NFL Player News

The Vikings signed Rypien to a reserve/future contract Wednesday, Craig Peters of the team's official site reports.

Rypien was signed by the Vikings in late August after failing to make the Bears' 53-man roster at the conclusion of training camp. He spent the entire regular season as the third-string emergency quarterback behind Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens, but Rypien was waived by Minnesota on Jan. 7 to make room on the roster for Daniel Jones. Rypien was brought back to the practice squad two days later, and now that's under a futures contract, he'll be a part of the Vikings' 90-man roster when the new league year starts March 12. That will allow him to work with Minnesota's coaching and training staff during the offseason and participate in OTAs, minicamp and training camp. Rypien has appeared in 10 regular-season games since being signed by the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in April of 2019.

Jackson wasn't listed on Wednesday's injury report ahead of Sunday's divisional-round game against the Bills.

Per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, Jackson got kneed in the back during the second quarter of this past Saturday's wild-card win over the Steelers, but the star quarterback's practice reps weren't affected at all Wednesday. While Jackson's status for Sunday's showdown in Buffalo is secure, the availability of top wideout Zay Flowers (knee) -- who didn't practice Wednesday -- is in question.

Fields failed to complete his lone pass attempt and played two snaps in the Steelers' 28-14 loss to the Ravens this past Saturday in the wild-card round.

During the regular season, Fields completed 106 of 161 pass attempts for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and an interception while rushing 62 times for 289 yards and five touchdowns over 10 appearances. He began the season as the team's starter while Russell Wilson recovered from a preseason injury and led the Steelers to a 4-2 start, but Fields topped 200 passing yards in just two of those appearances. The Steelers turned to Wilson as their starter afterward, and Fields played just 12 offensive snaps over the remainder of the regular season. While Pittsburgh's record with Fields as the starting quarterback was encouraging, the 2021 first-round pick enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent and could have some trouble finding a guaranteed starting job.

Brown signed with the Bills' practice squad Wednesday.

Brown spent part of 2022 with the Ravens, Buffalo's upcoming opponent for Sunday's divisional-round matchup. Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network relays that head coach Sean McDermott noted that they added Brown to have a mobile scout team quarterback who can throw and run, as they prepare to face Lamar Jackson.

Boyle completed 27 of 50 passes for 276 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing three times for nine yards over three games (two with Miami and one with the Giants) during the regular season.

All three of Boyle's appearances came as a backup -- he replaced Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley in separate games while with Miami, then stepped in for Tommy DeVito in Week 15 as a member of the Giants. That's reflective of his role throughout his career, as Boyle has started just five times in 23 NFL regular-season games. Boyle will be an unrestricted free agent when the campaign comes to a close, and he's likely to work as either a backup or a practice-squad member in an NFL organization next season.

DeVito saw action in three contests during the regular season, completing 31 of 44 passes for 257 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also carried eight times for 32 yards.

DeVito made a very brief appearance Week 14 against New Orleans, taking one offensive snap without attempting a pass. His other two games were starts, and though he was relatively accurate with a 70 percent completion rate and didn't get picked off, he was quite conservative in averaging just 5.8 yards per attempt. DeVito's campaign was much less boisterous than the year prior, when he enjoyed a brief Cinderella run as a rookie in a fill-in role for Daniel Jones. DeVito will be an exclusive right free agent upon the beginning of the offseason, and the Giants are expected to bring him back, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. It's unclear where he'll stand in the QB pecking order, however, with both Drew Lock and Tim Boyle set to become unrestricted free agents and New York widely expected to upgrade at the position through trade, free agency, and/or the draft.

Pratt signed a reserve/future contract with Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

Pratt was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he didn't make the team out of the preseason and spent the majority of the campaign bouncing between the Bucs' practice squad and active roster as the team's emergency QB3. Pratt never got into a regular-season game but will get another shot to try and impress the coaching staff this offseason.

Mahomes (ankle) was a full participant in Tuesday's practice.

Mahomes was inactive in Week 18 with Kansas City having already secured the AFC's No. 1 seed. The star quarterback instead benefited from more time to recover from the right high-ankle sprain that he sustained in a Dec. 15 win over the Browns and then played through in Weeks 16 and 17. Mahomes looks like he'll be good to go for a divisional-round matchup with the Texans on Saturday.

The Steelers signed Thompson to a reserve/future contract Tuesday.

Selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Dolphins, Thompson spent the past three seasons with Miami as part of the team's backup situation behind Tua Tagovailoa. Thompson appeared in 10 regular-season contests in that time and even started Miami's wild-card playoff game against the Bills as a rookie. Thompson, however, looked overwhelmed when forced into action, completing 99 of 183 passes (54.1 percent) for 941 yards (5.14 yards per attempt), two touchdowns and five interceptions across those 11 contests, while absorbing 16 sacks. He'll compete for a backup gig in Pittsburgh this upcoming offseason.

Stafford completed 19 of 27 passes for 209 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while adding two carries for minus-1 yard in the Rams' 27-9 wild-card win over the Vikings on Monday night.

Stafford got off to a blazing start during the convincing win, recording completions of 27 and 23 yards to Puka Nacua and Tyler Higbee, respectively, on his first pair of throws. The veteran signal-caller connected on all six pass attempts during the crisp opening possession, which he capped off with a five-yard scoring toss to Kyren Williams. Stafford subsequently connected with Davis Allen for a 13-yard scoring strike just before halftime as well, and although the offense slowed down considerably in the second half, the quarterback already laid the groundwork for an impressive victory. Stafford and the Rams now will ready themselves for the challenge presented by a road divisional-round clash versus the Eagles on Sunday afternoon.