Huntley would start in place of Lamar Jackson, who hasn't practiced the past two weeks because of an injured right ankle. The Ravens have officially listed Huntley and Jackson as questionable.

This would mark Huntley's third career start, but none has been as important as Sunday's game in Cincinnati, where the Ravens (8-6) and Bengals (8-6) are battling for first place in the AFC North. With a victory, Baltimore would have a 67% chance of winning the AFC North, according to ESPN's Football Power Index. The Ravens' chances of capturing the division plummet to 8.5% if they lose to the Bengals.

Huntley, who went undrafted out of Utah in 2020, has been impressive in filling in for Jackson. In Sunday's 31-30 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Huntley became the first player in Ravens history to record multiple touchdown passes and touchdown runs in the same game. Over the past two weeks, Huntley has produced 603 total yards, trailing only Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers.

Baltimore has become suddenly thin at quarterback. Josh Johnson was the only quarterback practicing Friday because Huntley is sick, Jackson is injured and practice squad QB Chris Streveler is on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Jackson, the 2019 NFL MVP, has been out since Dec. 12, when he injured his right ankle early in the second quarter of a 24-22 loss in Cleveland. This is the first time in Jackson's four-year NFL career that he has missed consecutive games.

The Ravens have lost three straight games and are looking to avoid getting swept by the Bengals for the first time since 2015.

The Boston Celtics had another five players officially enter the NBA's health and safety protocols Friday afternoon, further battering one of the hardest-hit rosters in the league as the omicron variant of COVID-19 sweeps through the NBA.

Guard C.J. Miles, forwards Aaron Nesmith and Justin Jackson, and centers Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando were all added to the protocols, bringing Boston's current official count of players in protocols to 12 ahead of Saturday's Christmas Day showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Eight players -- those five plus guard Josh Richardson and forwards Sam Hauser and Grant Williams -- will be out for Saturday's game. Another four -- guard Brodric Thomas, forwards Jabari Parker and Juancho Hernangomez and center Al Horford -- are questionable to play because of the protocols after entering them last week.

Meanwhile, guards Marcus Smart (hip contusion) and Romeo Langford (Achilles tendinopathy) are questionable because of injuries.

The Celtics are just one of several teams playing on Christmas Day dealing with a slew of absences due to COVID-19, including the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

Nets coach Steve Nash said Harden will play against the Lakers and the Nets will also have forward DeAndre' Bembry, swingman Bruce Brown and forward James Johnson. All three Nets were cleared from health and safety protocols.

The Nets still have seven players in health and safety protocols, including Durant, Irving and LaMarcus Aldridge. Cam Thomas, David Duke Jr., Kessler Edwards and Day'Ron Sharpe are the other Nets in protocols.

Nash said that any Net who is cleared from protocols could still rejoin the team later in Los Angeles, where the Nets play the Clippers on Dec. 27. Things remain fluid for the Nets, who had their last three games postponed.

"We just do the best we can," Nash said before the team flew to Los Angeles on Friday. "We got a lot of guys coming off extended break. Nobody's in great condition so we have to manage the group, try to be as competitive as possible and at the same time, be careful, guys coming out and playing the game after an absence like this is tricky.

"We will do what we can. A lot of these decisions are still to be made, before the game, during the game, as the game goes on. We just have to be very fluid, adaptable and a great attitude and take it as an opportunity."

Nash did say that Irving will not join the team on this two-game road trip to Southern California. The point guard still has to ramp up once he is cleared from protocol before he can make his season debut. The Nets haven't seen Irving on the court yet since deciding to let the point guard return to the team as a part-time player last week. Irving went into health and safety protocols on Dec. 18 along with Durant.

"No, we haven't," Nash said, when asked if he has seen Irving on the court yet. "He's still in protocols. And he needs ramp up, so we won't see Kyrie on this trip."

Irving has not been with the team on a regular basis since the first week of training camp at the start of October. The team decided back during the preseason to not have their point guard be a part-time player, since Irving cannot play in games at Barclays Center because of New York City's vaccine mandate.

Since Irving cannot play home games, the Nets will have to wait until another road trip for their point guard to possibly return. After these two upcoming games in Los Angeles, the Nets are not on the road again until Jan. 5 at Indiana. After that, they don't play another road game until Jan. 12 at Chicago.

If Irving isn't back by then, a road game at Cleveland on Jan. 17 could be a possibility as well. The Nets, though, are beginning to finally get bodies back. Harden will play in his first game since playing against Atlanta on Dec. 10. And Nash said center Nic Claxton (wrist) will be available to play on Saturday.

The Nets were able to gather for a light practice on Friday morning after shutting things down earlier this week with as many as 10 players on health and safety protocols. Point guard Patty Mills says the Nets' pause has felt "like a mini offseason."

"In a certain way, we have been dealing with different parts of adversity throughout the whole season," Mills said. "On-court, off-court, COVID protocols, injuries, whatever it may be. This is just another one of those obstacles in the road, I think.

"The vibe today compared to how it has been the whole week, to see everyone again, it felt like a mini offseason, and then, 'Alright, let's get back to business.' There's still a lot of work cut out for us knowing who is still out and yet to come back."

Collison, who signed a hardship exemption, is expected to be in the lineup on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets. He worked out for the Lakers recently at the team's practice facility, sources told ESPN.

The Lakers also signed free-agent forward Stanley Johnson to a 10-day hardship exemption.

Despite free-agent offers in the neighborhood of $10 million annually, Collison, 34, surprised the NBA with his retirement after completing the 2018-19 season with the Indiana Pacers.

He had discussed returning to the NBA during his time away -- including with the Lakers -- but finally agreed to come back now amid the COVID-19 turmoil throughout the league as well as the Lakers' need to stabilize their playmaking and bench.

The Lakers have several players in COVID-19 protocols, including guard Malik Monk. They are reeling with four straight losses and a 16-17 record.