NFL News: Murray To Play On Sunday

For a lot of NFL teams, it all comes down to this. Their playoff fate and seeding will be determined by the Week 17 results. 

Naturally, there’s a lot going on around the league, so let’s catch up on all of the pertinent NFL news heading into Week 17.

In It To Win It

The Arizona Cardinals got some great news on Wednesday when they learned that Kyler Murray will play Sunday against the Rams. Murray hurt his leg in last week’s loss to the 49ers, putting his status into question. 

But Murray said that he’ll play against the Rams, knowing that a win will send Arizona to the playoffs while a loss will end its season.

A Lot of Hurt

Speaking of the Rams, the news isn’t quite as good. Los Angeles has placed wide receiver Cooper Kupp on the COVID-19/reserve list, which will prevent him from facing the Cardinals on Sunday.

That move comes on the heels of both quarterback Jared Goff and running back Darrell Henderson being ruled out for Week 17. 

John Wolford will make his first career start under center in the most important game of the season, and he won’t have the security blanket that Kupp provides. 

Take a Seat

The Steelers are choosing to sit quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in Week 17 so that he’s well-rested for the playoffs. The Steelers have secured themselves a home playoff game next week and could earn the No. 2 seed with a win and a Buffalo loss. 

However, the Steelers aren’t going to risk Roethlisberger’s health in pursuit of that goal, choosing instead to start Mason Rudolph at quarterback. Head coach Mike Tomlin says that a couple of other players could also rest, although he says the team intends on trying to beat the Browns on Sunday.

Short-Handed

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, the Browns continue to struggle with COVID-19-related absences ahead of a game they need to win to reach the playoffs. Safeties Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo and tight end Harrison Bryant are the latest to be added to the COVID-19/reserve list. 

The Browns are hopeful that the four receivers who had to miss last week’s loss to the Jets will be back to practice before Sunday. However, linebacker B.J. Goodson is not expected to be back after he also missed the loss to the Jets. 

The only silver lining is that the Browns were able to re-open their team facility on Wednesday and are hoping to avoid any more cases moving forward.

Backing Buffalo

Everything appears to be going Buffalo’s way lately. Win or lose this week, the Bills are set to host their first playoff game in a quarter-century next weekend. 

More importantly, after playing the entire regular season without fans, the Bills will be allowed to host 6,772 fans during the playoffs. Fans will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, and tailgating will be prohibited. However, the Bills will have fans cheering them on in person in the playoffs.

End of the Line

Sunday could be the final game in the career of Washington linebacker Thomas Davis. Davis said in an Instagram post that he will retire at the end of the season after 16 years in the NFL. 

Davis has played primarily as a backup this year but had many good seasons in Carolina, going to three Pro Bowls. If Washington doesn’t win on Sunday, it will be his last game.

For Dunkel Index picks on this week's NFL games, check out our NFL picks page.