NFL Player News

Head coach Arthur Smith announced Wednesday that the Falcons plan to have Heinicke serve as their starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2023 season, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

Assuming Heinicke doesn't lose the job due to injury, he'll wrap up the regular season with starts against the Colts, Bears and Saints, with Desmond Ridder presumably operating as his backup. In Heinicke's only full game this season -- a Week 9 loss to the Vikings -- he completed 21 of 38 pass attempts for 268 yards, one touchdown and one interception. For fantasy purposes, Heinicke finds himself as an emergency option in leagues that include multiple lineup spots for quarterbacks, and his presence doesn't move the needle too significantly in either direction for key skill-position players such as Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday that Lawrence remains in the NFL's concussion protocol, but is "progressing well," Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com reports.

Pederson didn't clarify whether the progress Lawrence has made will result in him practicing in some capacity Wednesday. If Lawrence is unable to clear the five-step protocol ahead of Sunday's game against the Buccaneers, C.J. Beathard would be in line to fill in for Lawrence this weekend. Meanwhile, the Jaguars bolstered their signal-caller depth in advance of the Week 16 game by adding E.J. Perry to their practice squad.

Stidham played the Broncos' final four offensive snaps of Saturday's 42-17 loss to the Lions, attempting no passes during his time on the field.

Stidham handed the ball off four times after taking the field for the Broncos' last possession in place of starter Russell Wilson, who was held out for rest while the game's outcome was already decided. Up until exiting the contest, Wilson had played every offensive snap this season, so Saturday's game marked Stidham's 2023 and Broncos debuts.

Allen played Buffalo's final seven snaps on offense in Sunday's 31-10 win over the Cowboys, attempting no passes and kneeling down twice for minus-two yards.

Allen checked into the game with 10:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Buffalo held a commanding 31-3 lead. The Bills didn't ask Allen to do anything more than to keep the clock moving, as the team ran the ball on all seven of his plays. Allen has yet to attempt a pass this season despite coming off the bench on six occasions this season, usually in garbage-time scenarios.

Luton was cut from the Panthers' practice squad Wednesday, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

Luton was previously let go by the Panthers and then brought back earlier in December. However, with the season getting closer to its end, the 27-year-old may not get that opportunity this year.

Stroud appears likely to miss a second straight game Sunday against the Browns while he remains in the concussion protocol, DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com reports.

Stroud hasn't been officially ruled out for Sunday's contest yet, and he could end up carrying a questionable or doubtful tag into the weekend if he manages to make some progress through the five-step protocol during the week. However, Stroud isn't expected to practice Wednesday and probably won't be anything more than a limited participant if he's cleared to get back on the field Thursday, so the Texans appear set to prepare Case Keenum for another start. While Stroud was sidelined for last week's 19-16 overtime win over the Titans, Davis Mills served as the backup to Keenum, who completed 23 of 36 pass attempts for 229 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Texans signed Boyle to their practice squad Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Boyle will head to Houston after completing 48 of 77 of his passes for 360 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in three games for the Jets earlier this season. The 29-year-old will now serve as a depth option if C.J. Stroud (concussion) is unable to play Sunday versus the Browns.

Mannion reverted to Seattle's practice squad Tuesday.

Mannion was active but didn't play during Monday's win over the Eagles as he served as an emergency option behind Drew Lock and Geno Smith. Mannion will now wait for another opportunity to be elevated.

The Lions activated Hooker (knee) from their reserve/non-football injury list Tuesday.

Hooker has spent the entire season up to this point on Detroit's reserve/NFI list, but it now looks like he'll finally be available in Week 16. As long as one of Jared Goff or Teddy Bridgewater is available, Hooker still isn't likely to see the field this year.

Pickett (ankle) was listed as limited on Tuesday's injury report, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Pittsburgh's current plan is for Mason Rudolph to be the team's starting quarterback Saturday against the Bengals, with previous fill-in starter Mitch Trubisky getting demoted to third on the depth chart. On Monday, coach Mike Tomlin left "the door ajar" for Pickett to be available this weekend for the first time since suffering a high right-ankle sprain in Week 13 against the Cardinals, per ESPN.com. Pickett may need to be listed as full on at least one of the Steelers' two remaining Week 16 practice reports Wednesday or Thursday in order to give himself a realistic chance to be available Saturday.