NFL Player News

Hurts tried to re-enter the game after suffering a head injury in the first quarter but went through further testing and was determined to have a brain injury. Kenny Pickett has played well in Hurts’ place, completing five of seven attempts for 70 yard, a touchdown, and an interception. Hurts will have to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol if he’s going to be active next week against the Cowboys.

Agholor suffered a concussion in Week 15’s game against the Giants and subsequently missed the Ravens’ Week 16 game against the Steelers. Now more than a week removed from his brain injury, there’s a chance Agholor will miss at least one more game if he’s not able to get on the practice field on Tuesday. We’ll have a better sense of his availability when the team releases its final injury report, then.

Hill suffered a concussion in Saturday’s win over the Steelers and feels like a long shot to play on Wednesday against the Texans, given the short week. Barring a surprise development, there’s a good chance Rasheen Ali and Keaton Mitchell will play backups to Derrick Henry in Week 17.

Flowers has now been a DNP for two straight days. A DNP on Tuesday would be a bad look for his Week 17 availability, but it’s possible the Ravens are exercising additional precautions for some of their players as they prepare for a short rest week ahead of Christmas Day’s game against the Texans. Head coach John Harbaugh was “pretty optimistic” that Flowers would play, so we wouldn’t press the panic button just yet.

“I’m expecting to get everything from Waddle that he can do... I’ve [talked to] the trainer to make sure we protect him from himself. We will see how the week progresses,” McDaniel said. Waddle rosterers should be prepared for another bumpy week heading into Sunday’s game against the Browns. He sure doesn’t sound like an especially likely bet to play.

Rodgers remains undecided on whether or not he wants to play in 2025, but the 41-year-old quarterback continues to talk as if he’s open to staying with the Jets if he does return next year. It goes without saying that Rodgers’ tenure with the Jets has been an unmitigated disaster. It’s hard to imagine either side wanting to re-up together for another season, but the Jets would take a $49 million dead cap hit next season if they opted to outright release Rodgers. Rodgers taking a pay cut and remaining with the Jets as a bridge to a quarterback of the future would likely be the best financial decision for the team, but a complete split feels inevitable if Rodgers doesn’t opt for retirement.

Kendrick Green took over at right guard for the Texans and looks likely to start against the Ravens on Christmas. Reading between the lines, it’s possible Mason could return for the Texans in the playoffs. Whether that is good for them or not is another story, as Mason has been a disappointment this year with a 57.7 PFF run block grade.

It’s unclear whether he could come back deep into a Texans playoff run, but that doesn’t appear too likely anyway at the moment. Ward, who turns 34, is under contract for the 2025 season and will gain the Texans only $1.25 million in cap space to release next offseason. Ward had a 76.3 PFF coverage grade last year, and though he’s getting long in the tooth, he’s probably a good bet to retain a starting job next year.

Obviously, he will not be playing again this year. The question at this point is 2025. Dell isn’t a sure bet to return given how serious the injury looked, and if he does return, like this year, he probably shouldn’t be trusted as fully healthy. It’s a devastating injury for the Texans purposes, one that probably ends with them having to find a new WR2 behind Nico Collins with Stefon Diggs also slated for free agency off his own ACL tear.

Mahomes played on his sprained ankle in last week’s win over the Texans and wasted little time displaying his miraculous healing powers. He rushed for a 15-yard touchdown on the Chiefs’ opening drive and ended the day with 33 rushing yards on five carries. He was listed as a full participant on the Chiefs estimated practice report, which was released on Sunday. Mahomes’ ankle injury seems like non-issue ahead of Week 17’s game against the Steelers.

Someone with more time to pursue this should come up with a stat on Giants touchdowns thrown against MRIs received since Daniel Jones was released. After clearing concussion protocol it seems likely that Tommy DeVito would be the starter against the Colts if Lock was unable to go. Either way, the Giants will be a target for Colts D/ST streamers.