LAMAR JACKSON
Ravens coach John Harbaugh says Lamar Jackson will not play in Baltimore’s regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. Harbaugh said Tyler Huntley will start for the Ravens.
The team has already clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs. Josh Johnson will be Huntley’s backup.
The announcement was no surprise now that Baltimore has wrapped up a first-round bye in the postseason.
Jackson missed the end of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but has started all 16 games so far this season. Huntley has started eight games in his pro career.
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KUPP, DONALD, KYREN
Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp and linebacker Ernest Jones will not start in the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams’ regular-season finale at San Francisco, coach Sean McVay says.
Carson Wentz will make his Rams debut when they visit the top-seeded 49ers on Sunday.
The Rams have clinched a playoff spot, and earning a slightly higher seed clearly means little to McVay with most of the NFC playoff picture still in flux behind top-seeded San Francisco.
Stafford is sixth in the NFL with 3,965 yards passing and Williams is the NFL’s second-leading rusher.
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BROCK PURDY
Quarterback Brock Purdy will sit out the regular-season finale after the San Francisco 49ers have already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the NFL playoffs.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said that Sam Darnold will start in place of Purdy on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams with nothing at stake for San Francisco in the game.
The Niners clinched the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye when they beat Washington last week and Philadelphia lost to Arizona. San Francisco will play its first playoff game at home in the divisional round on Jan. 20 or 21.
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FLACCO, OTHERS
Joe Flacco will sit out the regular-season finale at Cincinnati — along with some other regulars — to rest for the playoffs and Cleveland will start Jeff Driskel, a franchise-record fifth quarterback to start for the team this season.
Coach Kevin Stefanski says the Browns have earned the right to rest players after clinching a wild-card berth.
He intends to sit some prominent starters on Sunday when the Browns play what has become a mostly meaningless game against the Bengals. Stefanski wasn’t specific about his plans. But he did reveal that Flacco, who has gone 4-1 as a starter, will not play.
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PATRICK MAHOMES
Patrick Mahomes will sit out the Chiefs’ regular-season finale against the Chargers on Sunday in Los Angeles.
The Chiefs clinched their eighth straight AFC West title and the No. 3 seed in the playoffs with last week’s 25-17 win over the Bengals.
Veteran backup Blaine Gabbert will start for Kansas City and Chris Oladokun will back him up.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid declined to say whether other starters, such as tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones, will play against the Chargers.