NFL Player News

Heinicke (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against New Orleans, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

He'll only be the backup even if he plays, with coach Arthur Smith announcing earlier this week that Desmond Ridder will return to the starting QB role and could stay there for the rest of the season. Heinicke finally got his shot in November, but he struggled in his three appearances -- all losses -- and came out of the third game with a hamstring injury. He's still not 100 percent after a Week 11 bye, potentially giving Logan Woodside a chance to step up to the backup QB job for a game or two.

Purdy completed 21 of 30 pass attempts for 209 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Thursday's 31-13 win over the Seahawks.

Purdy's only notable miscue from another solid performance came on his second attempt of the second half when he threw an interception that was taken back for Seattle's only touchdown of the evening. The 23-year-old was not fazed by his -- at the time -- potentially game-altering mistake, responding with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk later in the half that put the Seahawks away for good. Purdy finished with an efficient passing performance that lacked the flash of some of his recent fantasy lines. The sophomore starter is still producing at a high level with 838 passing yards and seven touchdowns while completing 75 percent of his passes in three outings since returning from the bye. Purdy will both physically and mentally prepare for next week's road tilt against the Eagles, which will be the first time the quarterback will face Philadelphia since severely injuring his elbow and taking a loss in last year's NFC Championship Game.

Smith (elbow) completed 18 of 27 passes for 180 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and added four rushes for 21 yards in the Seahawks' 31-13 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night.

Smith was able to play through his triceps contusion but put up unsurprisingly underwhelming numbers against the suffocating 49ers defense. Smith was relatively efficient overall, but he took six sacks and was only able to connect with top targets DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett a combined six times for 62 yards. The veteran signal-caller saw his streak of games with a touchdown pass end at two games, and Thursday marked his fourth sub-200-yard tally of the campaign. Smith's arm should be healthier for a Week 13 road matchup against the Cowboys next Thursday night.

Prescott completed 22 of 32 passes for 331 yards and four touchdowns in Thursday's 45-10 rout of the Commanders.

He added 10 rushing yards on his only carry. Prescott spread the ball around almost at will against an overmatched Washington defense, completing passes to 10 different receivers and blowing the game open in the fourth quarter with a 15-yard TD strike to CeeDee Lamb and a 34-yard toss to KaVontae Turpin. Prescott has been the hottest QB in the league since the Cowboys' Week 7 bye, and over the last five weeks he's posted a 17:2 TD:INT while averaging 320.4 passing yards a game with a 70.5 percent completion rate and an 8.9 YPA. He'll look to keep rolling at home in Week 13 against the Seahawks.

Howell completed 28 of 44 passes for 300 yards and an interception while adding 13 rushing yards and a touchdown on two carries in Thursday's 45-10 loss to the Cowboys.

The second-year quarterback played relatively mistake-free ball until a desperation drive late in the fourth quarter ended on a pick-six by DaRon Bland. It's the fourth time in the last five games Howell has thrown for at least 300 yards, but that yardage has come on sky-high volume -- he's attempted more than 40 passes in six straight contests and eight of the last nine as the Commanders' offense tries to compensate for its porous defense. That formula doesn't figure to change much in Week 13 against the Dolphins.

Smith (elbow) is listed as active Thursday versus the 49ers.

During this past Sunday's loss at the Rams, Smith missed the final snap of the third quarter and most of the fourth quarter due to a right elbow injury. The official diagnosis was revealed to be a bruise to the tendon on the bottom of his right triceps by coach Pete Carroll on Monday, and Smith proceeded to be listed as DNP/LP/FP during Week 12 prep. Carroll relayed to Colin Gunther of the Seahawks' official site Wednesday that Smith was "ready to go" for Thursday's game, and now that has been confirmed. Smith thus will take aim at San Francisco's 15th-ranked pass defense (221.4 yards per game).

Love completed 22 of 32 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns with 39 rushing yards on three carries in Thursday's 29-22 win over the Lions.

The first-year starting QB shone in the Thanksgiving game spotlight, as Love tossed red-zone TDs to Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft in the first quarter as the Packers raced out to a 14-6 lead. Love then hit Christian Watson for his final score late in the third quarter, tying his career high for touchdown passes and extending his streak of games with multiple TD passes to three. The 2020 first-round pick has a 7:2 TD:INT over those three games with a 62.5 percent completion rate and a 7.8 YPA, but Love will face a tough test in Week 13 against a stingy Kansas City secondary.

Goff completed 29 of 44 passes for 332 yards with two touchdowns while adding nine rushing yards on three carries with three lost fumbles during Thursday's 29-22 loss to the Packers. He also completed a pass for a two-point conversion.

Entering the contest sitting fifth in passing yards per game (274.3), Goff put together another respectable outing from a statistical perspective while recording his third straight game with multiple passing touchdowns. However, an onslaught of miscues proved too much to overcome for the NFC North leaders, as Goff took three sacks, went 1-for-6 on fourth down, and fumbled three times -- one of which was returned by Green Bay for a touchdown in a one-score game. The entire offense will look for a bounce-back effort during a Week 13 matchup on the road against the Saints.

The Saints removed Carr (concussion) from the Week 12 injury report Thursday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

With the benefit of a Week 11 bye, Carr won't miss any time due to the concussion that he sustained during a Week 10 loss at Minnesota. He will be working without Michael Thomas (knee) for at least the next four games after the wide receiver was placed on injured reserve Tuesday. Having said that, Carr has a decent matchup on tap Sunday against a Falcons defense that has allowed the third-most combined touchdowns (21) to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Rypien was elevated from the Seahawks' practice squad Thursday ahead of their game against the 49ers, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Rypien could still find himself inactive if Geno Smith (elbow) is able to play. However, the Boise State product's elevation will give Seattle some security at the position in case Smith is unable to suit up. Rypien signed with Seattle's practice squad Nov. 10 after he was cut by the Rams on Nov. 7.