NFL notebook: Giants officially give Manning starting nod

Manning, 38, has not started since Week 2. He passed for 556 yards, two
touchdowns and two interceptions before the Giants replaced him with their
rookie first-round pick.

The Giants (2-10) will be without several starters against the Eagles (5-7),
whom they will face twice in the final four weeks of the regular season. Tight
ends Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) will be sidelined in
addition to cornerback Corey Ballentine (concussion).

Engram had limited participation in practice Friday and had hoped to return to
play with Manning.

--The Detroit Lions organization was fined $110,000 for how it handled the
injury designation of quarterback Matthew Stafford before a Nov. 10 game
against the Chicago Bears.

The breakdown of fines included $75,000 as an organization, $25,000 to coach
Matt Patricia and $10,000 to general manager Bob Quinn.

Stafford, who will miss his fifth straight game when the Lions play at the
Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, has been out since sustaining a back injury on
Nov. 3 against the Oakland Raiders.

--New York Jets' leading rusher Le'Veon Bell was ruled out of Sunday's game
against the visiting Miami Dolphins due to illness.

The team downgraded Bell from questionable one day after he was sent home and
missed his second consecutive day of practice.

He has rushed for 589 yards and three touchdowns on 183 carries, averaging a
career-low 3.2 yards per attempt. His 55 catches rank second on the Jets this
season.

--The Carolina Panthers signed linebacker Shaq Thompson to a four-year
extension worth a reported $54.2 million, including $28 million guaranteed.

Thompson, 25, is in his fifth season with Carolina, which selected him in the
first round (No. 25 overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. The Washington product has
a career-high 93 tackles to go along with three sacks in 12 games this season.

The deal keeps Thompson under contract with the Panthers through the 2023
season. He was set to become a free agent during the offseason.

--The New England Patriots will waive rookie defensive tackle Albert Huggins
to clear a roster spot for veteran kicker Nick Folk, ESPN reported.

Folk appeared in three games as the Patriots' kicker but was cut last week
after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. New England used kicker Kai
Forbath last week against the Houston Texans, but he was released after going
1-for-1 on field goals and 1-for-2 on extra points.

Huggins appeared in four games with the Eagles last season. He was released by
the Eagles last weekend, and the Patriots signed him Monday.

--The Cleveland Browns activated tight end David Njoku, making him available
to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon.

Njoku had been sidelined for eight games with a wrist injury sustained in
Cleveland's 23-3 victory over the New York Jets on Sept. 16. The 23-year-old
Njoku caught four passes for 37 yards and a touchdown in Cleveland's 43-13
season-opening loss to the Tennessee Titans. He did not have a catch against
the Jets.

In a corresponding move, the Browns placed CB Robert Jackson (ankle) on
injured reserve. He played in six games and made three tackles on special
teams.

--The Cincinnati Bengals placed tight end Drew Sample on injured reserve and
promoted defensive back Trayvon Henderson from the practice squad.

Sample, a rookie tight end out of Washington, had five catches for 30 yards in
nine games before sustaining an ankle injury. He was the team's second-round
pick (No. 52 overall) in this spring's NFL draft.

Cincinnati had hoped for greater production from Sample, but he stayed behind
fellow tight ends Tyler Eifert and C.J. Uzomah on the depth chart. He caught
two passes for 25 yards in his second career game but did not have another
multi-catch performance after that.

--Field Level Media