NFL Player News

Savage will be the Texans' starting quarterback for Sunday's regular season finale at Tennessee, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Locked into the four seed on the AFC side of the playoff picture, the Titans will continue to trust in Savage as their signal caller over the pricey and mistake-prone Brock Osweiler. Savage himself has made no overt mistakes in the form of turnovers during the past two games, but he's nonetheless posted a completion percentage of 63 percent and 436 yards. While he has yet to toss a touchdown in his three-year career, his Week 17 opponent, the Titans, have been yielding at times this season, allowing multiple scores through the air in eight of the last 11 contests.

Mariota will undergo surgery on his broken right fibula Wednesday. His recovery is expected to last four to five months.

One of two young quarterbacks to fracture their legs in Week 16 -- also, the Raiders' Derek Carr -- Mariota will focus on rehabilitation for much of the first half of 2017. According to Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site, head coach Mike Mularkey is hopeful that Mariota will be available for OTAs, which typically run from late May into early June. Participation during those sessions would line up with Mariota's recovery timetable and set up the quarterback well for his third NFL campaign. In the meantime, the Titans will trot out veteran Matt Cassel as their starting QB in the regular season finale.

Coach Rex Ryan confirmed that Taylor will start Week 17 at the Jets, The Buffalo News reports.

Taylor's own play certainly wouldn't have gotten him benched for the finale, as he put up 329 yards through the air and another 60 on the ground in Saturday's loss to the Dolphins. However, with the Bills officially eliminated, there was at least a remote chance for the team to give EJ Manuel a look in a meaningless game. Manuel could still see some garbage time action, but it looks like Taylor can be started, per usual. With a number of teams perhaps about to rest their quarterback in Week 17, Taylor could be a viable option considering he's almost always good for something with his legs. We'll also be keeping an eye on the weather in this one.

Carr (leg) is expected to undergo surgery on his fractured fibula Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

Carr's projected recovery timetable is six to eight weeks, so he'd be unlikely to return throughout the playoffs unless Matt McGloin is able to lead the Raiders all the way to the Super Bowl in February. Barring such a wild scenario, Carr will have finished his 2016 campaign with 356 pass completions on 559 attempts for 3,933 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. The 25-year-old certainly solidified himself as the Raiders' next franchise quarterback as he earned MVP consideration at points throughout the season, so hopefully he'll be able to make a full recovery from the demoralizing broken leg.

Siemian was awry on Sunday night, completing 17 of 43 passes for 183 yards and one interception during the Broncos' 33-10 loss in Kansas City.

After the Broncos received the opening kickoff, Siemian was asked to drop back four times, and while he notched a third-down conversion, their initial drive fizzled after just six plays. The Chiefs responded with a trio of quick-strike touchdowns by the end of the first quarter, leading to a 21-7 deficit and forcing the second-year QB to the air on most snaps thereafter. Among 13 Denver possessions, seven ended with punts, but the final three included two lost fumbles and Siemian's interception on the very last snap of the game. With the defeat, the Broncos have been eliminated from playoff consideration, but he'll attempt to rebound next Sunday against a Raiders defense that has yielded 270.7 passing yards per contest to opposing signal-callers this season.

McGloin completed two of three pass attempts for 29 yards Saturday against the Colts.

Starting quarterback Derek Carr suffered a broken leg Saturday and is in store to miss a period of time. Consequently, McGloin is slated to roll with the first-string unit for the time being. He unfortunately gets a tough draw in his first start of the season next week against the Broncos' top-ranked pass defense that has allowed just 183 yards through the air per game in 2016. Look for the Raiders to enter this matchup with a run-heavy mindset because Denver has only been middle of the pack against tailbacks this season, giving up an 18th-ranked 4.2 yards per carry.

Savage completed 18 of 29 passes for 176 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Houston's 12-10 win over Cincinnati on Saturday.

Savage wasn't particularly effective, but the offensive line did him no favors -- the Bengals delivered 10 quarterback hits and four sacks. However, by not turning the ball over, he was better than Brock Osweiler. The plan was to lean on the ground game, but without Lamar Miller (ankle), Houston didn't run effectively. The third-year quarterback eventually moved the team in the second half when the Texans opted to go without a huddle, but the victory was heavily reliant on the defense, with the Texans tallying just 250 yards of offense.

Winston completed 23 of 35 passes for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in Saturday's 31-24 loss to the Saints. He also gained 14 yards on three rushes.

Although he amassed one of his better passing yardage totals of the season, Winston threw multiple interceptions for the second straight week, which played a part in sinking the Bucs' chances. The 2015 No. 1 pick was twice victimized by veteran safety Jarius Byrd, with the second pick notably coming in the fourth quarter at the Saints' 17-yard line and Tampa down by a 31-21 margin. Although the extensive injuries and subsequent volatility at the receiver position has certainly played a part, Winston has come up short in two pivotal road games that were essential to the team's playoff hopes. The Bucs still have a remote chance for a wild card berth, but will need considerable help to get there. Meanwhile, Winston will try to bounce back and insure his squad does its part when they take on the Panthers in Week 17.

Dalton completed 28 of 41 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown and one pick in Saturday's loss to the Texans.

If not for Brandon LaFell's 86-yard catch-and-run, Dalton's stat line would have looked miserable. It's been a tough 2016 for Dalton, with his former offensive coordinator heading to Cleveland, tight end Tyler Eifert out for a chunk of the season and star receiver and pass-catching back A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard out in recent weeks. The result has been a season in which Dalton has yet to throw for more than two touchdowns in a game, after four such games in 13 outings last season. With eyes now on 2017, it will be interesting to see whether Dalton is able to regain the swagger he boasted for much of last season and even early on in 2016.

Tannehill (knee) had the cast removed from his leg Friday, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports.

Tannehill missed his second straight game Saturday due to the ACL an MCL sprain but the team is hopeful that he will return at some point during the playoffs. Tannehill is also no longer using crutches but does have a limp. If Denver loses Sunday, Miami would clinch a playoff spot and have nothing to play for in Week 17. This could give Tannehill almost two more weeks to get his knee healthy for the wildcard game.