NFL Player News

Lock (illness) returned to practice Sunday, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

Lock sat out this past Thursday's preseason game (which he had been in line to start) against the Bears after testing positive for COVID-19, but he's back on the field Sunday and thus is a candidate to start this coming Friday's preseason finale against the Cowboys. At this stage, the Seahawks' unofficial posted depth chart lists Geno Smith (knee bruise) ahead of Lock, but the team has yet to announce which of the two QBs is slated to start Seattle's regular-season opener against the Broncos on Monday, Sept. 12.

Murray (wrist) confirmed earlier this week that he isn't in line to play in the preseason, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Murray is bouncing back from some wrist soreness, but he's been practicing of late, so the issue isn't anything that figures to impact his status for the regular season. For now, the franchise signal-caller will focus on building chemistry ahead of Week 1 with an Arizona wideout corps that will be minus DeAndre Hopkins (six-game suspension) to begin the season, but the group has been bolstered by the offseason addition of Marquise Brown. With Murray not slated to play and Colt McCoy dealing with an injury, Dan Santaromita of The Athletic indicates that Trace McSorley is expected to start Sunday's preseason game against the Ravens.

The Giants' coaching staff is rethinking plans to have starters such as Jones and Saquon Barkley play in Sunday's preseason contest against Cincinnati, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.

Jones, Barkley and most other healthy starters originally were expected to play in the second preseason contest -- as they did in the first -- but the team's offensive line is so banged up that head coach Brian Daboll may instead elect to hold key starters out. Leonard notes that the Giants are down to their sixth-string center for the game against the Bengals, and the staff no doubt values keeping starters healthy over allowing them to play a few series in an exhibition contest.

Grier may have aggravated his groin injury during Saturday's preseason game, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

After the contest, head coach Mike McCarthy described the quarterback's performance as "gritty," suggesting he may not have been 100 percent. Grier has looked good at times during training camp when he's been healthy, but he'll likely need to significantly outperform Cooper Rush in the Cowboys' final preseason game Friday to have a real chance at claiming the No. 2 job.

Dobbs will start Sunday's preseason game against the Eagles.

With Deshaun Watson and Jacoby Brissett not in line to play Sunday, Dobbs will draw the start versus Philadelphia, with Josh Rosen next in line to see QB snaps. Given that Watson will be suspended to begin the 2022 season, as things stand either Dobbs or Rosen are in line to serve as Brissett's top backup Week 1.

Fields and the Bears' starters aren't expected to play Saturday against the Browns, Alyssa Barbieri of USA Today reports.

The upcoming absences likely will come to pass to avoid injuries to key Bears in an unnecessary game. Assuming Fields sits this one out, we'll see him Week 1 against the 49ers.

With the Eagles in line to rest key starters, Hurts isn't expected to play in Sunday's preseason game against the Browns, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

In that context, Gardner Minshew, Reid Sinnett and Carson Strong are the team's available QBs on Sunday, while Hurts' final opportunity to see preseason action arrives Saturday against the Dolphins.

Walker completed 8 of 15 passes for 107 yards and two interceptions in Friday's 20-10 preseason loss to the Patriots. He also was sacked four times and lost a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown.

Walker started and alternated quarters with rookie third-rounder Matt Corral. However, with Corral suffering a foot injury during the fourth quarter, Walker was called back in late to finish the game. Although he struggled while committing three turnovers Friday, Walker's chances of making Carolina's roster increased after it was subsequently revealed that Corral could now miss the entire 2022 campaign. With Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold currently competing for the Panthers' starting job, Walker could be kept as the third option, or potentially rise to become the second-stringer in the event Darnold is traded.

Rypien completed 22 of 26 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown while adding nine yards on three carries in Saturday's 42-15 loss to the Bills.

Rypien entered the contest in the second half when the Broncos were already trailing the Bills 35-6, but the fourth-year signal caller made the most of his opportunity. The 26-year-old finds himself in a battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot with veteran Josh Johnson, the latter of whom signed with Denver this offseason. Based on the Broncos' first preseason game against the Cowboys, it seemed Johnson was beginning to separate himself in the competition, but Rypien's impressive performance against Buffalo will likely turn the heat up on the battle for the backup spot. If he has another solid performance in Denver's third preseason game against Minnesota on Aug. 27, Rypien could make a push for the No. 2 role as the coaching staff makes its final roster decisions ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Grier completed six of 10 passes for 98 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and rushed once for nine yards in the Cowboys' 32-18 preseason win over the Chargers on Saturday night.

The 2019 third-round pick of the Panthers made his preseason debut after overcoming a groin strain, and Grier turned in a solid effort overall. The 27-year-old is battling Cooper Rush for the No. 2 quarterback job, and he's therefore likely to get another solid allotment of playing time in Friday's exhibition finale against the Seahawks.