MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Skylar Thompson to start vs. Jets on Sunday

 

Lamar Jackson ruled out for Week 18; status unclear for postseason



Lamar Jackson won’t play this week and it’s uncertain whether he’ll be back in time for next week’s playoff game.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Tyler Huntley has a good chance to start Sunday’s game against Cincinnati, despite dealing with tendinitis issue in his shoulder. But Jackson’s availability will be key for Baltimore in the postseason. And at this point, the Ravens aren’t sure whether he’ll be able to practice next week, let alone play.


“There really are no updates on that. And that’s the biggest thing I know that fans, media, and everybody might get a little frustrated about. But, it’s just kind of the nature of it,” Harbaugh said in his press conference. “When we have an update, definitely you’ll have it. But injuries are so hard to predict. … And sometimes people think, well he’s hiding something or whatever — and it’s really not. I might be hiding something sometimes, but not in this case.

“But the truth is, we just really don’t know. I know everybody’s working as hard as they can. Lamar’s working as hard as he can. The trainers are working as hard as they can. And can’t wait for him to get back, obviously, just like everybody else. So, that’s where we’re at. He won’t be playing in this game. And we’ll be hopeful for next week and we’ll see where we’re at then.”

Jackson has been out since suffering a PCL injury in the Ravens’ victory over the Broncos on Dec. 4. Huntley took over and Baltimore has gone 2-2 over its last four games.

Jackson not being able to play in the wild card round would be an obvious blow to Baltimore’s championship aspirations, no matter their opponent.

Huntley himself said he feels like he has a good chance to play on Sunday. But if he can’t, the Ravens would turn to rookie quarterback Anthony Brown. With Huntley limited, Brown took the practice reps and Harbaugh said the rookie will be ready to go if needed.

Given the passed resolution to postseason changes on Friday, the Ravens still have a chance to host an opening-round playoff game if they defeat the Bengals on Sunday and are scheduled to play them next weekend. That would be determined by a coin flip.

Baltimore’s full injury report will be released later on Friday.

PFT

 

I'm really wondering how much prolonged absences like this affect Jackson's future prospects with the Ravens. I'm sure he signs and I'm sure they want him but, after the last two years of missing the latter half of the season, I'd be a bit gun shy with him.

 

Mike White has said he is dealing with 5 broken ribs... dammm & ouch.

 

If Jackson is healthy enough, he should play this week. They’re seeding honestly doesn’t matter with the Bengals clinching the division, he’s missed a lot of games. If he’s not healthy, wouldn’t count on the Ravens making it far.

 

That’s why they’ll franchise tag again. And I’ll be interested in their offseason, will they begin making changes, or will they look for a mobile QB that’s better than Huntley

 

Report: Jalen Hurts will play Sunday



The Eagles have lost their past two games without Jalen Hurts. They now face the Giants needing a win to assure the NFC East title and the No. 1 overall seed, and Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Hurts will play.

Hurts’ right shoulder strain limited him in practice all week, but he “threw the ball extremely well and is not believed to be at risk of reinjury,” per Garafolo.

 

Report: Davis Webb to start at quarterback for Giants vs. Eagles



The Giants are locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC whether they win or lose today, and they’re not playing to win.

Davis Webb will start at quarterback for the Giants today against the Eagles, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.


Webb, who was called up from the practice squad yesterday, has never thrown a pass in his NFL career.

 

Tom Brady breaks his own NFL record for completions in a season



Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady broke his own NFL record for completions in a season. He needed nine going into Sunday.

He completed 13 of 17 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons before leaving with 4:00 left in the second quarter.

Brady had a record 485 completions last season and now has 490 this season.

The Bucs rank 32nd in rushing, leaving them to throw, and throw a lot, this season.

Blaine Gabbert replaced Brady after five possessions, and the Bucs now lead 17-13 in the third quarter.

PFT
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Tom Brady breaking records is, well, a broken record.

 

Ryan Poles: I’d have to be “absolutely blown away” to take a QB at No. 1



The Bears wound up with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft when they lost and the Texans won in Week 18 and General Manager Ryan Poles was asked about the plans for that pick at a Tuesday press conference.

Quarterbacks are always in the discussion for the top pick, but the Bears have Justin Fields heading into his third season. That made the team’s commitment to Fields one of the topics of conversation.


Poles said the team will evaluate the entire draft class and that Fields needs to improve as a passer, but that he’s “excited” about the direction Fields is headed and that he will have to be “absolutely blown away” in order to use the pick on a quarterback.

Selecting a player from a different position isn’t the only other option for the team, of course. The Bears could also get blown away by a trade offer for the pick and use the assets to build a stronger team around Fields for the 2023 season.

Any decision the Bears make will have a lot of bearing on how the rest of the first round plays out in April.

PFT

 

Brad Holmes: Jared Goff has proven he’s a starting quarterback for us



When the Lions acquired Jared Goff as part of the trade compensation for Matthew Stafford before the 2021 season, the popular assumption was that the Lions would start looking for a quarterback to supplant Goff in the near future.

Things look a bit different two years into Goff’s run in Detroit. He capped a strong 2022 season with a nine-yard strike to DJ Chark for the game-clinching first down against the Packers in Week 18 and General Manager Brad Holmes said on Tuesday that the team isn’t in any rush to replace him as the leader of their offense.


Holmes said he “never really deemed [Goff] as a bridge” to another quarterback and sounded more than comfortable to keep the status quo in place.

“I agree I think he’s played really well,” Holmes said, via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. “I’ll say this, I think it’s a lot easier to get worse at quarterback than to get better at quarterback in this league. I think what Jared has done this year, he captained the ship of a top-3 offense, and I want to say he was top-10 statistically in most of the passing categories. Again, you know how we approach the draft, we’re never going to turn down a good football player. If there’s a good football player that we really love, we’re going to make sure every stone is [overturned]. But I do think Jared has proven to everybody that he is a starting quarterback for us.”

Goff has two years left on his contract and Holmes was asked about taking a quarterback to sit behind him for a while. Holmes cited the Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers examples as showing that there’s “a lot of merit and a lot of proof behind that” approach. The Lions have the sixth and 18th picks in the first round, which gives them ammunition to use in a move for any player they covet.

PFT

 

Nick Sirianni: Jalen Hurts is sore, but he should be healthier for postseason



Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts played through pain during Sunday’s game, and he remains sore today. That was the word from coach Nick Sirianni on Tuesday.

Sirianni said he does not know whether Hurts will have lingering pain in his shoulder throughout the playoffs. But with their win over the Giants on Sunday, the Eagles clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC, so they have a bye this week.


“I’m not sure I can answer that question,” Sirianni said, via video from the team. “We are fortunate that we have two weeks until the next time we play. So, we’re fortunate there. He’s going to be a little bit more healthy than when he was obviously the other day.”

In Part; PFT

 

Tom Brady will continue to re-write the NFL postseason record book in 2023



Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady already owns some of the most significant NFL postseason records, and he’ll add to those records when the Bucs host the Cowboys on Monday night.

Here are a few of the postseason records that Brady owns, and some notes on how far everyone else in the league is from equaling Brady’s records:


Games played: Brady will appear in his 49th career postseason game on Monday. His former kicker Adam Vinatieri is in second place all time, having appeared in 32 career postseason games. Another former Brady kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, is tied with Jerry Rice for third with 29 games.

Games started: Brady has started all of his postseason games, so he’ll extend that record to 48 as well. Kickers aren’t considered starters, so Rice is next with 29 starts.

Games as winning quarterback: Brady has 35 postseason wins. Joe Montana is second with 16. In third place, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway and Peyton Manning are in a three-way tie with 14 postseason wins.

Passes thrown: Brady has thrown 1,855 passes in the postseason. Peyton Manning, with 1,027 postseason passes, is the only other quarterback to throw more than 1,000.

Passes completed: Brady has completed 1,166 passes in the playoffs. Peyton Manning completed 649, and no one else even has 500 career completions in the postseason.

Passing yards: Brady is the all-time leader with 13,049 career postseason passing yards. Peyton Manning is second with 7,339, followed by Brett Favre with 5,885.

300-yard games: Brady has passed for 300 or more yards in 18 different postseason games. Peyton Manning is next with nine 300-yard postseason games, followed by Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers with eight each.

Passing touchdowns: Brady has 86 career postseason touchdown passes. Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers are tied for second with 45.

Brady will keep adding to his records on Sunday, and maybe for quite a few postseason games after that.

PFT

 

I wonders if Tua actually can play vs Buffalo. Ross has to do the right thing, period. He was laid out in horrible fashion week4 (vs the Bengals) and after the tragic Hamlin thing on MNF, I find it hard to believe they would risk/gamble on Tua playing, but the NFL has in the past and probably even now, made horrible decisions. I hope thats not the case this weekend. In my opinion, Tua shouldnt even sniff the playing field till practice next Summer. Money talks, bull shit walks and winning IS everything in todays sports, so we will wait and see.

 

Signs have pointed to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa remaining out of action for this Sunday’s game in Buffalo and the team officially took him off the table on Wednesday.

Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters at his press conference that Tagovailoa has been ruled out for the third straight game. Tagovailoa has not played since reporting concussion symptoms after the team’s Week 16 loss to the Packers and McDaniel said that he has not been cleared to return.


The Dolphins would move on with a win over the Bills, but the Dolphins’ handling of this concussion and Tagovailoa’s history of head injuries earlier this season make it hard to imagine that he’ll be on the field in the event Miami does pull off the upset.

Rookie Skylar Thompson started in Week 18 and McDaniel said they are preparing to start him again this weekend. Teddy Bridgewater was the No. 2 quarterback, but he dislocated his right pinkie in Week 17.

PFT
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They got it right, good deal.

 

Report: Lamar Jackson not looking good for Sunday



There’s growing pessimism about Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s availability for Sunday’s playoff game against the Bengals.

Jackson’s injured knee is still not quite right and it’s not looking good for him to be able to play this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.


That’s no surprise, given that Ravens head coach John Harbaugh didn’t sound particularly optimistic when giving a non-update about Jackson’s status on Monday.

Jackson suffered his knee injury on December 4 and at the time there were reports that he’d only miss a couple weeks. But Sunday will be six weeks from the injury, and it appears that he still won’t be ready.

Without Jackson, the Ravens are going to be long shots to beat the Bengals, which means that it’s entirely possible that Baltimore’s season will end on Sunday. Jackson is slated to become a free agent in March, and one of the biggest questions of this NFL offseason will be whether he and the Ravens can come to terms on a new contract.

PFT

 

Things arnt to bright in Baltimore. Jackson is looking doubtful to play Sunday, Huntley didnt throw today either because of nagging tendinitis in his throwing shoulder... so cue the guy Ive never heard of; Anthony Brown, he would be in line to start. An undrafted rookie out of Oregon, Brown was 19-of-44 passing for 286 yards with a pair of interceptions and a lost fumble last week. He was sacked four times.

Harbaugh is slated to address the media after practice on Wednesday afternoon. Probably going to ask a few reporters if they can throw a football.

 

I don't know Lamar personally but considering how he feels about a new contract and the disrespect he gets from a large portion of the Ravens fan base I can't see him putting himself at anymore risk in the last year of his deal.

 

Derek Carr: I look forward to a new city and a new team



Quarterback Derek Carr‘s time with the Raiders has not officially come to an end yet, but it’s clear that he’s going to be moving on before the start of the 2023 season.

Carr was benched for the final two weeks of the regular season and posted a farewell message to his Twitter account on Thursday. He told Raiders fans that it “breaks my heart I didn’t get an opportunity to say goodbye in person” and then pivoted to what’s next.


Carr referenced a past comment that he’d probably quit football if he wasn’t a member of the Raiders while saying that he is going to be continuing his career elsewhere.

“I once said that if I’m not a Raider I would rather be at home and I meant that, but I never envisioned it ending this way,” Carr wrote. “That fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages. A fire no man can extinguish; only God. So I look forward to a new city and a new team who, no matter the circumstance, will get everything I have. Winning a championship is what I’ve always wanted and what I will continue to work towards.”

Carr’s contract calls for $40.4 million to become guaranteed three days after the Super Bowl and the Raiders are expected to try to find a team to trade for him in the coming weeks. Carr can veto a trade, however, and could push for a release if he thinks that’s the better path for him to find his next football home.

PFT

 

Good point and sad but true probably. I was hoping to see him play vs the Bengals and the Ravens have a snowballs chance in hell, imo, of even being in that game let alone winning it without Jackson and thats unfortunate.

2-3 without Jackson since the knee issue and only 4 TD's offensively during that span, along with averaging 11 points per game... they've been pretty bad and will probably be quick work for the Bengals.

But, to the case in point here... its really been awkward to see the reactions of the fanbase and others in regards to the contract vs injury. Id hope its the injury thats keeping Jackson off the field and personally I think thats the case, because if he's milking this because he cant get a contract to his liking, thats very poor on his part and would show a lack of commitment and integrity as a professional. Harbough stated via, SI and others; "You learn, I’ll say after all these years – I wouldn’t say that things don’t ever make you mad that you read or you hear, and people do speculate on different things," Harbaugh said. "Sometimes, you do go, ‘Man, I can’t believe someone would sit there and think that,’ but you try your best not to let it affect you emotionally.

"So, at this point in time, it’s just kind of ignoring all of that and just focusing on having the team, all of us preparing – myself included, along with every other single individual – together preparing to be as ready as we can to play a very tough opponent in the Wild Card round. All that other stuff just becomes kind of noise, and you just try to just put it out of your mind.”