NFL Player News

While Jets coach Rex Ryan refrained from naming a starting quarterback following Monday's loss against the Bills, Michael Vick is expected to start Week 13 against the Dolphins, if his calf is fine and Ryan is allowed to make the decision, a source told the New York Daily News.

Vick was replaced late in the third quarter by Geno Smith during a 38-3 loss Week 12. Vick said he was kicked in the calf Monday, but he could have returned. Ryan said he "wanted to give Geno a chance."

Vick completed 7 of 19 passes for 76 yards, no touchdowns and one interception before being replaced by Smith, who completed 10 of 12 passes for 89 yards.

"I want to see how they look," Ryan said after the game. "Sometimes you have a feel and a sense of it on the field. When you watch the tape, maybe you see a differently. So we’ll take a look at it and do what we think is best."

Jets quarterback Geno Smith relieved Michael Vick in the second half of Monday's 38-3 loss to the Bills. Smith completed 10 of 12 throws for 89 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

The Jets haven't announced which quarterback will start Week 13 against Miami.

Jets coach Rex Ryan said he hasn't decided whether Michael Vick or Geno Smith will start at quarterback on Monday Night Football in Week 13 against Miami. "We'll address that later," he said. "I don't know yet."

Ryan benched Vick for Smith in the third quarter of the 38-3 loss to the Bills.

With 4:57 left in the third quarter Monday, Jets coach Rex Ryan had seen enough. He benched quarterback Michael Vick for Geno Smith after Vick was intercepted by Bills safety Duke Williams.

It was Vick's only interception, but the Bills could have had at least three other picks. Vick completed 7 of 19 throws for 76 yards (4.0 ypa), ran twice for 4 yards and absorbed five sacks. He had a chance for a 69-yard touchdown right before halftime, but his throw to Eric Decker was a bit long and Decker couldn't bring it in.

Smith saw his first action since he was benched Week 8, also against the Bills.

Sources have indicated the Texans will sign quarterback Thad Lewis to replace Ryan Mallett, according to NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Mallett was lost for the season after tearing his pectoral muscle Week 12 and the Texans have Ryan Fitzpatrick as their only healthy quarterback on the roster.

In six career starts, Lewis has thrown five touchdown passes and four interceptions. In Week 13, the Texans play against Tennessee.

All the Jets who were probable on the injury report are active for Monday's game against the Bills in Detroit.

The list includes running backs Chris Ivory (shoulder) and Chris Johnson (knee), guard Oday Aboushi (shoulder), linebacker Antwan Barnes (knee), guard Willie Colon (knee), wideout T.J. Graham (neck), linebacker David Harris (shoulder), safety Jaiquawn Jarrett (calf), center Nick Mangold (shoulder), linebacker Trevor Reilly (knee), receiver Greg Salas (wrist), cornerback Darrin Walls (calf) and quarterback Geno Smith (right shoulder).

Texans coach Bill O'Brien said Monday quarterback Ryan Mallett is still being evaluated and would not confirm the report Mallett is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn right pectoral, according to The Houston Chronicle.

O'Brien said he will have "more to report" on Mallett's status later in the week. O'Brien would not name a starting quarterback for Week 13 against the Titans. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tom Savage are the two other quarterbacks on the roster.

"I'm trying to get ready for Tennessee," O'Brien said. "Whether (Mallett is) there or not, the next guy's gonna step up, whoever it is."

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer was not pleased with his three-interception performance following Sunday's last-second win over the Falcons in Week 12, per Cleveland Plain Dealer. Two of his three interceptions came on passes intended for Josh Gordon in the final five minutes of the game.

"It's great to win but I'm really disappointed in myself," said Hoyer. "I feel like I let the team down even though we won. That's not how I play. Obviously it's great to get a win and be 7-4, but I have to do a better job."

Hoyer has cracked the 300-yard mark for the third time in his last four games. He has three touchdowns and six interceptions over that strech.

Here's the thing: If you've been starting Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford in Fantasy all this time, your season is probably just about over anyway. He's contributed multiple scores in only five of 11 games this season, and he just had his second straight with no scores at all Week 12 at New England. At a position where the minimum expectation is two scores in a standard 12-team league -- and some of the best are liable to have three or four -- that's a backbreaker.

Of course, Stafford himself has been one of the best of the best before. In 2011, he threw for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns. But that was three years ago. Any hope of a coaching change helping him recapture that form is long gone now.

To some degree, you could have seen his last two games coming given the matchups. The Patriots and Cardinals have two of the more opportunistic pass defenses in football. But interceptions weren't as much the problem for Stafford in those games as a lack of touchdown passes. Zero over a two-game stretch is unacceptable for a presumed top-12 quarterback, regardless of the competition.

But all that being said ... he's going against a Bears defense in Week 13 that has been absolutely dreadful against the pass, he has two of probably the NFL's best 25 wide receivers in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, and he had his best three-game stretch of the season prior to these last two games. If you've stuck it out this long with him, might as well go down with the ship, right?

For the third time in four games, Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer threw for 300 yards Week 12 at Atlanta.

He had 322, to be exact. It was his second-best single-game total this season. But because of some miscommunication with star wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was making his season debut after serving a 10-game suspension, he also had a season-high three interceptions, including two in the fourth quarter, both on passes that sailed well beyond Gordon's reach.

That's what miscommunication will do for a quarterback.

What will Gordon do for a quarterback? Well, even with all that miscommunication, he still led the Browns with 120 receiving yards. And that was with his longest catch going for just 24 yards. He and Hoyer failed to connect on all the deep balls -- again, a product of miscommunication.

The takeaway for Hoyer owners: Just imagine what can do when he and his star wide receiver are communicating. And I don't mean via text. Imagine when they've had more than just a few days of practice, when they've had a chance to get in sync and aren't missing on all those plays they could have made in Week 12.

Hoyer may be a so-so quarterback, but he's a so-so quarterback who could be in for a big finish, making him a player to monitor even in standard 12-team leagues.