NFL Player News

Smith is expected to start Thursday's preseason game against the Bears after Drew Lock tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

After handling first-team reps at Tuesday's practice and then being announced as the Seahawks' starting quarterback for the second preseason game by coach Pete Carroll, Lock will be unavailable to practice or play for at least the next five days. As a result, Smith -- who remains the team's No. 1 QB on the depth chart -- should get some more work with the top available skill-position players Thursday before handing the offense over to Jacob Eason.

Lock will not play in Thursday's preseason matchup with the Bears after testing positive for COVID-19, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

This is unfortunate timing for Lock, as he handled all of the first-team reps at practice Tuesday and was slated to draw the start against Chicago. While coach Pete Carroll maintains that Geno Smith is the team's No. 1 quarterback, the starting opportunity would have been a chance for Lock to make an impression. He will now have to wait until he's cleared to return to practice in order to prepare for his next chance to see game action, which would come in the Seahawks' preseason finale Aug. 26. In his absence, Smith and Jacob Eason are the lone healthy quarterbacks on the Seahawks roster.

Smith won't start Thursday's preseason contest against the Bears, but he remains the No. 1 quarterback on the Seahawks' depth chart, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

For the first time since training camp kicked off, Smith yielded all the reps with the first-team offense to Drew Lock at Tuesday's practice as Lock prepares to get the start in the team's second exhibition game. In the preseason opener, Smith worked the first half while Lock handled every snap after halftime, so the duo could reverse roles Thursday.

Lock will start Thursday's preseason game against the Bears, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

According to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, Lock handled all the first-team reps at practice Tuesday for the first time since training camp opened. Afterward, coach Pete Carroll told Condotta the development was part of the plan for the Seahawks' quarterback competition, but Carroll reiterated that Geno Smith remains the team's No. 1 QB. It's unclear how much run Lock will get with the starters Thursday, but if the breakdown is similar to Seattle's preseason opener, he may play one half before handing the offense over to Smith.

Wilson (knee) could return in four-to-six weeks after successful surgery Tuesday on his meniscus, Jeff Howe of The Athletic reports.

While everything went according to plan with the surgery, prior estimates of 2-4 weeks may not have accounted for a bone bruise Wilson is also dealing with, or the Jets' reported desire to take a cautious approach with their second-year quarterback. Howe says it's not entirely out of the question that Wilson could be ready to play by Week 1, but it doesn't sound especially likely, with Adam Schefter of ESPN reporting that Joe Flacco is set to start the regular-season opener against Baltimore.

Stafford (elbow) put together another full practice during Tuesday's scrimmage, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Stafford also logged a full session Monday in what was termed a shortened practice. At the time, coach Sean McVay said Stafford would handle every rep Tuesday, which is what came to pass. McVay added that Stafford displayed "great energy, great command. Threw the ball incredibly accurately. Really activated all parts of our pass game." Stafford tended to discomfort in his right elbow this offseason, which followed him into training camp. The Rams and McVay don't seem to be particularly worried about the issue, but Stafford has rested at times and has also had limitations on the field, so him handling full activity in back-to-back practices is an encouraging sign.

Wilson's knee surgery was successful, with no surprises from the original diagnosis, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

It sounds liked doctors were able to address his meniscus by trimming it rather than repairing it. That was the Jets' expectation, but there was some chance he'd need a repair, which might've put his 2022 season in jeopardy. Instead, Wilson could be looking at a timetable as short as 2-4 weeks, though Cimini notes that the Jets won't put him on the field until he's back to 100 percent. Connor Hughes of The Athletic supports the notion that Wilson is likely to return closer to the one-month mark than two weeks, while Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Joe Flacco is expected to start Week 1 against the Ravens.

Allen (concussion) returned to practice Monday after suffering a concussion in Friday's loss to the Cardinals, Richard Skinner of WKRC-TV reports.

Allen has cleared concussion protocol, putting him on track to start again when the Bengals visit the Giants on Sunday for their second preseason game. The veteran played just one series in Friday's first preseason action before being ruled out with a concussion. The expectation was that Allen would've played the entire first half in the contest. This very well could be the case Sunday, especially with starter Joe Burrow still recovering from an offseason appendix surgery.

Fields is likely to see 6-10 plays in Thursday's game against the Seahawks Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

Fishbain also stated that some of the Bears' starters will see up to 20 plays, so that kind of workload can't be ruled out for Fields. Coach Matt Eberflus said the low number of plays is due to the short week the team is on.

Allen (COVID-19 protocols) returned to practice Tuesday, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports.

Allen was sidelined for Saturday's preseason game after testing positive for COVID-19, but he's since cleared protocols and returned to practice Tuesday. He's currently competing with Jeff Driskel for the backup job behind Davis Mills, so Allen will likely get plenty of action in Friday's preseason game against the Rams.