NFL Player News

Bridgewater will again serve as Case Keenum's backup Sunday against the Rams, Craig Peters of the Vikings' official site reports.

Keenum earned at least one more start with his four-touchdown performance in Sunday's 38-30 win over Washington. He did throw interceptions on consecutive drives in the second half, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Vikings from earning their fifth straight win. The team may continue to evaluate its quarterbacks on a week-to-week basis, taking into account both Keenum's performance in future contests as well as how Bridgewater looks during practices. With Keenum, Bridgewater and Sam Bradford (knee) all in line to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, the Vikings undoubtedly would like to take a look at Bridgewater post-surgery before deciding whether they want to move forward with the 2014 first-round pick as their franchise quarterback. It's an unusual situation, especially for a red-hot team with a 7-2 record.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed Wednesday that Keenum would remain the starting quarterback for the Week 11 home game against the Rams.

It's not overly surprising that Keenum will retain the starting assignment this week after leading the Vikings to a 38-30 win -- the team's fifth straight -- over Washington on Sunday, a game in which he threw for 304 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. In that contest, Keenum also threw two second-half interceptions to let Washington back into the contest, but since given Keenum's solid body of work throughout the season, Zimmer determined it wasn't time to turn the offense over to Teddy Bridgewater (knee), who was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list last week and acted as the backup. Bridgewater remains the No. 2 quarterback for Week 11, but Keenum, who played for the Rams in 2015 and 2016, may have a shorter leash if he proves mistake prone against a surging Los Angeles squad that has outscored opponents by a 117-24 mark over its last three contests.

Gabbert is expected to be named the starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Texans, sources informed Mike Jurecki of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Cardinals are expected to make the announcement official prior to their first practice of the week Wednesday, but with Drew Stanton (knee) looking unlikely to be available in Week 11, Gabbert is poised to become the third signal caller to start a game for Arizona this season. In anticipation of Stanton's absence, the team signed Matt Barkley on Monday to serve as Gabbert's backup Sunday. Stanton had been a capable replacement while starting the last two games in place of the injured Carson Palmer (arm), and since Stanton's sprained knee isn't believed to be a significant injury, Gabbert's run as starter could be short lived. Gabbert, who signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals in May, completed 57 percent of his passes while tossing five touchdowns against six interceptions over six games as a member of the 49ers in 2016.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced Wednesday that Nathan Peterman would replace Taylor as the team's starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Chargers.

With the Bills dropping to 5-4 following back-to-back embarrassing losses to the Jets and Saints, McDermott has decided to shake things in an effort to preserve the team's narrow edge on the final wild-card spot in the AFC. Though Taylor's season-long numbers (10:3 TD:INT, 64 percent completion rate, 6.6 yards per attempt) haven't deviated much on a per-game basis from what he posted over 14 outings in 2016, the 28-year-old submitted his worst showing of the season in the Week 10 loss, completing just nine of 18 passes for 56 yards and an interception. The unproven Peterman, who made his NFL debut in relief of Taylor last week, will thus get at least one opportunity to see if he can provide better production behind center, but if the rookie falters Sunday, it wouldn't be surprising if McDermott turned the offense back over to Taylor. Even if that's the case, Taylor's benching seemingly increases the odds that he'll be released this offseason, which would clear up $9.4 million in cap space for the Bills in 2018.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced Wednesday that Peterman would start at quarterback Sunday against the Chargers, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports. "I've been impressed with the maturity from Nathan Peterman. I'm comfortable making a calculated risk to try and get us where we need to go," McDermott said.

Incumbent Tyrod Taylor's season-long numbers weren't especially bad, but the Bills have struggled mightily in losses to the Jets and Saints the last two weeks, with the quarterback submitting his worst outing of the season Sunday against New Orleans. As a result, the Bills will turn to the fifth-round rookie out of Pittsburgh and see where that leads after Peterman completed seven of 10 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown Sunday in relief duty, which was also his first regular-season action in the NFL. Peterman will at least benefit from having the recently acquired Kelvin Benjamin and a healthy Charles Clay in the lineup, something Taylor hasn't benefited from for much of the season.

Mariota (ankle) practiced in full Tuesday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Listed as a limited participant Monday, Mariota cleared up any question about his ability to play on a short week after emerging from Sunday's win against the Bengals with a sore shoulder and mild ankle sprain. On Thursday, he may have difficulty taking aim at a Steelers pass defense ranked second in the NFL (181.8 yards per game) that has also allowed the third-fewest touchdowns (eight in nine games) through the air to opposing quarterbacks.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Beathard, who injured his right thumb during Sunday's victory over the Giants, underwent further testing that did not reveal any fractures, Nick Wagoner of ESPN reports.

Beathard doesn't seem to be dealing with a significant injury and has over a week off to rest thanks to the 49ers' Week 11 bye. However, Shanahan was non-committal on naming his starting quarterback for the Week 12 game against the Seahawks, which suggests there's legitimate uncertainty surrounding Beathard's impending availability. If the rookie ultimately doesn't recover in time, Jimmy Garoppolo would likely take over under center.

The Vikings are expected to stick with Keenum as their starter for Week 11 against the Rams, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports.

Per ESPN.com's Courtney Cronin, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he hasn't announced a decision to his team and doesn't plan to do so before Wednesday. It makes sense that Keenum would get at least one more start, coming off a 304-yard, four-touchdown performance in Sunday's 38-30 road win over the Redskins. The Vikings may be eager to see Teddy Bridgewater in a game, but it's tough for a division-leading team to justify benching a quarterback who's produced five consecutive victories. Keenum nonetheless remains on a short leash, in part because he, Bridgewater and Sam Bradford (knee) are all scheduled to become free agents in the offseason.

At this stage, the Buccaneers have no plans to shut Winston (shoulder) down for the rest of the season.

Coach Dirk Koetter relayed Monday that the expectation remains that Winston will play again this season, but for now the QB is resting his throwing shoulder and Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain the team's starting signal-caller in Week 11, backed up by Ryan Griffin. Once Winston's shoulder is re-evaluated, the Bucs will determine how best to move forward with their franchise QB, but at this juncture it remains to be seen exactly when that will transpire.

Barkley has signed with the Cardinals.

Barkley gives the Cardinals some added QB depth, with Carson Palmer (arm) on IR and current starter Drew Stanton dealing with a knee sprain. In any case, he's also behind Blaine Gabbert on the team's depth chart, so game action is not imminent for Barkley in his return to the team.