The last week of the 2025-2026 NFL regular season will take place this weekend, with a lot of playoff seedings yet to be determined. There’s even some playoff spots up for grabs such as the AFC North and NFC South divisions.
With there being some clarity about who’s in and who’s out, and teams knowing their seeding implications, a number of teams and players will be benched this week for various reasons.
Whether it’s teams looking to rest key starters and players to make sure that they’re healthy for the playoffs, or teams looking to evaluate young talent for next season, a number of key players will be inactive on Sunday.
NFL Teams Who Are Resting Players in Week 18 & Notable Inactives
The Los Angeles Chargers have announced that they will rest starters in its regular season finale against the Denver Broncos this Sunday.
Jim Harbaugh announced that starters won’t play in the team’s regular season finale against the Broncos, including quarterback Justin Herbert, who has been dealing with a fracture in his non-throwing hand the last few weeks.
#Chargers QB Justin Herbert will NOT play on Sunday vs. the Broncos, per HC Jim Harbaugh.
With the division no longer a possibility, they are onto the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/7xJ4ohwxnH
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 29, 2025
The Philadelphia Eagles are another team that will likely rest starters, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday morning. This means players like quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, as well as other key starters could be inactive.
Garafolo: Eagles considering resting “some starters” in Week 18.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) December 30, 2025
The Buffalo Bills, locked into a wildcard spot, could rest multiple starters. Josh Allen likely won’t play much, if at all in Sunday’s season finale against the New York Jets. He wants to keep his streak alive for consecutive starts, so he could play a snap or a drive and then come out of the game.
Do you care about the streak? Does Josh care about the streak? Are we streaking in the quad?#BillsMafia
Josh Allen’s historic touchdown record in jeopardy with one game left https://t.co/2kJyEpf7DB
— WestMiBillsBackers (@WestMiBillsBack) December 30, 2025
The Green Bay Packers will very likely rest starters. They are the only team that is locked into their seeding, as they will hold the seventh seed in the NFC regardless of their Week 18 result. This means players such as Josh Jacobs will likely get some much-needed rest.
Even non-playoff teams will dabble around benching key starters to allow some younger guys to play and see what they have moving forward. The Indianapolis Colts have announced that they will bench quarterback Philip Rivers for rookie quarterback Riley Leonard.
The Miami Dolphins have already benched quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a few weeks ago to see what rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers has to give.
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