The race for the AFC South title will take another interesting twist this week, as the starting quarterbacks for the division’s top teams have both been ruled out for Week 15. The Texans announced today that Brian Hoyer won’t play due to a concussion, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle details, while Colts head coach Chuck Pagano told reporters that Andrew Luck won’t play, though Matt Hasselbeck should (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
The two current leaders in the AFC South are, of course, scheduled to play each other this Sunday, so one of the two 6-7 clubs will almost certainly get back to .500. But they’ll have to attempt to do so without their starting QBs.
Here are a few more updates on quarterback situations around the NFL:
- Bengals players expect quarterback Andy Dalton to be sidelined for about four to six weeks, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. If he can heal quickly and return in four weeks, that would put Dalton on track to potentially start a game on Wild Card weekend for Cincinnati.
- With Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins nearing the end of his rookie contract, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com takes a look at what a contract extension for Cousins might look like. As Corry observes, a Nick Foles-type deal could work for both sides, but Cousins should be in no rush to sign an extension if he finishes the season strong, since making Washington have to consider using its franchise tag would give him plenty of leverage.
- Cousins is one of a handful of potential free agent quarterbacks that Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks discuss in a piece for NFL.com, and the duo agrees that Washington should do all it can to hang onto the fourth-year signal-caller. Jeremiah and Brooks also examine Eagles QB Sam Bradford, Blaine Gabbert of the 49ers, and Broncos QB Brock Osweiler, among others.
- Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Jay Cutler are among the players whose teams – the Saints, Broncos, and Bears respectively – will face some tough cap decisions this offseason, writes Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. Each case is a little different, but restructured contracts, trades, or cuts could be in play, as Robinson details.