NFL Player News

McLaurin caught eight of 12 targets for 62 yards and a touchdown Sunday's 23-19 win over the Cowboys.

McLaurin caught a game-winning five-yard touchdown from Marcus Mariota with three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, ensuring that Washington finishes as the No. 6 seed in the NFC. The Commanders will go on the road to face the No. 3 seed (either the Rams or Buccaneers) in the wild-card round. The standout wide receiver finishes the regular season with 82 catches for 1,096 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns on 117 targets overall, marking the fifth consecutive season in which McLaurin has exceeded 1,000 receiving yards.

Coach Matt LaFleur said Doubs was "in no shape" to play Sunday against the Bears due to a "bug," but he believes the wide receiver will be available for next weekend's wild-card game at Philadelphia, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Doubs was added to the Packers' Week 18 injury report Saturday due to an illness, which came with a questionable designation. He ultimately wasn't able to suit up this weekend, and the team may have lost fellow WR Christian Watson for the foreseeable future due to a right knee injury that he suffered during Sunday's loss. With the status of both players in flux, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath represent the healthy wideouts on Green Bay's active roster.

Coach Matt LaFleur didn't express optimism regarding the right knee injury that forced Watson out of Sunday's loss to the Bears, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports. "I'm not super confident in that right now," LaFleur said.

Watson appeared to suffer a non-contact injury while running a route early in the second quarter. He required assistance to reach the sideline and then was carted to the locker room before being ruled out after halftime. The exact nature of Watson's health concern isn't known but should be clarified in due time once the necessary battery of tests are undertaken. The Packers now have a few question marks in their receiving corps, as Romeo Doubs was sidelined due to an illness Sunday.

Collins recorded five receptions on five targets for 38 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 23-14 win over the Titans.

Collins played for much of the first quarter but had his snap count limited with the Texans locked into the fourth seed of the AFC regardless of the outcome of Sunday's games. He drew four targets from C.J. Stroud on the team's opening possession, highlighted by long gains of 14 and 11 yards as well as a two-yard touchdown. That was enough to push him over 1,000 receiving yards for the season, which is particularly impressive considering he missed five games with a hamstring injury. Collins will enter the postseason as Stroud's top target in a matchup against either the Chargers or Steelers.

Evans brought in nine of 14 targets for 89 yards in the Buccaneers' 27-19 win over the Saints on Sunday, tying Jerry Rice for most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with 11 such campaigns.

It literally came down to the last play of the game, but the Buccaneers, already assured of a victory and postseason spot, designed a short pass for Evans to get him at least the five yards he needed to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the season. The star wideout unsurprisingly finished the afternoon as the Buccaneers' leader in receptions, receiving yards and targets, and he also earned an additional $3 million in incentives by posting at least five catches for 85 yards Sunday. Evans will naturally remain Baker Mayfield's most indispensable target as the Buccaneers begin the postseason as the No. 3 seed in a yet-to-be-determined matchup on Super Wild Card Weekend.

Boutte exited Sunday's game against the Bills due to a head injury.

Prior to his departure from the contest, Boutte caught all seven of his targets for 117 yards and a TD. In his absence, DeMario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Javon Baker and Alex Erickson are available to handle New England's Week 18 wideout duties.

Metchie is under evaluation for a head injury during Sunday's game at Tennessee.

Metchie was on the receiving end of a big hit from Titans safety Daryl Worley late in the third quarter that drew a flag for unnecessary roughness. The wide receiver was able to walk to the sideline of his own volition but went straight to the sideline tent. If Metchie is diagnosed with a concussion, he'll end Week 18 with two catches (on three targets) for 24 yards.

Chark is projected to operate as the Chargers' No. 3 receiver in Sunday's Week 18 game against the Raiders due to Joshua Palmer (toe) being designated as inactive for the contest.

Chark has been a virtual afterthought in his debut Chargers campaign due to both injury and ineffectiveness. The veteran wideout enters the regular-season finale against the Raiders with just three receptions for 25 yards on seven targets across six games, but at least by depth-chart slotting, he'd be the next man up behind Palmer. It remains to be seen how long head coach Jim Harbaugh will keep his starting offense in Sunday, but Chark is one player who could potentially see action in all four quarters.

White (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Rams.

White, whom Seattle signed off its practice squad in mid-November, will close the season as a healthy inactive for the fifth consecutive game. Before his recent streak of absences, the 26-year-old receiver appeared in four games for Seattle and recorded two catches for 44 yards on three targets over 59 snaps on offense.

Eskridge (finger) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Jets.

Eskridge popped up on Friday's injury report due to a finger injury, which is severe enough for him to be sidelined for Sunday's regular-season finale. The 2021 first-round pick appeared in six regular-season games, catching all three of his targets for 44 yards while adding 146 kick return yards. Raheem Mostert and Malik Washington are the top two candidates to return kicks Sunday due to Eskridge's absence.