Off the wire

FOOTBALL Darnold to start

Sam Darnold’s spleen is fully healthy and he’ll be back under center as the struggling New York Jets’ starting quarterback. Darnold was cleared by doctors Tuesday to play this week after he missed three games while recovering from mononucleosis. He had medical tests to determine if the swelling in his spleen — a common symptom of the illness — had dissipated enough for him to play again. The Jets announced in a Twitter post that Darnold would start Sunday at home against Dallas. It’s some rare good news for the Jets, who are 0-4 — their worst start since 2003. The team was optimistic last week that Darnold would be able to play at Philadelphia, which was the initial goal for his return. Darnold took first-team snaps last Wednesday and Thursday, but an ultrasound and blood test last Thursday night revealed he was not yet able to be fully cleared. So Luke Falk — on one day of full reps with the first-team offense — started his second consecutive game for New York. The Jets lost 31-6 and Falk was sacked nine times and had two turnovers returned for touchdowns. Darnold was diagnosed with mono on Sept. 11, three days after the season-opening loss to Buffalo.

Rudolph in protocol

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph “appears to be doing fine” according to Coach Mike Tomlin, but Rudolph remained in the concussion protocol following an illegal hit by Baltimore safety Earl Thomas. Rudolph left Sunday’s overtime loss to Baltimore in the third quarter after Thomas hit Rudolph in the chin with his helmet. Rudolph was knocked unconscious on the play but was able to slowly make his way to the sideline. Rudolph went to a hospital for evaluation before being cleared to go home. Tomlin declined to give a timetable on Rudolph’s potential availability for Sunday’s visit to Los Angeles to play the Chargers. Rookie undrafted free agent Devlin Hodges will start at quarterback if Rudolph is unable to play. Hodges played well after coming in, completing 7 of 9 passes for 68 yards. Paxton Lynch, signed to the practice squad last month, is the only other quarterback with the team after the Steelers released Taryn Christion on Monday.

GYMNASTICS Biles sets record

Simone Biles won a record 21st medal at the world gymnastics championships on Tuesday as the United States retained its women’s team allaround title in Stuttgart, Germany. It was Biles’ 15th career gold and broke a tie with Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina for the most medals overall by a woman at the world championships. She’s now two short of Vitaly Scherbo’s all-time record of 23 among men or women. The U.S. team scored 172.330 points to beat second-place Russia by 5.801 points and win its seventh consecutive team title at an Olympics or world championships. Biles has won 15 gold medals at the world championships, along with three silver and three bronze medals. She earned five medals (four gold, one silver) at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.