Charlotte Observer columnist Tom Sorensen isn’t buying Julius Pepper‘s story that he wanted to stay with the Panthers, especially after he rejected a 2007 contract offer that would have made him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

The Bengals deactivated RB Larry Johnson, a move that isn’t expected to have a major impact on Saturday’s game, but will get several starters back against the Jets.

The Bengals placed DT Pat Sims on injured reserve Monday, a tough setback for a team trying to get healthy defensively before a rematch with the New York Jets Saturday in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

As some expected, the Cincinnati Bengals will rest some of their starters in Sunday night’s season finale against the New York Jets.

As teams around the league prepare for Week 16, here’s an update on some notable names from injury reports released Wednesday.