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Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant caught four passes for 59 yards in Sunday’s 27-24 overtime win over the Steelers, including a key 24-yard touchdown in the third quarter, despite playing with a finger injury that will require surgery after the season.

It was clear during the game that Bryant’s finger was limiting him, especially on a third down play late in the fourth quarter when Bryant couldn’t come up with a pass from Tony Romo. After the contest, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that the wideout will likely need a bone graft to repair the injury and made a suggestion about where doctors will find the necessary bone tissue.

“Dez is going to have, more than likely, bone taken off his hip and put into that index finger joint,” Jones said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It is a fracture, but it’s not a ligament [injury]. Make no mistake, he has a serious injury. He certainly is playing with some risks, but he was inspirational out there to everybody involved in this organization.”

Bryant expressed some surprise at Jones’ suggestion that the bone tissue would be taken from his hip as opposed to a frozen bone provided by a donor before emphatically saying that his hip wouldn’t be touched.

“Well, if he wasn’t kidding, I’m also not playing neither,” Bryant said. “Nobody touching my hip. I’m telling you right now. You can get a piece of bone from somebody else. You’re not touching my hip.”

Wherever Bryant winds up getting the bone tissue, the Cowboys are certainly fortunate that he’s putting off the operation until after the season. His play helped them win on Sunday, leaving them in control of their own destiny in the NFC East with two games to play.

AP

Last week, Eagles defensive tackle Mike Patterson was hospitalized with viral pneumonia.  A league source tells PFT that the Eagles now plan to place Patterson on the non-football injury/illness list for the balance of the season.

Per the source, the Eagles also plan to exercise their discretion to reduce Patterson’s pay, not completely but partially.

The move is expected to cause hard feelings, especially since it’s entirely possible that Patterson initially got sick because of practicing or playing in the elements.  Moreover, the money that will be saved (roughly $150,000, we’re told) could do far more damage to the team’s relationship with Patterson — or to the reputation of the front office within the locker room.

As the Eagles wrap up a difficult season and prepare for what all appearances will be a new era, it’s not a good look.

AP

The Cardinals waited a long time for quarterback Kevin Kolb’s ribs to heal enough for him to return to the lineup, but their patience has reached its end.

Arizona placed Kolb on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his season and ending the hopes that the best of their three quarterbacks might return to help them end a losing streak that stands at nine games after last Sunday’s humiliating 58-0 loss to the Seahawks.

Kolb said last week that the ribs were still not completely healed from the initial injury and the pace of the recovery process obviously hasn’t picked up since them. That means John Skelton, Ryan Lindley and Brian Hoyer will have to figure out a way to pick up a win in the final three weeks, which might be a tall order given the way Skelton and Lindley have played so far this season.

Kolb is set to make $9 million in salary next season and he’s due to receive a $2 million roster bonus in March. Even though Kolb did show them more command of the offense in his six games this season than he did in 2011, it’s hard to see the Cardinals bringing him back at that price regardless of who is making the decisions after the Cardinals sift through the detritus of this season.

The Cardinals added offensive lineman Mike Gibson to the roster in the spot vacated by Kolb.

AP

Dez Bryant wants to play this week, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has already called him the “ultimate decision-maker,” in regards to playing with a broken finger.

Toward that end, Bryant is getting a second opinion today in hopes of being cleared to play against the Steelers.

“We don’t anticipate Dez practicing today, and we’re just going to see where he is,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said, via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We’re going to get that information. One of the things that we know about Dez is that he’s a tough guy, and he loves playing football. He’s going to give himself and our team every chance possible to play in this ball game and continue to play this season.

“We just need to get more medical information about how to handle the situation right now, the best way to handle it for now and the future.”

Bryant hurt his left index finger in the fourth quarter last week, missed five plays but returned and caught a touchdown pass with the finger taped to the next one.

X-rays showed a fracture, and he will need surgery, but the hope is he can put it off if it doesn’t create a risk of long-term damage.

“I would say that [the risk of more harm] is an overriding question with all injuries and certainly the willingness of the player to play, the ability of the player to function like he needs to function are big questions as well,” Garrett said. “But certainly his health now, his health going forward are huge factors in making this decision.”

It’s easy to say “it’s just a finger,” in a case like this, especially when he’s already performed well with the injury. When it’s your finger, and a key component in your future earnings, the decision becomes far more complicated.

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Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is practicing today, three days after being knocked out of a game against the Ravens with a sprained lateral collateral ligament.

Griffin did not appear to be slowed significantly by his knee injury while doing individual drills, CSNWashington.com reports. Griffin wore sweatpants, so it wasn’t clear whether he had a brace on his knee.

Reporters were only allowed to watch stretching and individual drills, and the Redskins haven’t yet said whether Griffin or backup Kirk Cousins would run the first-string offense in team drills.

On Monday Redskins coach Mike Shanahan sounded optimistic about Griffin’s chances of playing against the Browns on Sunday, although Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon later said he expected Cousins to start. We likely won’t know for sure until Sunday whether Griffin can go, but the fact that he’s practicing is a very promising sign.

AP

The Bears made a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday and left themselves with one open roster spot when everything was said and done.

That spot is no longer open. The Bears announced that they have re-signed defensive tackle Amobi Okoye two weeks after cutting him loose.

It’s Okoye’s third stint with the Bears overall. He spent the 2011 season with the team, signed with the Buccaneers in the offseason and then wound up back with the Bears after failing to make Tampa’s roster in the summer. Okoye, who was the 10th overall pick of the 2007 draft by the Texans, played six games for the Bears before getting released when the team signed offensive lineman Andre Gurode. Gurode was cut on Tuesday, though, so Okoye is back in the fold.

Defensive tackle Stephen Paea missed last Sunday’s loss to the Vikings with a foot injury, limiting Chicago’s depth and providing a potential reason for Okoye’s return to Chicago so soon after the team decided they no longer required his services. The Bears return to practice on Wednesday, which will give us our first glimpse into Paea’s status.

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The Broncos haven’t won in Baltimore since the Ravens moved there, an ugly 0-5.

But among the many things quarterback Peyton Manning brought with him was a track record of success there.

“We’ll see, man,” Ravens safety Ed Reed said, via Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post. “Peyton has a history playing against us, and we have history playing against him.”

The Broncos’ new quarterback is 8-2 against the Ravens, with eight straight wins. His two losses came in his first two meetings in 1998 and 2001.

For Broncos defensive tackle Justin Bannan, who used to chase his current teammate as a member of the Ravens, having Manning on his side this weekend is a relief.

“Yeah. That’s nice,” Bannan said. “I know when I was in Baltimore, we never beat Peyton and the Colts. It is nice to have No. 18 with us. We’ve got to win on all fronts this week. We’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s a huge game.”

It was anyway, but having Manning on their side gives the Broncos a much bigger chance to leave with a win.

AP

Defensive tackle Richard Seymour is back on the practice field, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back with the Raiders for long.

Seymour missed the previous five games with a hamstring injury, and has three games left on his contract with the Raiders.

“I would love to retire a Raider but I have earned the right to be a free agent,” Seymour said, via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I really love wearing this uniform. We’ll see what happens.”

That sounds well short of “Please, please keep me here,” in terms of his hopes for a new deal there.

The 33-year-old has played well since Al Davis traded a first-round pick for him in 2009, but he’s the kind of old part the Raiders under new general manager Reggie McKenzie aren’t expected to retain.

They’ve already gotten rid of nearly half last year’s Week 17 roster (26 players), and waived cornerback Ron Bartell earlier this week.

“It’s a business,” Seymour said. “Everybody is being evaluated from the top to the bottom. We’re all in this together, and we have to put our best foot forward. This is a great week to get back on track.”

Or to start packing for a move that appears inevitable.

AP

With the Packers set to head to Chicago this week with a chance to take full control of the NFC North, Green Bay has promoted former Bears defensive tackle Jordan Miller to their active roster from the practice squad.

Miller spent 15 weeks on the Bears practice squad in 2011 before being added to the active roster for the final game of the season. He went through training camp with Chicago this season before being released during final cuts. Miller was signed to the Packers practice squad in October.

The Packers released linebacker Vic So’oto to make room for Miller on the 53-man roster. So’oto played in four games for the Oakland Raiders earlier this season before being released and signed by Green Bay in November. He was active for only one game for Green Bay this season.

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Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall has gone from the doghouse to the outhouse.

Mendenhall, recently demoted to third string, has been suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.  The one-game ban will cost Mendenhall more than $41,000.

He has been replaced by Baron Batch, a practice-squad player who was on the roster for the team’s first 10 games of 2012.

The move further confirms that Mendenhall won’t be back with the team in 2013.  He arrived in Pittsburgh in 2008, as a first-round draft pick.

AP

The Patriots are healthier at a couple of key positions for tonight’s big game against the Texans.

New England guard Logan Mankins and defensive end Chandler Jones are both active tonight. Both were listed as questionable and have been out recently; Mankins has missed the last two games and Jones has missed the last three games.

The Patriots’ inactives are S Steve Gregory, RB James Develin, OL Nick McDonald, OL Markus Zusevics, TE Rob Gronkowski, DE Jake Bequette and DL Ron Brace.

The Texans’ inactives are CB Alan Ball, OLB Brooks Reed, G Antoine Caldwell, G Cody White, T Derek Newton, TE Garrett Graham and NT Terrell McClain.

AP

Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was ruled out for this week’s game against the Raiders early on Monday and now he’s been ruled out for the rest of the season.

PFT has learned via a league source that Bowe will be placed on injured reserve as a result of the broken ribs he suffered in Sunday’s lopsided loss to the Browns. Bowe had two catches for 70 yards before leaving Sunday’s game.

Bowe ends the year with 59 catches for 801 yards and three touchdowns, a fairly significant drop from his last two seasons. It could be the last work he does as a Chief. Bowe is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and he could be on his way out of Kansas City after failing to come to terms on a long-term deal after they franchised him last offseason.

Bowe said last month that he’d like to stay in Kansas City, but there’s a lot of time between now and the start of free agency for other options to become more appealing. There’s also likely to be a fair amount of change coming to the Chiefs organization, which would certainly impact what they decide to do in regard to Bowe.

AP

The 49ers clearly weren’t thrilled with runing back Brandon Jacobs‘ griping, as was evidenced by the fact coach Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t talk about him earlier today.

But rather than cut him, the team has suspended him for the final three games of the regular season, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

Had the 49ers released him, which Jacobs would certainly have preferred, he would have possibly ended up with a team the 49ers have to beat at some point in the next month. This way, they simply put him in the cooler, keeping a player they weren’t using anyway from becoming (more of) a distraction.

AP

Tight end Jared Cook has been named the Titans’ recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award as a result of his community service.

That means he’s a finalist for the league-wide honor handed out during Super Bowl week. Cook’s going to have plenty of time to lobby for votes.

Coach Mike Munchak announced Monday that Cook will miss the rest of the season after tearing his rotator cuff in Sunday’s loss to the Colts. That ends his year with 44 catches and 523 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games.

Cook’s contract is up at the end of the season and he reportedly requested a trade before the deadline this year in hopes of going to a team that utilized him more often in the offense. That could be a route available to him in the offseason, although the Titans could conceivably use their franchise tag on him in order to make sure Cook sticks around a little longer.

AP

The Bills weren’t optimistic about running back Fred Jackson’s status, and there’s a reason why.

According to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News, Jackson’s knee injury isn’t as serious as once feared, but serious enough he will be going on injured reserve.

Jackson’s agent tweeted that Jackson had a Grade 2 sprain of his right knee, and that it was a four-week injury. With three games left, that ends a second straight season with Jackson on IR.

“He’s not going to make it,” coach Chan Gailey said.

(Note to self, never ask Chan Gailey for a medical opinion on a loved one.)

“He’s going to be out for the rest of the year,” Gailey continued.

Jackson finished the year with 437 rushing yards and three touchdowns, along with 217 receiving yards and another score.