determine if he'll be ready for Week 1 of next season. With just one game remaining in the current campaign, the team has shut down veteran quarterback Colt McCoy (concussion), allowing David Blough to lead the offense and Trace McSorley to be the backup.

Jackson (knee) isn't practicing Wednesday, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Jackson hasn't played or practiced since Week 13 and is in danger of missing a fifth consecutive game. The Ravens may act cautious with Jackson even if he makes it back to practice by the end of the week, as they can't drop any lower than the No. 6 seed in the AFC and might not move up at all even with an upset win on the road this Sunday in Cincinnati.

McCoy (concussion) won't play in Sunday's season finale against Atlanta, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.

David Blough will get his second straight start for the Cardinals while McCoy remains in the concussion protocol. The 36-year-old is signed with Arizona through 2023 on a contract that includes a 60 percent guarantee of his $3.75 million base salary for next season, but it's nonetheless possible the team explores new options for the backup quarterback role, especially if head coach Kliff Kingsbury is no longer around.

Blough will start Sunday's game against the 49ers, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury made the announcement Wednesday, ruling out Colt McCoy (concussion) in the process. Blough drew his first start for Arizona in last week's 20-19 loss to Atlanta, completing 24 of 40 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown. Dual-threat signal-caller Trace McSorley is the other healthy quarterback on the roster and will serve as Blough's backup.

Head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that Trask has a good chance to be active and would be the next man up if Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert both leave Sunday's matchup against Atlanta early, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

The Buccaneers are locked into the fourth seed for the NFC playoffs, so while Brady will start, it's not expected he plays the whole game. If that's the case, Gabbert would operate as the primary backup, while Trask would come in if both veteran quarterbacks are taken out. Trask was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft but has yet to appear in a regular-season game.

Head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that Gabbert will be the next man up at quarterback if Tom Brady comes out of Sunday's matchup against Atlanta early, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Tampa Bay is locked into the fourth seed for the NFC playoffs, so while Brady will start, it's expected that the 45-year-old won't play the entire game. If that's the case, Gabbert will be the next man up, while Bowles also mentioned that Kyle Trask is likely to be active and may see action when Brady and Gabbert are taken out.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday that Sam Howell rather than Heinicke will start Sunday's season finale against the Cowboys, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Earlier Wednesday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported that Heinicke was in line to draw the starting assignment in place of the benched Carson Wentz, with Howell also in line to appear in relief. However, Rivera subsequently clarified that the rookie fifth-round pick will take the first snap for the team Sunday, and presumably play the entire game. At 7-8-1, the Commanders have been eliminated from playoff contention and are incentivized to see what they have in Howell, who has yet to make his NFL debut. Unless he's used behind Howell this Sunday, Heinicke will conclude the 2022 campaign with a 62.2 percent completion rate for 1,859 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions to go with 96 rushing yards and another score over his nine appearances.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday that Howell will start Sunday's game against the Cowboys, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Though Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported earlier in the day that Taylor Heinicke was expected to step back in as the starter for Week 18 in place of the benched Carson Wentz, Washington will instead turn the offense over to Howell, a fifth-round rookie out of North Carolina who has yet to make his NFL debut. Howell showed promise in the preseason, completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 7.8 yards per attempt while adding 94 yards and two scores on the ground. A positive outing against the Cowboys could help Howell garner consideration for the Week 1 starting job in 2023.