Injury Updates Week 12: Peyton Manning, Terrelle Pryor, Christian Ponder, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers

The ankle’s not fully healed, but it won’t keep Peyton Manning from facing the New England Patriots tonight. The same can’t be said for a few other injured quarterbacks, however.

Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos at New England Patriots
Manning was limited in practice again this week because of his lingering ankle injury, but it certainly wasn’t a factor this past Sunday against Kansas City. He is listed as Probable and there’s very little chance, if any, that Manning misses his 14th head-to-head meeting with Tom Brady (and Bill Belichick). Considering how many key defensive players are out for the season because of injury or hobbled headed into this one, it’s very possible that Manning could put up some of the best numbers he’s had against a Belichick defense in his career.

Christian Ponder, QB, Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
Ponder dislocated his non-throwing shoulder two weeks ago, but still made the start in Seattle. After throwing two interceptions, Ponder was replaced by Matt Cassel in the loss to the Seahawks. Ponder is listed as Probable for today’s game and he will get another start. The Vikings’ offense is a mess right now, especially with Adrian Peterson not at 100 percent due to a groin injury. Ponder threw for just 145 yards and had  a rushing touchdown in the first game against Green Bay back in Week 8, and there’s no reason to expect different results today. Ponder isn’t even on the QB-2 league radar.

Terrelle Pryor, QB, Oakland Raiders vs. Tennessee Titans
Pryor missed last week’s game because of a knee injury. He is listed as Questionable again this week and will probably be a game-time decision. It doesn’t really matter though, because if Pryor does play, it will be as Matt McGloin’s backup. McGloin got the start against Houston last week and all he did was throw three touchdown passes and no interceptions in leading the Raiders to victory on the road. Now before you run out and grab McGloin off of the waiver wire, consider this: the Titans are giving up the third-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks and Oakland’s No. 1 wide receiver, Denarius Moore, has already been ruled Out because of a shoulder injury. My advice would be to resist the temptation to start the Silver and Black’s new signal-caller or else you may end up with a black eye at the quarterback spot in your lineup.

Getting Better, But Still Not Ready

Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears – Cutler will miss yet another game because of his injured ankle. Josh McCown will make his third start of the season in search of maintaining his spotless record. St. Louis’ defense has been pretty tough on quarterbacks, especially from a pressure standpoint. However, McCown has shown remarkable poise in the pocket and is comfortable running head coach Marc Trestman’s system. McCown still has yet to throw an interception, which is one of the reasons why he remains in the bye week fill-in or 2-QB league conversation.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers – Rodgers is out for a third straight game, although he is making progress in his recovery from a broken collarbone. Scott Tolzien will make his second career start against a Minnesota defense that is giving up the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Tolzien is still a fairly risky play, as he threw for 339 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions last week against the Giants. I would consider Tolzien in a 2-QB league, but only after giving a long, hard look at my other options.