NFL Player News

Prescott and most other starters aren't expected to play in Friday's final preseason game against Seattle, with the Cowboys looking ahead to their Week 1 matchup with the Buccaneers, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Prescott hasn't played in the preseason since coach Mike McCarthy took over, and this year it had nothing to do with an injury or pandemic. The 29-year-old QB stayed healthy throughout spring and summer after having minor surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in February, but he may nonetheless find the upcoming season more challenging than last, as the Cowboys no longer have WR Amari Cooper, won't have WR Michael Gallup (knee) for Week 1 and expect LT Tyron Smith (knee) to miss most or all of the season. Prescott still has WR CeeDee Lamb and TE Dalton Schultz at his disposal, plus RBs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, so it's not like he won't have some help when the Cowboys square off with Tom Brady and Co. on Sunday Night Football in Week 1.

Coach Mike Tomlin relayed that Trubisky will start Sunday's preseason finale against the Lions.

Per Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site, Trubisky will be followed in the contest by Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph. At this stage, the team has yet to declare a Week 1 starting QB, but Trubisky has been viewed as the favorite on that front. That said, Pickett -- the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft -- remains a threat to overtake his veteran counterpart at some point, and how the two fare in Sunday's action could well add some intrigue to the competition.

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes that the expectation is for Jones and most of the Patriots' top players to see minimal action in Friday's preseason finale against the Raiders.

Per Reiss, Jones and company got in some good work during a pair of joint practices with the Raiders this week, so it seems likely that key starters who suit up Friday will log limited snaps. In that context, rookie QB Bailey Zappe is a candidate to see extended action in New England's exhibition finale.

Love completed 16 of 26 passes for 148 yards and an interception in Thursday's preseason game against Kansas City. He also gained five yards on his only carry.

The 23-year-old got the start at quarterback for the Packers and played into the second half, and while Love's numbers weren't great he did did engineer two scoring drives, leading to all 10 of Green Bay's points on the night. The 2020 first-round pick will back up Aaron Rodgers once again this season, a role which afforded him only one start and 62 total pass attempts last year.

Lance played the first three drives of Thursday's 17-0 preseason loss to the Texans, completing seven of 11 passes for 49 yards and adding one yard on one rushing attempt.

Lance targeted each of Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk once, but all three passes fell incomplete. The only sustained drive Lance led was his last, which ended with a turnover on downs in Houston territory. Lance's preseason was a mixed bag, as he played well in limited action in the preseason opener, then sat out the second game before posting this clunker in the third. The dual-threat quarterback is heading into his first season as San Francisco's starter after spending most of last season sitting behind Jimmy Garoppolo.

Mills completed six of 10 passes for 58 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Thursday's 17-0 preseason win over the 49ers.

You wouldn't know it from his modest stat line, but Mills actually played the entire first half and the first drive of the second half for Houston, capping his final possession of the game with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Chris Moore. The Texans did most of their damage on the ground, which is something the team failed to find success at during Mills' rookie season. If rookie running back Dameon Pierce -- who capped Houston's opening drive with a one-yard touchdown -- can breathe life into the Texans' rushing attack in 2022, that could free up more space for the Mills-led Houston passing game.

Cousins doesn't expect to play in Saturday's preseason finale against the Broncos, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Supporting the notion that Cousins will be held out of the contest is that coach Kevin O'Connell doesn't expect many, if any, of Minnesota's starters to play versus Denver. In that context, Sean Mannion, Kellen Mond and Nick Mullens would be the team's QB options Saturday.

Coach Robert Saleh said he's comfortable waiting until the week of New York's season opener against the Ravens to name a starter between Wilson (knee) and Joe Flacco, Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports.

The Jets believe Wilson knows the offense well enough to jump into game action with just a week of preparation, but it's unclear if he'll have even that much before Week 1 as the second-year quarterback recovers from a meniscus tear and bone bruise in his knee. Flacco is handling first-team QB reps while Wilson recovers, but Wilson will be reinserted as the starter as soon as he's deemed healthy enough to play.

Wolford (hand) missed practice on Thursday after having a fingernail on his throwing hand ripped off Wednesday, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Wolford's status for Saturday's preseason finale against the Bengals will come down to pain tolerance, as the loss of a fingernail on a quarterback's throwing hand makes it difficult to grip the football without pain. If Wolford is unable to play, Bryce Perkins will get a solid opportunity to stake his claim for the role of primary backup to Matthew Stafford.

Jackson won't play in Saturday's exhibition against Washington, with the Ravens holding him out all preseason ahead of a Week 1 matchup with the Jets, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Ravens played it safe with Jackson, who put on muscle in the offseason and figures to lead a run-first offense after last year's squad shifted more toward the pass. The team is counting on TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman to pull a lot of weight in the passing game, with Jackson's ancillary weapons mostly being young, unproven mid-round picks. He'll do much of his damage on the ground this year, but his Week 1 matchup may be more favorable from a passing standpoint, as the Jets' D-line is the relative strength of a mostly shaky defense.