Cincinnati Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron suffered a sprained non-throwing wrist in the team's loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday. Considering it won't have much impact on his throwing motion, McCarron could still go next week. If not, Keith Wenning (yeah, that one) will get the start.
By virtue of its loss to the Broncos on Monday, Cincinnati could still be forced to play a wild card game a week after its season finale. Unfortunately for Marvin Lewis and Co., it doesn't look like Andy Dalton (broken thumb) will be able to go in that one. If he's out of action, McCarron will start for the Bengals. Of course, this is assuming the wrist injury doesn't prevent that.
Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien made it clear on Tuesday that Brian Hoyer will start Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars should he pass through the final stages of the concussion protocol. Hoyer has missed the past two games after suffering his second concussion of the season. Brandon Weeden tallied three touchdowns in his stead last week.
Houston will likely win the AFC South with a home date in the wild card round. It's more than likely that Hoyer will be starting then.
With both Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst sidelined, the Indianapolis Colts were hoping to get Andrew Luck back for their must-win Week 17 game against the Tennessee Titans. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this is going to happen. Luck has yet to be medically cleared, an indication that he's going to have to sit out. With their top-three quarterbacks unlikely to go, Stephen Morris will likely get the start for Indy.
According to head coach Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart could practice on Wednesday. Though, it still seems unlikely that he will be able to go after suffering a sprained MCL earlier this month. With Fozzy Whittaker out due to a high-ankle sprain, the expectation has to be that Cameron Artis-Payne will see substantial action against Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll indicated on Tuesday that Marshawn Lynch ((abdomen) could potentially suit up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Lynch has missed eight games due to myriad injuries, the latest of which have kept him out the past six games.
With Thomas Rawls out for the season, Seattle is incredibly thin at running back. Getting Lynch back into the fold would be huge here.
Though, there are a lot of caveats to Lynch actually being able to suit up in the season finale. Instead, it seems more likely that he will be able to go in the wild card round a week later.