NFL Player News

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Allen will start Friday's preseason contest against the Cardinals and is projected to play the entire first half, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

This doesn't come as a surprise with Joe Burrow still sidelined following an appendectomy. Allen has been garnering the majority of first-team reps during training camp, while third-string Jake Browning operates as the backup. Those two will continue with those roles during the preseason opener, with Allen playing the first half and Browning playing the second.

Zappe is likely to see a good share of snaps under center in New England's preseason opener Thursday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

ESPN's Mike Reiss already noted Tuesday that he'd be surprised, based on how practice unfolded that day, if starting signal-caller Mac Jones played at all Thursday. If Jones does indeed sit out, it would leave Brian Hoyer and Zappe as the Patriots' only two options at quarterback. It's safe to say Coach Bill Belichick knows what he has in Hoyer, who has already spent seven of his 14 seasons in the NFL with the Pats. Zappe's ability, on the other hand, is largely unknown at this point, so it would make sense if Belichick opted early in the game to see what he has to work with in the rookie from Western Kentucky rather than give mostly meaningless snaps to Hoyer.

Burrow (appendix) won't play in Friday's preseason matchup with Arizona, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Burrow never had a shot to play Friday and doesn't seem likely to make more than one brief appearance this preseason, if he plays at all. He threw some short passes during Monday's practice, marking the first time since his July 26 appendectomy that reporters had seen the quarterback do any type of on-field activity. Burrow returned to meetings shortly after his surgery and is expected to be ready for Week 1.

Wilson and the other members of the Jets' first-team offense are expected to play one or two series in Friday's preseason opener against the Eagles, Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports.

Per Andy Vasquez of The Bergen Record, after Wilson gets in his initial preseason game reps, Joe Flacco and Mike White will be next in line to take reps under center.

Jones is unlikely to play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Giants, based on how the quarterback was used in Tuesday's practice, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

The Patriots have yet to formally announce their plans for Thursday's game, but Reiss suggests that if Jones is held out of the contest, rookie Bailey Zappe will likely see plenty of work at quarterback behind Brian Hoyer.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that Lock will get more reps with the first-team offense, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

The Seahawks have given Geno Smith every chance to run away with the starting job, but Smith -- who has taken most of the reps with the starting offense during training camp -- has struggled thus far, and Lock has shown enough flashes to make this a true competition. To that end, Carroll intends to have Lock and Smith rotate in with the first-team offense so that whomever wins the job will have familiarity with star receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Smith will start in Saturday's preseason game against the Steelers, but expect both quarterbacks to get some reps with the starters, though it's unclear how much Metcalf and Lockett will play in the exhibition.

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said Wednesday that Mayfield and Sam Darnold will both take the field during Saturday's preseason opener against Washington, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

Mayfield appears to have pulled ahead in Carolina's quarterback competition, per Ellis Williams of The Charlotte Observer, but Rhule didn't reveal whether Mayfield or Darnold will start Saturday's contest. The Panthers aren't expected to declare a regular-season starter until after the second preseason game Aug. 19 at New England, though a strong performance in the opener could go a long way in Mayfield's favor.

Smith will start Seattle's preseason opener Saturday against Pittsburgh, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Drew Lock reportedly outplayed Smith by a wide margin in Seattle's mock game Tuesday, but it won't be enough to flip the depth chart, at least not yet. Smith has taken most of the first-team reps this summer, after completing 65 of 95 passes for 702 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in four games last season. The numbers are impressive at first glance, but Smith also took 13 sacks for 117 yards and added only 42 yards rushing. No qualified passer had a sack rate worse than 11.8 percent (Justin Fields) in 2021, while Smith was at 12 percent over the limited sample.

Head coach Nick Sirianni said Hurts and the starting offense will handle one or two series during Friday's preseason opener against the Jets, Bo Wulf of The Athletic reports.

The quarterback may end up commanding an offense without the protection of two of his top linemen in Jordan Mailata (concussion) or Jason Kelce (elbow). Even if he's on the field for only a brief period of time, Hurt will be able to get in some meaningful game reps with new top wideout A.J. Brown, though DeVonta Smith (groin) could sit out as he continues to deal with a minor injury.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said Lawrence and the team's other starters will play in Friday's preseason game against Cleveland, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Pederson estimated his starters will play a couple of drives, after he held them out of last week's Hall of Fame Game entirely. Lawrence has job security, of course, but it would still be encouraging to see him put on a decent performance in the preseason following a disappointing rookie season.