NFL Player News

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Monday that Allen will start Sunday's matchup versus New England but will be in the game for a "very, very short-lived amount of time," Ryan O'Halloran of The Buffalo News reports.

The Bills are locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and the team plans to play only some of its starters, per O'Halloran. The motivation for Allen to see the field at all could be simply to extend his 104-game streak of regular-season starts, in which case the MVP candidate may log no more than a few snaps. It goes without saying that Allen isn't going to be a viable play in fantasy given the extremely limited amount of time he'll likely be on the field in the regular-season finale. Mitchell Trubisky figures to see most of the QB snaps for the Bills against the Patriots.

Richardson is continuing to get treatment on his back spasms and will start Week 18 versus Jacksonville if he's healthy, Mike Chappell of Fox 59 News Indianapolis reports.

Richardson also has been dealing with a foot injury, but head coach Shane Steichen indicated last week that the back problem -- which he clarified to be back spasms Monday -- was the bigger issue. Steichen did indicate Monday that Richardson is feeling better, so there's a legitimate chance the rookie QB could return to a starting role Sunday. If Richardson can't play, Joe Flacco -- who threw for 330 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions Sunday in a loss to the Giants -- would likely start behind center again.

Miami head coach Mike McDaniel stated Monday that Tyler Huntley will get more practice reps than Tagovailoa (hip) this week, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

Tagovailoa missed Sunday's Week 17 win over the Browns due to a hip issue, and he appears to be in danger of sitting out Sunday's Week 18 battle against the Jets as well. McDaniel mentioned Monday that the team is in a "gray area" with Tagovailoa moving forward because the star QB's "body did not cooperate" leading up to the Week 17 contest. The Dolphins need a win against the Jets on Sunday in order to have a chance of making the postseason.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Monday that Huntley will get more practice reps than Tua Tagovailoa (hip) this week, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

Though Tagovailoa hasn't been ruled out for Week 18, McDaniel said the team is in a "gray area" regarding the star quarterback due to his hip injury, per Jackson. With Huntley slated to get most of the reps in practice this week, it appears he has a better chance than Tagovailoa of starting against the Jets on Sunday in a game the Dolphins must win in order to have any chance of making the postseason. Huntley led the team to a victory Sunday versus the Browns, performing well with 225 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 22 of 26 attempts and adding 52 yards and another score on the ground.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that Fields (abdomen) is expected to be active for Saturday's contest against Cincinnati, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.

Fields was inactive for each of Pittsburgh's previous two games, though he was deemed the team's emergency third quarterback Christmas Day versus the Chiefs. It appears the fourth-year QB will be able to suit up Saturday, and he'd presumably work as the team's backup to Russell Wilson. However, there's a possibility Fields could log more than his usual amount of work if Pittsburgh decides to sit or limit its starters. The Steelers play the late game Saturday, and they'll know whether they have a chance to win the AFC North and move up to the No. 3 seed depending on the outcome of the early Saturday contest between Baltimore and Cleveland.

Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown said Monday that Williams will play in Sunday's Week 18 game against Green Bay, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Brown also stated that all of Chicago's healthy players will suit up for the team's season finale. There had been some speculation that Williams could be held out of action given that the Bears have nothing to play for in terms of playoff contention and because the rookie QB has taken frequent hits this season -- Chicago has given up an NFL-high 67 sacks on the campaign. It remains to be seen how the Packers will handle their starters Week 18 with the team having clinched a playoff berth and being unable to rise above the No. 6 seed in the NFC.

Both Rudolph and Will Levis are in line to play in Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Texans, per Titans head coach Brian Callahan, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com reports.

Rudolph took over as the Titans' starting quarterback Week 16 , and he has put up a 3:4 TD:INT along with a 64.6 completion percentage and an average of 222.5 passing yards per contest in two games since. Callahan cited Tennessee's 0-2 record since the switch as part of the reason for the decision to deploy both QBs while adding, "It's always a position that you want to have an answer for. We have to make sure we have all the looks that we need," per McCormick. With both Rudolph and Levis appearing likely to get snaps behind center Sunday, neither profiles as an appealing asset in fantasy.

Titans head coach Brian Callahan said Monday that Levis and Mason Rudolph will both play Sunday against Houston, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com reports.

Levis was moved to a backup role in favor of Rudolph over the Titans' past two games, but the team has gone 0-2 since the change. Rudolph has somewhat struggled with a 3:4 TD:INT in the pair of contests, so he hasn't done enough to establish a stranglehold on the starting QB role. With both Levis and Rudolph likely to get snaps Week 18, neither profiles as an appealing fantasy play.

Rodgers will start next Sunday's Week 18 game against Miami, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

New York has little to play for aside from draft slotting given its 4-12 record, but it appears the team's starters will still suit up for the season finale. The Jets will be going up against a motivated Dolphins team that must win in order to keep its long-shot playoff hopes alive. Rodgers remains one touchdown pass away from 500 in his illustrious career, and Sunday could mark his final appearance as a Jet if, as expected, the team decides to go in a different direction this offseason.

Wentz is expected to serve as Kansas City's starting quarterback Sunday in Denver with Patrick Mahomes likely to be rested for the regular-season finale, Peter Schrager of Fox Sports reports.

Heading into Week 18, the defending champs have already secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, so the team is expected to rest several key players. Mahomes has been playing through a mild high-ankle sprain the past two games, making him a prime candidate for extra rest. Wentz is set to see his first extended action since Week 18 of 2023, when the Rams faced a similar scenario and opted to rest Matthew Stafford. The likelihood that Kansas City restricts the workloads of other top playmakers could limit the QB's fantasy appeal, and practice-squad call-up Chris Oladokun may even relieve Wentz at some point in the contest.