Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
If the Broncos are to stay alive in the AFC playoff chase, they will need to do so with their backup quarterback. Starter Teddy Bridgewater is still dealing with a concussion, so Drew Lock is expected to start (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). 
Bridgewater was carted off the field late in the third quarter of the Broncos’ 15-10 loss to the Bengals in Week 15. That left Lock to start last week against the Raiders, a game that ended in another low-scoring defeat and dropped Denver to 7-8 on the season.
A second-round pick in 2019, Lock holds a career record of 8-11, a QB rating of 78.2 and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 24:20. The team’s offense has generally sputtered in the passing game with him under center, as Lock has recorded a completion percentage of 59.2% and an average of 6.6 yards per attempt.
With Lock starting, look for a heavy dose of both Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams in the run game. This would especially make sense considering Denver travels to Los Angeles to play the Chargers on Sunday, a team allowing over 140 rushing yards per game this season, which ranks fourth-worst in the league. Brett Rypien would likely dress as the backup if Bridgewater is unable to suit up.
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Green Bay Packers
Las Vegas Raiders
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tennessee Titans
Here are Thursday’s reserve/COVID-19 list updates:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
The Giants will not have one of their tackles available for a while. While they placed Matt Peart on IR on Thursday, the second-year blocker will be shut down well into the offseason.
Peart suffered a torn ACL during the Giants’ Week 16 game against the Eagles. The 2020 third-round pick was starting in place of Nate Solder, who was out after a positive COVID-19 test.
This could impact the Giants’ plans at right tackle. Solder is due to be a free agent in March, thanks to a reworked contract. His 2020 opt-out changed the Giants’ offensive line approach, sliding Andrew Thomas to left tackle. Peart played 22% of the Giants’ offensive snaps last season and upped that to 43% this year. Peart made five starts this season.
While Peart probably factors into the Giants’ post-2021 plans, his stock will take a hit because of this injury and the franchise being set to move on from GM Dave Gettleman. The Giants have dealt with considerable issues up front this season, having played without interior-line starters Shane Lemieux and Nick Gates. Both starters suffered severe injuries, with Gates’ September setback a possible career-ender. Beyond Thomas, not much is certain about the Giants’ offensive front beyond this season.
The Giants also activated Solder from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday but moved tackle Korey Cunningham and wide receiver Darius Slayton to the virus list. Cunningham had replaced Peart at right tackle in Philadelphia. The Giants also placed running back Gary Brightwell on IR.
Randall Cobb might not be out for the regular season’s remainder. Despite undergoing core surgery earlier this month, Cobb is back at Packers practice Thursday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic tweets.
After going on IR, the 11th-year wide receiver has missed the minimum three games. Cobb’s availability for the rest of the season was in doubt, so a quick practice return is a great sign for his availability going forward.
This is interesting considering Matt LaFleur called Cobb’s injury “pretty significant” just three weeks ago. Cobb’s surgery features roughly an eight-week recovery timetable, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Even a return for a divisional-round game would represent a swift rehab effort. Because Cobb came back to practice Thursday, he must be activated ahead of a divisional-round contest. Otherwise, he reverts to season-ending IR.
While Aaron Rodgers has once again relied on Davante Adams, Cobb has delivered in spots in his second Green Bay stint. He caught two touchdown passes against the Steelers and Cardinals, respectively, being a vital presence in the latter contest that featured the rest of Green Bay’s top receivers out due to COVID-19 protocols. In Cobb’s most recent outing, against the Rams, he caught four passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
This season, Cobb has 28 receptions for 395 yards and five touchdowns. He would stand to be a key weapon for a Packers team alongside Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard come playoff time.
Injuries have defined Parris Campbell‘s NFL career thus far. His latest, however, may not keep him out for the rest of this season. Campbell returned to practice Thursday, Colts owner Jim Irsay tweets.
A former second-round pick, Campbell has spent most of this season rehabbing from foot surgery. The Colts’ would-be slot receiver sustained the injury in Week 6, but it looks like he could meet the rehab timetable initially provided.
Campbell missed nine games as a rookie and was absent for 14 last season. He suffered a knee injury in September 2020 that knocked him out of his sophomore NFL campaign. While Campbell recovered from that PCL issue this offseason, he has missed nine more games due to the foot problem.
Prior to his latest setback, Campbell caught a 51-yard touchdown pass in the Colts’ Week 6 win over the Texans. The Ohio State product, if healthy, would stand to be a nice auxiliary weapon for Indianapolis.
Campbell’s health history obviously makes him a luxury target for the Colts. His injuries and T.Y. Hilton‘s expiring contract will make wide receiver a need for the Colts in 2022, but they will at least be a bit deeper at the position once Campbell suits up again this season.
The Ravens locked down one of their offensive line starters Thursday. They reached a three-year extension agreement with Patrick Mekari, who is now signed through 2024.
A former UDFA, Mekari has served as a multi-position starter with Baltimore. After initially breaking into the Ravens’ lineup as a center in 2019, Mekari has settled in at right tackle this season. Mekari’s deal is worth $15.35MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The 24-year-old blocker will collect $7MM guaranteed.
Mekari was set to be a restricted free agent in March. The Cal alum opted to collect cash now and remain with Baltimore. He joins Ronnie Stanley and guard Kevin Zeitler as Raven O-linemen signed to long-term veteran deals.
Injuries have changed Baltimore’s outlook up front this season. Stanley going down for a second straight year moved Alejandro Villanueva from right to left tackle. Mekari has filled in on the right side, making a career-high 10 starts this season. This comes a year after Mekari worked as both a starting guard and center. In 2019, Mekari replaced Matt Skura at center late in the season and finished out the team’s 14-2 slate at that spot.
Baltimore traded three-year right tackle starter Orlando Brown Jr. to Kansas City this offseason, collecting a first-round pick and change for a player determined not to play right tackle any longer. Brown replaced Stanley on the left side after the latter’s 2020 injury, ending his run as the Ravens’ long-term right-edge protector. Mekari may now move into that role, though the Ravens have the option of bringing in someone else there and slotting Mekari in at another O-line position next season. Center Bradley Bozeman is a 2022 free agent, potentially opening up that spot.
By far the NFL’s most discussed player this year, Aaron Rodgers is having another MVP-caliber season. The Packers have the inside track on a third straight playoff bye. But the 17th-year quarterback’s future remains uncertain.
After skipping the Packers’ offseason workouts during his dispute with team management, Rodgers agreed to a revised deal that makes him a free agent in 2023. The sides, however, agreed to meet and discuss the future Hall of Famer’s status for 2022 as well. Returning to the Packers, playing elsewhere, and retirement appear to remain on the table.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst stood in the crosshairs during Rodgers’ holdout. Ted Thompson‘s successor resided as the chief antagonist in this offseason’s Rodgers drama, with the exec’s decision to trade up for Jordan Love — without informing Rodgers beforehand — doing plenty to fuel the issues between Green Bay’s 14th-year starter and management. The parties’ relationship may be in a better place now.
“There will be a lot of things that I’ll weigh in the offseason,” Rodgers said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “Saying that doesn’t mean, or any of the comments I’ve made, doesn’t mean I’m thinking about [playing] elsewhere.
“The things that I’ve said about the team this year, about Brian’s and I’s relationship, has been heartfelt and genuine, and I do appreciate a lot of the things that I’ve seen from the team that are directly related to conversations we had in the offseason, and that was meaningful to me. I’ve enjoyed being a part of conversations that directly affect my job, which I talked about in the offseason, and Brian’s taken the lead in that, and I do appreciate the way our relationship has grown.”
Retirement surfaced as a possibility this year, but Rodgers relented and reported to the Packers. Rodgers retiring in 2022 seems unlikely. He spoke of enjoying this season’s process, as tumultuous as it has been, and said he will continue to play while he is still performing at a high level. The three-time MVP leads the NFL in QBR.
Rodgers’ performance level has again benefited Davante Adams, who is 15 yards away from a new career-high in receiving yards. Adams, 29, also has a murky future in Green Bay. He is due for free agency in March and broke off extension talks with the Packers this summer. Rodgers’ status will affect Adams’ Wisconsin future.
“Obviously, I love being a Packer and love being here,” Adams said. “We’ll see how everything plays out. But to a certain extent, I will be connected with ’12.’ It’s just not like, if he goes, I’m not going to be here or if he stays, I will. It’s something we’ll have to pay attention to, for sure.
“… There’s a lot that goes into it, so it won’t be the end-all, be-all, but it’ll definitely be something I’m monitoring and paying attention to, to see where his head is at.”
Regardless of Rodgers’ status, the Packers have the franchise tag at their disposal with Adams. Although they have not used the tag since cuffing Ryan Pickett in 2010, the Packers keeping Adams would certainly bolster their hopes at another deep playoff run next season. If Green Bay wants to sign Adams to another extension, he was previously seeking to top DeAndre Hopkins ($27MM AAV) as the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. After the drama of this past year, the Packers are set to navigate another complex offseason in 2022.
Ben Roethlisberger has not publicly committed to retiring after the season, but a report earlier this month indicated that is his expected course of action.
The future Hall of Fame quarterback said Thursday his likely Heinz Field finale will come Monday night. The Steelers still have a shot at winning the AFC North, and thus booking a first-round home game, but Monday’s matchup with the Browns will almost certainly be Big Ben’s final home game with the team.
“Looking at the bigger picture, I would say all signs are pointing to this could be it — regular season, that is,” Roethlisberger said, via ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor. “I know we still have a chance to potentially get a playoff game there if things fall our way and we take care of business and things have to happen. In the grand scheme of things, in terms of regular seasons, signs are pointing that way that this could be it.”
Although this has not been one of Roethlisberger’s best seasons, the Steelers will certainly feature a QB void once their 18-year starter moves on. Mason Rudolph is signed beyond this season, but the franchise has long tabled an acquisition of a true heir apparent. The Steelers agreed to bring Big Ben back, at a reduced rate, this year. Saddled with an inexperienced offensive line, Roethlisberger has thrown 20 touchdown passes compared to eight interceptions. The 39-year-old passer sits 24th in QBR.
Roethlisberger did not slam the door on playing for another team beyond this season, but that should not be expected. It is rather difficult to envision another team bringing him in to start at age 40. That said, the Steelers would be in better position to return to the playoffs had Roethlisberger not tested positive for COVID-19 in November. The Rudolph-quarterbacked tie against the Lions has the Steelers holding a 12% chance to make the playoffs, per FiveThirtyEight.com.