Latest On Steelers, Ravens
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin canceled Friday’s practice, per a club announcement. The Steelers are currently slated to face the Ravens on Sunday afternoon, but they don’t have much confidence in the game actually taking place. 
Four Ravens players tested positive for COVID-19 on Thanksgiving, including star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Before that, the Ravens were forced to shelve nose tackle Brandon Williams, defensive end Calais Campbell, and running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins on the reserve list. Other Ravens staffers were also kept away from the facility, leaving the NFL to bump Steelers-Ravens from Thursday night to early Sunday afternoon. All in all, the Ravens have placed ten players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including eight starters.
At this stage, it would be a surprise to see the two teams square off on Sunday. The league may compel the Ravens to forfeit the game, which would declare the Steelers as the winner by a score of 2-0. And, per the terms of the NFL’s agreement with the NFLPA, the teams would not be required to pay its players for a forfeited contest.
Eagles’ Lane Johnson Done For Year
Lane Johnson is done for the year. The Eagles tackle has been playing through a painful ankle injury all year long, but his condition has only gotten worse with time. 
“The inside of my ankle has collapsed,” Johnson said (Twitter link via Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Johnson underwent “tightrope surgery” in August and managed to play seven games, starting in Week 2. He’s now looking at four or five months of recovery before he can resume football activities.
Johnson is in the midst of the four-year, $72MM extension he signed back in November of 2019. The eighth-year pro is coming off of his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod, a rare feat for often underappreciated right tackles. Without Johnson, the Eagles’ banged up offensive line will likely turn to Matt Pryor as the new starting right tackle.
The Eagles — who find themselves in the NFC East hunt with a record of 3-6-1 — will face the Seahawks on Monday night without Johnson in the lineup. The Seahawks’ D has been iffy all year, but they managed to keep a lid on the Cardinals last week en route to a 28-21 win.
Washington Hopes To Re-Sign Alex Smith
The Washington Football Team hopes to re-sign Alex Smith, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Head coach Ron Rivera has been impressed with Smith’s play as of late and believes that he can serve as a strong mentor to Washington’s to-be-determined quarterback of the future.
Smith hasn’t indicated whether he wants to play in 2021, but it stands to reason that he will. The veteran chose to return after 17 surgeries and he’s looked fairly sharp in his last two games. After Smith nearly led the WFT to victory over the Lions, he had little trouble in dispatching the Bengals. Between the two games, Smith has completed 55 of 80 throws for 556 yards with one touchdown against one interception.
Smith still has two full years to go on the four-year, $94MM extension he signed with Washington in 2018. Next year, he’s set to make $18.75MM in base pay, a reasonable sum for a quality bridge/mentor QB. Releasing Smith wouldn’t improve their cap situation much anyway — that’d leave a dead money hit of $8.6MM against $14.7MM in savings.
Smith & Co. will face the Cowboys this afternoon in search of win No. 4.
Lions Rule Out D’Andre Swift
D’Andre Swift will not play on Thursday afternoon against the Texans, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Adrian Peterson, who started in Swift’s stead last week, figures to reprise that role while sharing the workload with Kerryon Johnson. 
The Lions have held Swift out of practice ever since he suffered a concussion last week. There was some hope that Swift would be able to go for the Lions’ Thanksgiving game, but team doctors did not give him the green light.
Heading into the draft, many praised Swift as the best running back in this year’s class. The Lions weren’t thought to be targeting an RB early, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grab the two-time 1,000-yard rusher at No. 35 overall. The Georgia product has seen his workload increase throughout the year, resulting in 331 yards off of 70 carries. Peterson, meanwhile, leads the team with 389 rushing yards.
The Lions will also be without wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola today. To fill the gap, they will turn to new addition Mohamed Sanu.
Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald Tests Positive For COVID-19
Larry Fitzgerald has tested positive for COVID-19, sources tell Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). At minimum, the Cardinals wide receiver will miss Sunday’s game against the Patriots. 
[RELATED: Cardinals’ Thompson To Miss Time]
Just yesterday, the NFL was forced to bump Ravens-Steelers from Thursday night in primetime to Sunday afternoon. Despite its protocols and access to tests, the league has been unable to keep a lid on viral spread. Fortunately, most players have experienced mild symptoms, or no symptoms, following their positive tests. However, two players have been forced to end their seasons early due to complications. Jaguars running back Ryquell Armstead had to be hospitalized twice with major symptoms before he was ultimately ruled out for the season in October. And, earlier this week, Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney was diagnosed with myocarditis, a heart condition which has been linked to the coronavirus.
Fitzgerald, 37, continues to be productive at his advanced age. Just last week, Fitz reeled in eight catches for 62 yards against the Seahawks, matching his stat line from their first meeting in October. All in all, he’s caught 43 passes for 336 yards alongside DeAndre Hopkins, who has become Kyler Murray‘s top target.
Cardinals’ Jalen Thompson To Miss Time
Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson will be sidelined for “a week or two” with an ankle injury, according to defensive coordinator Vance Joseph (Twitter link via Kyle Odegard of the team website). This is the same ankle that Thompson injured in the season opener, so the Cardinals will be keeping a watchful eye on his condition before clearing him to play.
[RELATED: Cardinals Sign Seth DeValve]
Thompson’s leg twisted on a play near the end of the second quarter against the Seahawks on Thursday night. After being helped off the field, the safety had to be carted to the back. Deionte Thompson — who saw significant snaps during Jalen’s first absence — took over from there. That’ll likely be the game plan on Sunday against the Patriots, though veteran Chris Banjo may also pitch in at free safety.
The Cardinals snagged Thompson in the fifth-round of the 2019 supplemental draft and immediately put him to work. After starting in nine of his 15 games last year, the Cardinals planned to install him as a full-time starter in 2020. But, thanks to the injuries, he’s seen a grand total of 169 snaps across four games.
The Cardinals, sans top free safety, will look to advance to 7-4 on Sunday against the Pats. After that, they may or may not have Thompson on the field against the Rams on Dec. 6.
Bengals Promote QB Brandon Allen
Nov. 25: Allen, not Finley, will get the start against the Giants on Sunday, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (via Twitter). The 28-year-old Arkansas product finally saw his first regular season action in the pros in 2019, starting three games for the Broncos. Denver won just one of those games, and Allen posted a poor 68.3 QB rating.
Nov. 23: The Bengals will promote Brandon Allen from the practice squad to the active roster, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Following Joe Burrow‘s season-ending knee injury, the Bengals’ QB depth chart now consists of Allen and Ryan Finley.
[RELATED: Joe Burrow Done For Year]
Burrow had to be carted off the field on Sunday after his left knee got rolled up. He didn’t need a doctor to tell him that it was an ACL tear. Shortly after leaving the game, Burrow announced that he was done for the year on social media. Minutes later, the Bengals officially confirmed the news.
It’s been a trying year for the Bengals, but Burrow was one of their few bright spots. Behind a porous offensive line, the No. 1 overall pick managed 2,688 yards and 13 touchdowns against just five interceptions.
Finley will take over for the former Heisman Trophy winner, with Allen holding the clipboard on the sidelines. The Burrow-less Bengals will look for win No. 3 this week against the Giants who are (somehow) in the NFC East chase.
Cardinals Sign Seth DeValve To Practice Squad
The Cardinals have signed 
Seth DeValve to the practice squad, per a club announcement. The tight end became a free agent when the Panthers dropped him from the taxi squad last week, and he’s yet to see live action in 2020.
The 27-year-old first joined the Panthers in March after a one-year stint in Jacksonville. That deal lasted just a few months, thanks to a lingering toe injury. In June, Carolina dropped DeValve with a failed physical designation.
DeValve logged more snaps that any other Jaguars tight end in 2019, but he was rarely targeted. He finished out with 12 catches for 140 yards off of 18 opportunities. His best season to date came in 2017, when he posted career highs of 33 receptions and 395 yards.
The Cardinals currently have three tight ends on the varsity squad in Darrell Daniels, Dan Arnold, and Maxx Williams. If an injury or opportunity arises, they’ll DeValve on call.
COVID-19 Closes Browns Facility
The Browns have closed their team facility after learning of another player testing positive for COVID-19. This news comes on the heels of Myles Garrett‘s positive test, as well as defensive end Joe Jackson‘s placement on the reserve list. With fullback Andy Janovich and guard Chris Hubbard also on the list, the Browns have four players sidelined on the list in total. 
[RELATED: Browns’ Ward To Miss Time]
The identity of the coronavirus-positive player has not been revealed. The Browns may be having difficulty in containing the spread, which could put Sunday’s game in jeopardy. For now, they’re still set to face the Jaguars in Jacksonville as scheduled. If that game takes place, they’ll be without the NFL’s leader in sacks, though the 1-9 Jaguars will be led by Mike Glennon, who has thrown a grand total of 31 passes over the last two seasons. He also hasn’t started since 2017, when he was with the Bears.
In other Browns news, cornerback Denzel Ward is expected to miss multiple weeks with a calf strain. Ward is in the midst of his best season yet as a pro with 15 pass breakups in ten games. Thanks in part to Ward and Garrett, the Browns are 7-3 and on pace to snap their longstanding playoff drought.
Jaguars To Start Mike Glennon
The Jaguars will start Mike Glennon on Sunday against the Browns, head coach
Doug Marrone announced. Glennon will take over for Jake Luton, who been serving as the starting quarterback in place of Gardner Minshew.
Many expected Glennon to get the call when Minshew was first sidelined with a strained ligament and fractures in his right thumb. Instead, they went with the sixth-round rookie out of Oregon State over the 30-year-old vet with 22 career starts under his belt.
It’s worth noting that Glennon has attempted just 31 passes over the past two-plus seasons. Luton, who impressed in practice and managed to complete 68% of his throws in his debut against the Texans, has struggled across his last two games. In his last time out against the Jaguars, Luton went 16-for-37 on his attempts with four interceptions and zero touchdowns.
With that, Glennon is set for his first start since 2017. Meanwhile, Marrone says that Minshew is on the path to recovery. With a full week of practice, Minshew may be ready to go against the Vikings on Dec. 6.