NFL Player News

Rivers is inactive for Sunday's season finale against the Texans.

With Rivers inactive, Riley Leonard is slated to start Sunday's contest, with Seth Henigan set to serve as his backup. Rivers started the Colts' previous three games, but with the team out of playoff contention, the veteran quarterback will be kept out of harm's way in Week 18.

Rattler (finger) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Falcons, Ross Jackson of WWL Louisiana reports.

Rattler continues to deal with a thumb injury to his throwing hand and will be in street clothes for the Saints' regular-season finale. Rattler started the first eight games of the season, completing 68 percent of his passes for 1,586 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. However, he was benched in favor of Tyler Shough, who has outperformed expectations thus far, leaving Rattler's future with New Orleans uncertain.

Browning (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's matchup against Cleveland and will work as Cincinnati's emergency third quarterback.

This has become a familiar role for Browning, as he's been the Bengals' emergency third QB every week since late November. In order for Browning to enter Sunday's contest, both Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco would have to exit due to injury, illness or ejection.

Willis (right shoulder/hamstring) is listed as inactive Sunday at Minnesota, Mike Spofford of the Packers' official site reports.

After Jordan Love cleared the concussion protocol Thursday, Willis entered the weekend as Green Bay's least healthy quarterback on the active roster, but the team opted not to elevate Desmond Ridder from the practice squad Saturday, meaning Love and Willis were the potential No. 2 options behind Week 18 starter Clayton Tune. Love will get that honor Sunday, while Willis will be in street clothes as he tends to right shoulder and hamstring injuries.

Love is listed as active Sunday in Minnesota, and he'll serve as the No. 2 QB behind starter Clayton Tune with Malik Willis (right shoulder/hamstring) inactive, Mike Spofford of the Packers' official site reports.

Love cleared the concussion protocol Thursday, and at the same time coach Matt LaFleur announced that Tune would be Green Bay's starter under center for Week 18. After the team chose not to elevate Desmond Ridder from the practice squad Saturday, Love and Willis remained as the considerations for backup duties Sunday. Love's name was called over Willis, perhaps due to Willis still tending to right shoulder and hamstring injuries. Love thus has a chance for his first game action since the second quarter of a Week 16 loss at Chicago.

Cousins was added to the Falcons' injury report due to an illness but won't have a designation for Sunday's game against the Saints and will be available to start at quarterback, Tori McElhaney of the team's official site reports.

Cousins was a full participant in practice throughout the week, but he may be operating at something less than 100 percent heading into the season finale after coming down with an illness. More so than the ailment, however, Cousins' fantasy prospects could be hindered by the prospect of some of his top pass catchers being less than fully healthy. Though wideouts Drake London (knee) and Darnell Mooney (knee) and tight end Kyle Pitts (knee) are active Sunday, all were listed as questionable heading into the weekend and were limited in the Falcons' final Week 18 practice. As such, it's possible that any or all three players could have their reps managed to some degree, given that the 7-9 Falcons are eliminated from playoff contention and have little on the line in the season finale.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan relayed that Purdy suffered a "stinger" after taking a hard hit to his left shoulder on the 49ers' final offensive play of Saturday's 13-3 loss to the Seahawks, Noah Furtado and Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle report. "It's just I got hit, and the left shoulder sort of lit up," Purdy said after the contest. "I feel good right now. We'll see how I feel [Sunday]."

After accounting for 13 touchdowns over the 49ers' first three games following their Week 14 bye, Purdy had a down performance Saturday, completing 19 of 27 passes for 127 yards -- his third-lowest total of 45 career starts -- and one interception while adding 21 yards on two carries as San Francisco fell short in its bid for the NFC's No. 1 seed. His night ended on a rough note after he took a hard blindside hit on his final dropback, resulting in him lying on the turf for a few moments before he retreated to the sideline. Fortunately for Purdy, he appears to have avoided anything significant, with Shanahan noting that the quarterback could have re-entered the game if the 49ers had gotten the ball back. Purdy could still have his practice reps managed to some extent during the upcoming week, but the stinger isn't expected to affect his availability for the 49ers' wild-card matchup versus a to-be-determined opponent.

Darnold completed 20 of 26 passes for 198 yards in Saturday's 13-3 win over the 49ers. He added six rushes for nine yards.

The Seahawks played from ahead for nearly the entire matchup and were able to rely on their very effective run game. Darnold only needed to be a game manager as a result, and he played the role effectively. He didn't make any key mistakes, was sacked only twice, and had five completions of at least 15 yards. Darnold will likely be tested more in the postseason, but he will have an additional week of rest, as Seattle locked in the top seed in the NFC with the win.

Purdy completed 19 of 27 passes for 127 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Saturday's 13-3 loss to the Seahawks.

Purdy and the 49ers' offense had been on an impressive run, having thrown for at least 295 yards and three touchdowns in three straight games. In Saturday's loss, he had limited opportunity due to Seattle dictating the flow of the game, with the 49ers running only 42 offensive plays as a result. However, Purdy was also stymied by the Seahawks' defense, averaging only 4.7 yards per attempt with just one completion of at least 20 yards. He ended the game with a bloodied thumb and remained down for a few minutes after being hit, but there is no indication for now that his status is in jeopardy as the 49ers begin their playoff run.

The Jets signed Hooker to the active roster from the practice squad Saturday.

Hooker was elevated to the active roster in Week 17 and served as the backup to Brady Cook. With Tyrod Taylor (knee) questionable, Hooker could serve in the same capacity in Week 18 against the Bills.