The NFL’s games for Week 16 will feature plenty of unusual players thanks to both regular injuries and increased numbers of players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and that trend may be particularly noticeable at quarterback. There, a few of the significant changes include Ian Book (seen above in an Aug. 23 preseason game against Jacksonville Jaguars) starting for the New Orleans Saints Monday (with new signing Blake Bortles backing him up), Nick Foles starting for the Chicago Bears Sunday, and Tyler Huntley starting for the Baltimore Ravens Sunday:
The Saints are expected to sign Blake Bortles today, per sources. He will practice with the team today and be the backup quarterback to Ian Book on Monday night.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) December 24, 2021
Ian Book on finding out he was starting: “I can count, so I knew I was the last one.”
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) December 24, 2021
Bears to start QB Nick Foles vs. Seahawks; Justin Fields (ankle) questionable to playhttps://t.co/qAeRQDSfZu pic.twitter.com/KWW5nxEUgJ
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) December 24, 2021
True, but Tyler Huntley is still fully expected to start for the #Ravens Sunday in this monster matchup vs the #Bengals, I am told by someone w/in the organization. (Lamar Jackson missed his 12th straight day… don’t expect him to play.) https://t.co/1IYpg8tSQW
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) December 24, 2021
Beyond that, there are plenty of other notable players on the injury and reserve/COVID-19 lists. So the games Saturday (Cleveland-Green Bay, 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox/NFLN/Amazon, and Indianapolis/Arizona, 8:15 p.m. ET on NFLN), Sunday (12 games), and Monday (Miami-New Orleans) may feature significantly different casts than normal.
[NFL.com; photo from Stephen Lew/USA Today Sports]
