NFL Player News

Mayfield (shoulder) is ahead of schedule in his rehab from shoulder surgery he underwent in January, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

At the time of Mayfield's surgery on his left non-throwing shoulder, the Browns estimated the quarterback would begin light throwing in April and have a full recovery in time for training camp. Cabot reports that doctors are encouraged by Mayfield's progress, noting the work he put in during the regular season to strengthen the damaged shoulder is having a positive impact on his recovery. At this point, Mayfield is expected to be the starting quarterback this upcoming season, working on the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, but there has been speculation about the Browns exploring other options as a fallback plan.

New Dolphins quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Darrell Bevell said Wednesday "the [offensive] system is going to be built and tailored to [Tagovailoa]," Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

Bevell said Miami's scheme will be designed to "bring out all the positives in [Tagovailoa's] game," which reinforces comments from new coach Mike McDaniel about the team's commitment to the third-year quarterback. Tagovailoa's accuracy and ability to make off-schedule plays were praised by Bevell, though he also mentioned a need to clean up certain mechanics. The Dolphins seem likely to prioritize upgrading the O-line this offseason, and McDaniel's new system also should upgrade the running game and take further pressure off the young quarterback. Such developments could set the stage well for Tagovailoa to take a step forward Year 3, in what looks to be a make-or-break season for his prospects as a franchise leader.

New Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said Thursday that he anticipates that Cousins will be a part of the team's plans in 2022, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Cousins is entering the final year of his contract with the Vikings and has been linked to trade rumors early in the offseason, in part because of the $45 million cap hit that the deal carries in 2022. However, he's been a consistent player under center across his first four seasons in Minnesota, as he's passed for at least 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in three of those years while throwing no more than 13 interceptions in any season. O'Connell previously worked with Cousins when he was the quarterbacks coach in Washington during the 2017 campaign, and the offensive-minded coach plans to call plays for the first time to begin his tenure with the Vikings.

Jackson's ankle has healed and he's resumed working out with teammates, Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official site reports.

A bone bruise in his right ankle kept Jackson sidelined for the final four games of the 2021 campaign, but he should be in store for a normal, healthy offseason before the Ravens resume practicing in May and June. The bigger concern is a potential contract extension, with Jackson scheduled to make $23.1 million in 2022 under the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. A new deal won't be cheap from a real-money standpoint, but it may allow the Ravens to reduce Jackson's cap hit for the upcoming season, which in turn would help the team bring in reinforcements for its offensive line and defense.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Wednesday that Burrow (knee) has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

According to Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site, Burrow is also nursing a pinkie injury, but he shouldn't require offseason surgery to address either issue. Additionally, Taylor categorized Burrow's MCL sprain as an aggravation of the injury he dealt with in December. The Bengals are hopeful that after a couple months of rest, Burrow will be ready to resume workouts as a full participant at some point during OTAs.

Burrow isn't expected to need surgery on the knee injury he suffered in the final minutes of the Super Bowl, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

While the injury likely impacted his mobility late in the fourth quarter, Burrow never missed a snap. Still, it's apparently serious enough to require some type of rehab process, which Burrow should have time to complete before spring practices in May and June. Rapoport says the injury "shouldn't drastically alter [Burrow's] offseason."

Browning signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals on Tuesday.

Browning joined the Bengals this offseason after spending his first two seasons in the NFL on the Vikings' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster twice during the 2021 campaign, but he's yet to make his NFL debut.

Burrow completed 22 of 33 passes for 263 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Sunday's 23-20 Super Bowl LVI loss to the Rams.

Burrow's highlight reel play of the game came on the first snap of the second half, when he connected with Tee Higgins for a 75-yard touchdown. However, besides that connection, Burrow managed only 5.9 yards per attempt and was under consistent pressure in the final two quarters of the contest. Despite the disappointing end to the campaign, Burrow led Cincinnati to an impressive postseason run that included upset wins over the Titans and Chiefs -- two of the favorites in the AFC. He'll now turn his focus to the 2022 season, with each of Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Mixon all back as his primary offensive weapons.

Stafford completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions during the Rams' 23-20 win over the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday. He also rushed three times for six yards.

The veteran signal-caller culminated his first season outside of the football purgatory known as Detroit with a thrilling game-winning drive to secure a Super Bowl championship for the Rams on their home field. On his way there, Stafford had to navigate the absence of trusted tight end Tyler Higbee (knee) and the first-half exit of Odell Beckham, who suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury of his own. Stafford had opened the game clicking on all cylinders while connecting on nine of his first 10 pass attempts, including touchdown passes of 17 and 11 yards to Beckham and Cooper Kupp, respectively. However, the entire air attack mostly fell into a malaise following Beckham's exit, with Los Angeles only managing a 41-yard Matt Gay field goal until a game-winning 15-play, 79-yard march late in the fourth quarter. Stafford turned back to Kupp, who the Bengals had focused on heavily after Beckham's departure, to spearhead the drive and capped it off with a perfect back-shoulder throw to his star wideout for the game-winning touchdown. The memorable finish caps off a wildly successful first season in L.A. for Stafford, who finished the regular season with his highest passing yardage total (4,886) since the 2012 season and a career-high-tying 41 touchdown passes.

Rodgers' "relationship [with the Packers] is in as good a spot as it has been in quite a long time," creating optimism from both sides that he'll remain in Green Bay for the 2022 season, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

After Rodgers chose not to report to training camp on time last offseason due to his acrimonious relationship with the Green Bay front office, speculation abounded that the Packers would look to trade the longtime franchise quarterback. Though the Packers were able to temporarily cool tensions last July by reworking his contract and agreeing to revisit possible trade discussions during the upcoming offseason, Rodgers no longer seems adamant about moving on from the organization. While Green Bay's season ended with a disappointing loss to San Francisco in the divisional round, Rodgers guided the team to an NFL-best 13-4 record and took home his fourth MVP award. When he accepted the award Thursday, Rodgers notably thanked Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and team president Mark Murphy, then told NFL Network after the ceremony that he's had "good conversations with Green Bay" about working out a new deal. As a result of having his deal restructured last summer, the 2022 portion of Rodgers' contract was voided. Green Bay will have the option of using its franchise tag on Rodgers for the upcoming season, but Rapoport relays that the Packers are looking to keep him in the fold on a two-year deal worth more than $45 million annually.