NFL Player News

Browning may not play in Friday's preseason game against the Jets due to a back injury, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With Baker Mayfield not scheduled to play Friday, Browning was slated to serve as the team's starter, with Connor Bazelak and Jalon Daniels also in the mix for reps. However, Browning strained his back toward the tail end of Tuesday's joint practice with the Jets, which puts him in jeopardy of missing Friday's preseason opener.

Leonard will be under center for the second half of Thursday's preseason game against the Patriots, Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star reports.

Anthony Richardson will draw the start for Thursday's preseason opener and play for the first half before turning the keys over to Leonard for the last two quarters. Richardson and Leonard are battling for the backup job behind Daniel Jones, though Richardson may not be with the Colts for the start of the 2026 regular season after requesting a trade from the team in the offseason. Leonard was a sixth-round selection of the Colts in the 2025 NFL Draft and started in Week 18 against the Texans, when he completed 21 of 34 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while turning three carries into 21 yards and a score.

Deshaun Watson and Sanders are listed as co-starters on the Brown' unofficial depth chart, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Coach Todd Monken has yet to reveal his QB plans for Saturday's preseason opener against the Bears, but it's expected that whichever of the two signal callers starts that contest will give way the other one in Cleveland's second exhibition tilt. For the time being, Watson and Sanders continue to share-first team practice reps, with no timetable outlined for a decision on the team's Week 1 starter.

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said Tuesday that Mendoza will play in Thursday's preseason opener against Arizona and may even get a few snaps with the starting offensive line, Ryan McFadden of ESPN.com reports.

It sounds like Kirk Cousins will make the start, but Mendoza could enter the game fairly early on, and he's expected to play a lot this preseason (if not necessarily Thursday night). Kubiak hasn't announced his Week 1 starter, but Cousins has been treated as the starter throughout training camp by all accounts.

Richardson will start Thursday's preseason opener against the Patriots, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Per Boyd, Richardson will start off the first half of the contest, while fellow QB Riley Leonard will start the second half. Then in the team's second preseason tilt, Aug. 22 against the Falcons, that arrangement will be reversed. The two signal callers remain in contention to serve as Daniel Jones' top backup this coming season, and will have their chance to make their cases for slotting on that front in the coming weeks, with Jones not slated to play in the preseason.

Willis has shown increased comfort with offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik's concepts during the first two weeks of training camp and has been stacking up positive performances during practices, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

After joining the Dolphins in March on a three-year, $67.5 million deal in March, the fifth-year quarterback will be heading into his first season as a full-time NFL starter. Furones relays that Willis has limited mistakes and has been able to build chemistry with a mostly unproven Dolphins receiving corps during OTAs, minicamp and now training camp, but the 27-year-old will get his first real test this week. He's set to receive extended reps against the Commanders defense in a joint practice Wednesday, and he could be in line to play a few drives in the preseason opener versus Washington two days later.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday that Mayfield will be rested for the preseason opener Friday versus the Jets, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bowles indicated that the Bucs' had been planning for backup Jake Browning to direct the first-team offense Friday, but Browning's status is now in flux after he appeared to suffer a back injury during Tuesday's session. Mayfield didn't see any action during the 2025 preseason, and the Buccaneers could opt to take a similar approach with the veteran signal-caller in 2026 and hold him out for their final two exhibitions. The 31-year-old is heading into his fourth season with Tampa Bay on an expiring contract and will be aiming for a bounce-back campaign after noticing a steep decline in his passing efficiency and touchdown total between 2024 and 2025.

Ward and other starters are scheduled to play in Thursday's preseason opener against San Francisco, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com reports.

The combination of a young QB and a new coaching staff could lead to more playing time than usual this preseason. Still, there's no guarantee of Ward playing more than a series or two Thursday night.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Tuesday that Lawrence and the team's other established starters will sit out Saturday's preseason opener versus the Saints, Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union reports.

Though he'll be held out Saturday, Lawrence is still expected to receive extended reps against the Saints when the two teams link up for a joint practice Thursday, per John Shipley of SI.com. Shipley relays that the Jaguars are also planning on Lawrence taking limited snaps, if any, in their final two exhibition contests, a departure from how he's been utilized in his prior five preseasons. Lawrence doesn't believe a lack of preseason reps will affect his preparation heading into Week 1, especially now that he already has a year under his belt in Coen's offensive system. The 26-year-old had the best fantasy season of his career in 2025, setting personal bests in touchdown passes (29), rushing yards (359) and rushing touchdowns (nine).

Coach Mike LaFleur said Tuesday that Brissett and the rest of the Cardinals' starters will play one or two possessions during Thursday's preseason game at Las Vegas, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

LaFleur held out Arizona's starters in last Thursday's Hall of Fame Game versus the Panthers, but Brissett and the rest of the first-team offense are slated to get some run this week. Brissett thus likely will be throwing passes to the Cardinals' top skill-position talents, including rookie first-round RB Jeremiyah Love, WRs Marvin Harrison and Michael Wilson and TE Trey McBride.