NFL Player News

Mayfield will be without his top four wide receivers Sunday against the Jets after the Browns placed Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge on the reserve/COVID-19 list

All four players were deemed to be high-risk close contacts, leaving Marvin Hall and practice-squad callups Ja'Marcus Bradley and Derrick Willies as the Browns' available wide receivers. With such a depleted receiving corps, that may just mean more targets for the likes of Austin Hooper, Kareem Hunt and even Nick Chubb. In any case, Mayfield seems poised to dink and dunk and unlikely to take many deep shots Sunday.

The Ravens elevated Huntley to the active roster Saturday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Robert Griffin (thigh) will remain on injured reserve, so Huntley will serve as Lamar Jackson's backup for a second straight week. Huntley played 11 snaps in last week's blowout win over the Jaguars. He completed two of four passes for seven yards and rushed four times for 18 yards.

Blough completed six of 10 passes for 49 yards and an interception while adding an 18-yard scramble in Saturday's 47-7 loss to Tampa Bay.

Matthew Stafford hurt his ankle on the Lions' first possession and they were getting blown out with veteran backup Chase Daniel under center, so the team decided to see what it had in Blough. The 25-year-old Purdue product didn't do much of note in his three possessions, but it's possible Detroit could opt to start him over Daniel in next week's season finale against the Vikings if Stafford's unable to play.

Stafford (ankle) won't return to Saturday's contest against the Buccaneers.

Stafford rolled his right ankle on the Lions' first drive of the game, adding to his recent injury woes. He played through a rib-cartilage injury and a slight ligament tear in his right thumb in the previous two games, but he still put up fair numbers, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes for 496 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions Weeks 14 and 15. The Lions will continue onward with Chase Daniel under center Saturday.

Stafford went to the locker room during the first quarter of Saturday's game against the Buccaneers, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

Stafford has been dealing with rib and thumb injuries the past few weeks, and he now appears to have added another health concern to his ledger after rolling his right ankle on the Lions' first possession of the contest. While Stafford hopped his way to the locker room, Chase Daniel took over for him under center.

Minshew will act as the team's backup Sunday against the Bears after it was announced Mike Glennon would start the contest, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Minshew's relatively solid surface numbers against the Ravens last week (75.9 completion percentage, two touchdowns to one turnover) masked what was a quietly toothless Jaguars offense albeit against a difficult matchup. It's not entirely surprising to see the team turn to Glennon as the starter after both quarterbacks split first-team reps throughout the week, but considering the veteran's track record as as a below-average starter at the professional level, it's hard to imagine much will change from an offensive perspective in another difficult matchup on tap for Week 16.

Stafford (rib/right thumb) is listed as active Saturday against the Buccaneers.

Stafford's status was less up in the air than a week ago, but he still was questionable due to a rib-cartilage injury and slight ligament tear in his right thumb. Tampa Bay's defense has been vulnerable through the air, allowing the ninth-most passing yards per game (255.3) this season. However, Stafford again will be without his top wide receiver in Kenny Golladay (hip).

Jones (ankle/hamstring) is expected to start Sunday against the Ravens, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Jones seemed to be trending in this direction considering he was available, albeit in limited fashion, all week during practice. The 23-year-old has played in just one game during the month of December thanks to a lingering dual hamstring and ankle injury, but expect the second-year pro to be available Sunday.

Cousins completed 27 of 41 passes for 291 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Vikings' 52-33 loss to the Saints on Friday. He also committed a fumble that was recovered by the offense.

Facing one of the best turnover-forcing defensive units in the league, Cousins was able to refrain from giving the ball away, a relatively rare feat for the veteran signal-caller. He actually put together an impressive performance that would have been good enough to topple many teams, had he gotten a better performance from the Vikings defense. The 32-year-old has now tossed multiple touchdowns in seven of the last eight games, an excellent stretch that's made him one of the best and most consistent fantasy assets at the quarterback position during the latter portion of the campaign. Now having thrown a career-high 32 touchdown passes through 15 games, Cousins will look to close out his ninth season in strong fashion versus the vulnerable Lions defense Week 17.

The 49ers placed Mullens (elbow) on injured reserve Friday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Mullens suffered a season-ending injury Week 15 that may require Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow. The true nature of the issue hasn't been confirmed, but the 49ers now have done the expected and opened up a spot on the active roster with his placement on IR. C.J. Beathard will lead the offense for the final two contests of the campaign, with new signee Josh Rosen backing him up.