NFL Week 15 injury report: Russell Wilson, Josh Jacobs and more
Injuries of all kinds have impacted NFL rosters heading into Week 15.
The Arizona Cardinals suffered a huge loss as quarterback Kyler Murray is out for the season with a torn ACL. Murray suffered the injury early in Monday night's game against the New England Patriots. Backup quarterback Colt McCoy underwent testing for a head injury per ESPN's Adam Schefter, but he is expected to play Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and a sprained left ankle in the team's 35-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. According to the team, Samuel will miss some time but could return before the end of the regular season.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley has cleared the concussion protocol, putting him in a position to start against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. Lamar Jackson has been ruled out for a second straight week as he is dealing with a knee sprain, suffered against the Denver Broncos on Dec. 4.
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Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Injury: Knee
Jackson has been ruled out, which means Tyler Huntley will start for the second straight week. Huntley was cleared from the concussion protocol after practicing all week. Last year, when he faced Cleveland, Huntley threw for 270 yards and a touchdown and ran for 45 yards in a 24-22 loss to the Browns. "This guy is athletically one of the top guys in the league," Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said of Huntley. There is a chance that Jackson will return for next week's game against the Atlanta Falcons.
-- Jamison Hensley
Ryan Bates, RG, Buffalo Bills
Injury: Ankle
The Bills will be without starting right guard Ryan Bates for the team's big AFC East clash against the Dolphins. Bates suffered an ankle injury in the team's win over the New York Jets and has been ruled out vs. Miami. Backup lineman Greg Van Roten came in for him vs. the Jets. Bates is tied for second on the team in pass block win rate (92.4%) with center Mitch Morse. Not having the full starting offensive line in a game where weather is expected to be a factor and running the ball could be key is something to keep an eye on.
-- Alaina Getzenberg
DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
Injury: Ankle
Moore was limited on Friday after being a full participant the previous two days, so he was listed as questionable for Sunday. But interim coach Steve Wilks is optimistic the team's leading receiver will be available on Sunday. He wouldn't describe Friday as a setback.
-- David Newton
Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, WRs, Cincinnati Bengals
Injury: Hamstring and finger, respectively
Higgins and Boyd are trending toward playing on Sunday. Both were full participants at Friday's practice, which is a great sign for their availability after injuries hampered them last week against Cleveland.
-- Ben Baby
Russell Wilson, QB, Denver Broncos
Injury: Concussion
Wilson has cleared the league's concussion protocol, but coach Nathaniel Hackett said after Friday's practice that the Broncos had made "the organizational decision''' to give Wilson another week of rest. Wilson, Hackett said, will start the Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Rams as Brett Rypien will start Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. It will be Rypien's third career start, second this season as he started the Broncos' Week 7 loss to the New York Jets when Wilson missed that game with a hamstring injury.
-- Jeff Legwold
Travon Walker, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Injury: Ankle
Walker was back on the practice field on Friday but was only stretching off to the side during the open media portion. Walker hasn't put up big pass-rush numbers (3.5 sacks, eight QB hits) but he's been good in the run game. The Jaguars have lined him up inside a lot more the past several weeks, which is where he played most of the time at Georgia. It's likely Dawuane Smoot, who leads the Jaguars with five sacks, would get the bulk of work in his place on early downs and Arden Key and K'Lavon Chaisson would get more work in pass-rushing situations.
-- Michael DiRocco
Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Injury: Finger, quad
Jacobs is leading the NFL with 1,402 rushing yards, 203 more than runner-up Derrick Henry, but is nursing a right pinky finger injury as well as a bruised right quad. His nagging left calf issue was taken off the injury report this week, so that's a positive, and as Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said Friday, the team has "been smart about him in general" when it comes to his injuries. "If there's something we need to limit," McDaniels added, "then we'll try to. But right now, he looks like he's going to be able to handle that." Still, expect rookie Zamir White to get some additional work.
-- Paul Gutierrez
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Injury: Ankle
The Patriots' top rusher didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday this week before he was spotted at the media-access portion of practice Friday. He didn't seem to be moving at full speed, which might be a tip-off that the team will be relying more on Damien Harris, Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong Jr. at the position. Meanwhile, WR Jakobi Meyers (concussion) returned to practice at the end of the week, increasing the odds he could return after missing last week's win over the Cardinals.
-- Mike Reiss
Leonard Williams, DL, New York Giants
Injury: Neck
He's officially listed as questionable. But WIlliams did more as the week progressed and appears poised to return after missing last week's loss to the Eagles. Getting Williams back will be huge for the Giants, who have allowed 163 yards per game on the ground in his absence this season. That's especially valuable against a Washington team that relies on running the football.
-- Jordan Raanan
Cameron Jordan, DE, New Orleans Saints
Injury: Foot
Jordan has no injury designation, meaning he's ready to go after being fined by the NFL for allegedly faking a foot injury against the Buccaneers prior to the Saints bye week. Jordan was limited earlier in the week, but practiced fully on Friday. Linebacker Pete Werner is questionable after missing four games, while center Erik McCoy could make his return from IR.
-- Katherine Terrell
Benjamin St-Juste, CB, Washington Commanders
Injury: Ankle
St-Juste was limited in practice all week and the coaches had hoped to have more optimism about his chances at this point in the week. He had a good day Friday but is listed as questionable. Washington missed him in the first Giants' game -- his length and quick change of direction makes a big difference. If he can't play, they'll use Danny Johnson and Christian Holmes in his place.
Chase Young, DE
Injury: ACL
Young is questionable once more, just as he has been for the past month. But it remains uncertain if he'll play. The coaches still want to see him explode off the line with confidence in his right knee. The hard part for Young is that he needs to test the knee vs. physical contact, but with teams unable to have such practices he can't get that unless he plays. If he does play, he'd be limited to 10-15 snaps.
-- John Keim
