NFL Player News

Tagovailoa (concussion/ankle) is in line to prepare this week as the Dolphins' starting QB for Sunday night's game against the Steelers, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN reports.

Tagovailoa, who hasn't suited up since Miami's loss to the Bengals on Sept. 29, thus is in line to return to the lineup after a two-game absence, barring any setbacks. Wednesday's injury report will reveal whether he's listed as a full or limited practice participant, but Adam Schefter of ESPN previously indicated that Tagovailoa was cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol Saturday.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said that Thompson is considered day-to-day after sustaining a right thumb injury in Sunday's 24-16 loss to the Vikings, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Thompson was forced to exit and did not return during the first start of his career Sunday. While McDaniel did not provide specifics on the severity of this injury, it's unlikely to affect the seventh-round rookie's playing time, as quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater are both expected to be available again after clearing concussion protocols Saturday. Thompson completed 26 of his 46 passes for 255 yards and an interception over the past two games for Miami, and he will now fall back into a role as the third-string quarterback.

Coach Mike McCarthy indicated that Prescott (thumb) is in line to be cleared medically Monday or Tuesday and then practice Wednesday, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

At this stage, McCarthy hasn't confirmed that Prescott -- who last suited up Week 1 -- will start Sunday's game against the Lions, but the QB clearly is trending in the right direction. In any case, added clarity regarding Prescott's Week 7 status should arrive no later than Wednesday, assuming he participates in practice as anticipated.

Winston (back/ankle) was listed as a limited participant on Monday's estimated injury report, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Winston was active for Week 6, but he's still not 100 percent and operated as a backup to Andy Dalton (back). Per Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com, Winston won't be thrust into game action until he's back to full strength, so if Dalton is available, expect the veteran quarterback to continue drawing starts for New Orleans.

Dalton (back) was listed as a limited participant on Monday's estimated injury report, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Dalton has started three consecutive contests in place of Jameis Winston (back/ankle), who was active for Week 6 but still isn't 100 percent, but the former appears to have picked up an injury of his own. The extent of Dalton's back issue remains unclear, but injury reports Tuesday and Wednesday should provide further clarity on the situation.

Interim coach Steve Wilks expects Darnold (ankle) to come off injured reserve and practice this week, though he's unsure if Darnold can get up to speed quickly enough to face the Buccaneers on Sunday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Darnold has been on injured reserve since suffering a high-ankle sprain prior to the season. Once cleared for game action, Darnold could be handed the starting role quickly given the injuries to Baker Mayfield (ankle) and P.J. Walker (neck), which has left Jacob Eason as Carolina's only healthy quarterback.

Heinicke will bump up to the top of Washington's quarterback depth chart while Carson Wentz recovers from a fractured ring finger on his throwing hand.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Wentz's recovery is expected to take 4-to-6 weeks, so Heinicke should enjoy a multi-game run atop the depth chart. Heinicke will reclaim Washington's starting quarterback job beginning with Sunday's game against the Packers. He led Washington to a 7-8 record in his 15 starts last season while posting a 20:15 TD:INT and averaging 6.9 yards per attempt.

Winston (back/ankle) still isn't 100 percent, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Despite being active for Week 6, Winston hasn't put his back and ankle issues behind him and isn't expected to see the field until he does. New Orleans returns to action Thursday against Arizona, and while Winston again may be active, expect Andy Dalton to continue operating as the Saints' top signal-caller, while Taysom Hill garners his usual Swiss Army knife role.

Prescott (thumb) threw about 50 passes to receivers before Sunday night's game against the Eagles and didn't appear to have any issues with the velocity of his passes or with taking snaps, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

"I thought Dak took the next step," coach Mike McCarthy said. "It was what we're looking for. He had a good day yesterday in the Saturday practice. He threw two sequences, two racks of six in the 7-on-7 third down and red zone. I thought he did well in that. We wanted to push it to 50 throws [Sunday], and I thought the guys did a great job for him. ... We'll get him in there tomorrow, see where we are, and hopefully have a plan for him Thursday." Everything appears to be pointing toward Prescott returning to the lineup Week 7 against the Lions.

Rush completed just 18 of 38 pass attempts for 181 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in Sunday's 26-17 loss to the Eagles.

Rush was harassed from start to finish, resulting in his worst outing since being forced to take over as the Cowboys' starting quarterback in Week 2. The 28-year-old had flourished as a game manager with four touchdowns and no turnovers over his last four starts before getting exposed by Philadelphia's secondary Sunday. Rush's run as starter may come to a close ahead of next Sunday's tilt against the Lions, as Dak Prescott (thumb) was able to get in a throwing session before Sunday's primetime loss. The quarterback situation in Dallas should become clearer as we progress through the upcoming practice week.