NFL Player News

The Texans announced that Tom Savage will miss Week 16 against the Ravens due to a knee injury he suffered on the penultimate play of Sunday's loss against the Colts. The loss of Savage, Ryan Fitzpatrick (broken tibia) and Ryan Mallett (pectoral) means that the starting job will come down to Thad Lewis and newly-signed Case Keenum, coach Bill O'Brien told reporters, per the team's official website.

Lewis was signed to the 53-man active roster on Nov. 26, when Mallett landed on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. He was the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart entering Sunday's game against Indianapolis before Fitzpatrick went down with a season-ending injury. Second-stringer Tom Savage took over for Fitzpatrick but hurt his knee late in the game. As a result, the team signed Case Keenum on Sunday night, who played eight games in 2013 with the Texans and is familiar with the offensive.

"He'd been in our system not long ago," O'Brien said of Keenum, per the Houston Chronicle. "A lot of the things we're doing are what we were doing. He's a bright guy."

Texans coach Bill O'Brien told reporters Monday that rookie quarterback Tom Savage will not start Week 16 against Baltimore because of a knee injury, per the team's official website. According to the Houston Chronicle, Savage may miss the final two games of the season.

Savage relieved Ryan Fitzpatrick (broken tibia) and sustained the injury on the penultimate play of Sunday's loss to Indianapolis. He completed 10 of his 19 passes for 127 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Savage underwent an MRI on his knee after the game, but O'Brien did not reveal the results of his exam. The Texans will now turn to Thad Lewis or newly-signed Case Keenum to start against the Ravens.

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Monday the plan is for Robert Griffin III to start at quarterback Saturday against the Eagles.

Griffin replaced Colt McCoy in Sunday's game against the Giants after McCoy aggravated a neck injury on the opening drive. Gruden said McCoy will continue to be monitored by doctors during the week.

Gruden added the team will try to build the offense around Griffin's strengths. He said it's important for the run game to be effective in order for Griffin to be productive.

"It's important for our offense to rally around him, and to play well around him, also," Gruden said. "Moving forward, this is Robert's team right now."

Texans backup quarterback Thad Lewis told the Houston Chronicle Monday he has "no question" he can be ready to start Week 16 against the Ravens, if needed.

"I actually don’t know anything," Lewis said. "I'm like you guys, just waiting and trying to find out. You can only control what you can control. I'm just trying to be ready and whatever the coach's decision, just roll with that."

Lewis was signed to the 53-man active roster on Nov. 26, when Ryan Mallett landed on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. He was the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart entering Sunday's game against Indianapolis before Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a broken leg. Second-stringer Tom Savage took over for Fitzpatrick but hyper-extended his knee on the penultimate play of the game. He is expected to undergo an MRI. The team also signed Case Keenum following Fitzpatrick's injury.

With the Texans down to one healthy quarterback on their roster, the team will sign quarterback Case Keenum, reports NFL.com.

After quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was lost due to a broken leg, backup Tom Savage stepped in and was hurt on the second-to-last play of the game and will undergo an MRI on his knee.

In eight starts for the Texans in 2013, Keenum threw for 1,760 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and tight end Kyle Rudolph haven't had a lot of opportunities to work together. Bridgewater took over in Week 3, which was also when Rudolph suffered a groin injury that sidelined him for the team's next six games. Week 15 at Detroit, then, was only their fifth game working together. It was also by far their best.

Bridgewater found Rudolph seven times for 69 yards, both representing season highs for the fourth-year tight end. With Bridgewater also throwing for more than 300 yards for the second straight game, maybe it's the start of something.

Then again, two of those catches for 16 of those yards came with the Vikings desperate to get into field goal range with less than a minute to go. The Lions were happy to let Bridgewater dump the ball off underneath, and he obliged. Change Rudolph's line to five catches for 56 yards, and it's ... well, it's still the best he's done with Bridgewater, but it's nothing special.

Wide receiver Charles Johnson has been the greater beneficiary of Bridgewater's emergence -- or perhaps the cause of it. Still, Rudolph remains one of the Vikings' more reliable receiving options, so if Bridgewater keeps putting up numbers, some of them will have to go to his tight end.

This time of year, though, is too late to earn your trust.

Though the Vikings hadn't been so great against the pass recently, allowing an average of 246.8 passing yards to the last four quarterbacks they faced, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford made sure their No. 6 ranking against the pass this year held up Week 15 in Detroit, failing to reach even the 185 yards he had against them back in Week 6. He finished with a season-low 153 yards on 17-of-28 passing, throwing for just one touchdown.

This after back-to-back games with 300-plus passing yards in which he threw for a combined five touchdowns. Not even the great Calvin Johnson, who was absent for the previous meeting with the Vikings, could redeem Stafford in this one. He had 53 yards after averaging 152.0 yards the previous two weeks.

Of course, the Lions faced the Bears and Buccaneers in those two weeks, or the league's 24th- and 30th-ranked pass defenses heading into Week 15. The Vikings are certainly better than them. Still, for as few yards as they had allowed through the air, the touchdown-to-interception ratio against them was nothing foreboding. It didn't seem like an unfavorable matchup.

But with Stafford, if the numbers say it's an unfavorable matchup, it's an unfavorable matchup. He's been the most predictable quarterback in Fantasy this season; we just keep making it harder than it needs to be. The good news is that in Week 16 he'll be facing those same Bears that he torched in Week 13, so you'll want to keep him active if you're still alive in Fantasy.

If you were fortunate enough to survive quarterback Aaron Rodgers' uncharacteristically poor performance Week 15 at Buffalo, know this: It was a one-time thing.

This wasn't a case of the Packers deciding they're better off running the ball more, as the Broncos have done. They lost 21-13 to the Bills, OK? Things clearly didn't go according to plan.

Of course, the Bills had something to do with that. Believe it or not, they've been one of the toughest matchups for quarterbacks this season. They've allowed only 14 touchdown passes while recording 19 interceptions, making them one of just two teams with more of the latter than the former.

Rodgers also didn't get as much help from his teammates as usual. Most notably, wide receiver Jordy Nelson had a couple drops, including what would have almost certainly been a 94-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. If the two connect on that one, we're not even having this conversation.

And then you just have the anomalous aspect of it. This was the first game over his entire career in which Rodgers had zero touchdown passes and two interceptions. He entered with only three interceptions all season.

Naturally, you'll want to keep him active for Week 16 at Tampa Bay.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed one touchdown Week 15 against the Vikings.

Stafford completed 17 of 28 passes for 153 yards and a score during the contest. For the most part, Stafford had no issues with the Minnesota pass rush. He did not take any sacks or turn the ball over during the game. The Vikings defense did give him some problems, particularly with the big-play. Stafford averaged just 5.5 yards per completion, with his longest catch going for 23 yards. He had one rushing attempt, picking up 2 yards.

Stafford will look for more Week 16 against the Bears.

After quarterback Jake Locker left the game with a shoulder injury, Titans quarterback Charlie Whitehurst came off the bench to throw for 203 yards in a 16-11 loss to the Jets Sunday.

Whitehurst completed 10 of his 24 pass attempts, but did not throw a touchdown or an interception. He also rushed for 9 yards on two attempts.

The game appearance was Whitehurst's first since Oct. 19. The Titans will play at Jacksonville Thursday.