NFL Player News

Bridgewater (foot/quadriceps) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice and is officially listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Browns, Ryan O'Halloran of The Denver Post reports.

Bridgewater logged a trio of limited practices this week and doesn't necessarily look like a safe bet to play Thursday, though Broncos head coach Vic Fangio expressed optimism that the quarterback will gain clearance to suit up. However, Bridgewater himself was non-committal about his own status when he spoke to the media Tuesday. In the event that Bridgewater is cleared ahead of Thursday's 8:20 p.m. EDT kickoff, he'll take on a Browns team helmed by Case Keenum and without top running backs Nick Chubb (calf) and Kareem Hunt (calf).

Stidham (back) returned to practice Wednesday after the Patriots designated him to return from the PUP list, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.

The Patriots will have a 21-day period to evaluate Stidham for a return to the active roster. Brian Hoyer has been operating as the backup quarterback behind Mac Jones, but Stidham could reclaim the No. 2 role once he's officially activated.

Texans head coach David Culley confirmed that Mills will start Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

In a related note, Culley said Tyrod Taylor (hamstring) could return to practice this week and potentially come off injured reserve Week 8, but Mills will get at least one more start while Taylor is sidelined. Additionally, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston notes that Culley maintains that Taylor will reclaim his starting job when healthy, but that won't happen until the signal-caller's hamstring is "completely right." Through his first four starts in place of Taylor, Mills has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 6.7 yards per attempt and a 4:6 TD:INT.

Texans head coach David Culley said Wednesday that Taylor (hamstring) could log some practice time this week, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Meanwhile, Culley told Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston that Taylor, who is still on injured reserve, remains the Texans' starting QB when healthy, but isn't an option for Week 7 against the Cardinals. As a result, Houston will turn to Davis Mills to direct the offense for at least one more game.

The Browns will elevate Mullens from their practice squad to serve as Case Keenum's backup for Thursday night's contest against the Broncos, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

With Baker Mayfield (shoulder) ruled out for Thursday's contest, the Browns will elect to start Case Keenum and elevate Mullens to serve as his backup. The 26-year-old spent the preseason with Philadelphia, but he joined Cleveland's practice squad after Browns offensive assistant T.C. McCartney -- who coached Mullens in San Francisco -- vouched for him.

Mayfield (shoulder) won't start Thursday's game against the Broncos, but the Browns aren't ruling him out for their Week 8 contest Oct. 31 against the Steelers, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

The quarterback's potential return to action in Week 8 hinges on the inflammation in his left (non-throwing) shoulder going down. With Mayfield having been advised by team doctors to not push himself on a short week, Case Keenum will draw the start at quarterback for Cleveland on Thursday, with Nick Mullens in line to be elevated from the practice squad to serve as the team's backup.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced that Mayfield (shoulder) won't start Thursday's game against the Broncos, with Case Keenum instead drawing the nod at quarterback, Dan Labbe of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Though Mayfield was adamant that he could play Thursday despite tending to a complete labrum tear in his left non-throwing shoulder, the quick turnaround for the Week 7 contest ultimately prompted the Browns to heed the advice of doctors and err on the side of caution with the 26-year-old. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Mayfield now will shift his focus to rehabbing over the next few days with the hope of demonstrating enough progress to play Week 8 against the Steelers on Oct. 31, but Keenum will step in Thursday for his first start since 2019, when he was a member of Washington. Mayfield sees his streak of 51 consecutive regular-season starts come to an end as a result of the injury. Expect Cleveland to elevate Nick Mullens from the practice squad to back up Keenum after the team formally rules Mayfield out for Week 7 following the release of Wednesday's practice report.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Keenum will start Thursday's game against the Broncos in place of Baker Mayfield (shoulder), Dan Labbe of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Mayfield presumably will be ruled out for the contest while he recovers from a complete tear of the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, but the Browns haven't decided on his status beyond Week 7. Nonetheless, Keenum -- who came on in relief for Mayfield in last week's blowout loss to the Cardinals -- will step in under center for his first start since 2019, when he was with Washington. Keenum has plenty of experience running Stefanski's offensive system from their time together in 2017 with Minnesota, so the transition from Mayfield to Keenum could prove to be a relatively smooth one.

Bridgewater (foot) was limited at Tuesday's walkthrough, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

Bridgewater relayed Tuesday that he injured his foot Sunday against the Raiders when he was stepped on during his late TD pass to tight end Noah Fant (foot), who like his quarterback has been limited on both Week 7 practice reports. There have also been mixed signals from the Broncos, as coach Vic Fangio told Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com that he expects Bridgewater to play Thursday at Cleveland, while the signal-caller himself was more muted. During media availability, Bridgewater was non-committal, instead saying, "Honestly, we're just hitting it aggressively in the training room right now." Bridgewater will have one more chance to bump up to full activity Wednesday, at which point the Broncos could make a decision on his availability. Otherwise, the call likely won't be made until 90 minutes before Thursday's 8:20 p.m. EDT kickoff.

Ehlinger (knee) was activated off injured reserve Tuesday.

Ehlinger slots in as the team's third-string quarterback behind Carson Wentz and Brett Hundley following the news that the team released Jacob Eason on Tuesday. Ehlinger seems unlikely to see the field in 2021 barring injuries to the two ahead of him in the pecking order.