NFL Player News

Winston completed 27 of 35 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns in Monday night's 24-21 loss to the Falcons. He also rushed three times for 18 yards.

Winston turned in a stellar performance despite losing wideout DeSean Jackson and tight end O.J. Howard to ankle injuries early in Monday's contest. Without those prominent targets, Winston shared the wealth among Tampa Bay's pass catchers, completing a season-high 77.1 percent of his throws to a whopping 11 different players. Along with utilizing unfamiliar faces in the short game, two of Winston's three touchdowns came from over 25 yards, including a 42-yard bomb to Mike Evans during the third quarter. Although his heroics weren't enough to get Tampa Bay back in the win column, Winston can't be faulted for his Week 15 display.

Head coach Mike McCarthy wouldn't say definitely Monday whether Rodgers will start Saturday's matchup with the Vikings, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Instead, McCarthy referred to Rodgers as "sore" in the aftermath of his return to action Sunday in Carolina and that the Packers are "working through" figuring out his Week 16 availability. A determining factor could be elimination from playoff contention, which would happen with a Falcons win Monday at Tampa Bay. As a contingency plan, the team re-signed Joe Callahan to the 53-man roster, setting up a scenario in which Brett Hundley regains his stature as the starting quarterback with the former in reserve. No matter what happens Monday night, the Packers will have a decision to make in the near future about the quarterback spot.

Sudfeld could replace Nick Foles as soon as Week 16, if the Vikings lose to the Packers on Saturday, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice reports.

The Eagles can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with either a win or a Minnesota loss. With the Vikings playing Saturday and the Eagles facing the Raiders on Monday, there's some chance Philadelphia won't have anything to play for. Head coach Doug Pederson said he'd like to see Sudfeld in a game before the playoffs, perhaps hinting that the second-year quarterback could enter as a mid-game replacement even if Foles closes out the regular season as the starter.

Drew Stanton will replace Gabbert as the starter for Week 16 against the Giants.

Gabbert showed some promise with five touchdown passes in his first two starts, but he's thrown just one touchdown while taking 20 sacks over the past three games. While the supporting cast has obviously been a huge issue, it's still difficult to put a silver lining on his 55.6 completion percentage, 6:6 TD:INT ratio and league-worst 11.9 percent sack rate (min. 50 attempts). Stanton probably won't be much better, but he also can't possibly be much worse. The Cardinals entered the season with shaky pass-catching depth behind Larry Fitzgerald, and they've now seen both their offensive line and backfield get decimated by injuries.

Peterman was cleared from the league's concussion protocol Monday, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports.

Peterman did not suit up for Sunday's matchup with the Dolphins due to his concussion, but it appears that will be the extent of his absence, barring any setbacks this week. Expect Peterman to reclaim his role as the Bills' backup quarterback behind Tyrod Taylor.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said he'd like to get Sudfeld some snaps in a game before the playoffs, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Philadelphia can clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC with either one more win or one more Vikings loss. The Eagles may have nothing left to play for as soon as Week 16, as a Packers win over the Vikings on Saturday would render Monday's game against the Raiders meaningless for playoff purposes. Such a scenario might allow Sudfeld to get his first start, or at least his first glimpse of game action.

Broncos head coach Vance Joseph (ankle) said Monday that he would like to see Lynch (ankle) play again this season, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.

The Broncos seemingly would prefer to start Lynch over Brock Osweiler for the final two weeks of the season, but the team will first need to figure out if its 2016 first-round pick is even healthy enough to play. While Joseph did say Friday that he expects Lynch to be ready for Week 16 in Washington, the Broncos held off on making any official announcements as of Monday morning. They presumably intend to see how Lynch looks in practice Wednesday, as he may not be fully recovered from the sprained right ankle he suffered in a Week 12 loss to the Raiders. Trevor Siemian (shoulder) is headed for injured reserve, while Brock Osweiler presumably doesn't factor into the team's plans beyond this season.

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said after Sunday's 31-24 loss to the Panthers that he wasn't certain if Rodgers would start at quarterback in the team's final two games of the regular season, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

In order to have a realistic shot at reaching the postseason, the 7-7 Packers would have had to win their final three contests, but the return of the two-time MVP from a seven-game absence Sunday wasn't quite enough to keep Green Bay afloat. Though Rodgers found success early on against Carolina in his first game in two months following surgery to repair a fractured collarbone, he exhibited some rust during the contest, with his three interceptions on the day all coming on underthrown balls. Those throws may have been a byproduct of his throwing shoulder not being completely healed, and though Rodgers experienced no setbacks during the outing, the Packers may be reluctant to have him on the field at less than full strength for what could be mostly meaningless games in Weeks 16 and 17. The Packers would officially be eliminated from postseason contention if the Falcons defeat the Buccaneers on Monday night, so the outcome of that game may ultimately dictate how McCarthy decides to proceed with Rodgers heading into the Week 16 matchup against the Vikings. Brett Hundley, who led the Packers to a 3-4 record while Rodgers was sidelined, would reclaim starting duties if Rodgers is shut down again.

Prescott completed 18 of 27 passes for 212 yards and two interceptions during Sunday's 20-17 victory over Oakland. He also rushed six times for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Prescott's rushing acumen -- and his nose for the end zone in particular -- continues to aid his statistical floor on days he may struggle passing. This came into play Sunday, when he threw two interceptions against an Oakland secondary that had previously only recorded two interceptions. He's now up to 320 rushing yards with six scores while fumbling at a much lower rate compared to his rookie season. Moving forward, Prescott should enjoy the return of running back Ezekiel Elliott (suspension), starting with the Cowboys' Week 16 showdown with the Seahawks. In eight games with Elliott to start the season, Prescott averaged 227.3 passing yards, two touchdowns and 0.5 interceptions per game, compared to a typical line of 191.9, 0.8 and 1.2 without him.

Carr completed 21 of 38 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns while rushing four times for 47 yards and a fumble during Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Cowboys.

Not regarded as a mobile quarterback, Carr set a career high in single-game rushing yards Sunday and more than tripled the rushing total he carried into Week 15 (15 yards on 14 carries). On the other hand, his fumble through the end zone in the game's waning seconds effectively lost Oakland the game, and he was erratic with his throws, finishing with a season-low 55 percent completion rate. After starting the season with a respectable 65.2 clip through Week 10, Carr has dipped to 60.1 percent over his last five outings while dealing with injuries and suspensions to his top two receivers, Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper (ankle). However, sheer volume has nearly made up for this dip in accuracy. In his first eight games, Carr averaged 33.8 passes for 244.3 yards, 1.6 touchdowns and 0.9 interceptions. In those five games since, he's averaged 37.6 passes for 231.8 passing yards, 1.4 touchdowns and 0.6 interceptions per game. He'll now travel to Philadelphia in Week 16 to challenge the Eagles' third-ranked pass defense.