NFL Player News

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan would't commit to Lance being the team's starting quarterback in 2022 when asked about the matter Tuesday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports..

While Shanahan's unwillingness to appoint Lance to the starting role may seem worrisome to those in redraft or dynasty leagues who have invested in the 2021 first-round pick, at the same time, the coach also expressed confidence in the second-year signal-caller's ability to handle the starting job if called upon in 2022. In all likelihood, Shanahan's comments are a means of drumming up trade value for Jimmy Garoppolo (shoulder), who still remains in San Francisco while the market for starting quarterbacks around the league has mostly settled at this point in the offseason. Garoppolo already noted earlier in the offseason that he didn't expect to remain in San Francisco in 2022, and it wouldn't make much sense from a cap-management standpoint for San Francisco to keep the veteran and his massive $27 million cap hit around past the June 1 deadline to cut him with minimal financial repercussions. The possibility exists that the 49ers could ask Garoppolo to restructure his deal at a more palatable salary, but even in that scenario, the 30-year-old wouldn't be guaranteed to retain the starting gig. Even in the unlikely event that Garoppolo is still on the San Francisco roster by the summer, the smart money would still be on Lance getting the keys to Shanahan's offense in 2022.

Dalton agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract worth up to $6 million with the Saints, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Schefter reports that Dalton's deal includes $3 million guaranteed. The 34-year-old, who logged six starts for the Bears in 2021, gives the Saints an experienced backup option behind presumed starter Jameis Winston (knee). Taysom Hill will primarily see snaps as a tight end instead of at quarterback in 2022.

Coach Mike McDaniel described Bridgewater (concussion) as the Dolphins' "backup" quarterback during Monday's press conference at the NFL's annual league meetings, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports.

Bridgewater recently declined to discuss the role promised to him after signing with Miami, but McDaniel has now made absolutely clear that the plan moving forward is for the 29-year-old to enter Week 1 as the No. 2 option. McDaniel said the priority for Bridgewater and the coaching staff is "empowering Tua [Tagovailoa] to be the player he can be." Bridgewater, who missed the final four games of the 2021 season with a concussion, is one of the more accomplished and capable backups in the league, and he could certainly provide valuable mentorship for Tagovailoa, who is heading into a make-or-break third year in the NFL.

Winston indicated Monday that he's "ahead of schedule" in his recovery from a torn ACL.

The QB, who the Saints re-signed to a two year deal last week, added that he'll be back "well before training camp." Winston is bouncing back from knee surgery that he underwent in mid-November, but with his rehab evidently progressing well, the 28-year-old is trending toward being ready for Week 1 action. While it remains to be seen exactly when Winston will be able to practice fully, his 2022 fantasy prospects are bolstered by the fact that top target Michael Thomas (ankle) is on track to rejoin the team's wideout mix after missing last season, as well as the return to the fold of Tre'Quan Smith, who re-upped with New Orleans on Monday.

Coach Josh McDaniels said Monday the Raiders are "trying to build around" Carr but spoke vaguely about a potential contract extension for the starting quarterback, Vic Tafur of The Athletic reports.

McDaniels' comments come less than two weeks after Tafur's report that initial discussions between Carr and Las Vegas regarding an extension had begun. Earlier this month, McDaniels confirmed that Carr will enter the 2022 campaign as the Raiders' starting quarterback, and the team since has added a new No. 1 wide receiver to the offensive arsenal in the form of Davante Adams. Despite significant moves to bolster the roster, though, McDaniel's statement that the signal-caller is "going to have to make decisions about what's best for him," along with what appears to be a disgruntled response from Carr's representatives, would seem to indicate that little progress toward a new contract has been made. Currently, Carr is positioned to play out the final year of his contract in the 2022 season, with his $19.8 million salary representing a positional bargain for the Raiders.

GM Scott Fitterer noted Friday that Darnold is currently "in the lead" for the Panthers' starting QB job, ESPN's David Newton reports.

That said, less than a month ago Fitterer suggested that the job was "open,'' but at this stage P.J. Walker is the only other signal-caller on Carolina's roster. With that in mind, Fitterer indicated that the team intends to "add a lot of competition to (the QB) room" while adding he still hopes that Darnold can take the opportunity and run with it. It remains be seen if the Panthers bring in a veteran to compete with Darnold, elect to use a premium draft pick on a young QB, or both, but in the wake of a flurry of movement involving several high-profile players at his position, Darnold, at least for now, remains atop a Carolina depth chart that has yet to be filled out.

Siemian signed a two-year deal with the Bears on Thursday, according to his agent, Mike McCartney.

Siemian spent the 2021 season primarily as the backup in New Orleans. However, he did start for a string of five games in the middle of the season, during which he completed 57.2 percent of his passes for 1,083 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. While Siemian won't have the opportunity to start in Chicago barring an injury to Justin Fields, he has proven to be a solid backup and viable spot starter throughout his five-year career. Nick Foles also remains in the picture, but he was often a healthy scratch when the rest of the quarterback room was healthy in 2021.

The Rams tendered Wolford a contract Wednesday, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

As an exclusive rights free agent, Wolford can no longer negotiate with another team after being tendered by Los Angeles, which means he'll return to the Rams in 2022 as the backup to No. 1 quarterback Matthew Stafford. Wolford made three appearances in garbage time in 2021, with the Wake Forest's products most memorable NFL moments having come the season prior. While Jared Goff was sidelined due to thumb surgery for Week 17 of the 2020 season, Wolford started and led Los Angeles to a playoff-clinching win over the Cardinals.

Mahomes will have to contend with a revamped wideout corps in 2022 after the Chiefs traded top receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins on Wednesday in exchange for multiple draft picks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

In the wake of the move, the Chiefs' wideout ranks are currently headed by JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman, with Josh Gordon, Justin Watson, Cornell Powell, Gehrig Dieter and Corey Coleman on hand as depth. That said, the Chiefs are destined to add numbers at the position, either through what's left in the free-agent pool and/or via April's draft. Regardless, losing a proven target and playmaker like Hill isn't optimal with regard to Mahomes' fantasy upside, at least until there's added clarity with regard to Kansas City's wideout pecking order once the dust settles this offseason.

Tagovailoa is positioned to lead a revamped Dolphins offense in the 2022 season, with Miami most recently having acquired six-time Pro Bowl wideout Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs on Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The Dolphins will surrender significant draft capital in exchange for Hill, giving up five picks headlined by 2022 first-round and second-round selections. Even so, the pairing of Hill with 2021 rookie standout Jaylen Waddle can't be overstated. Heading into what looks like a make-or-break Year 3 campaign, Tagovailoa will not only have the benefit of an improved receiving corps that also returns Mike Gesicki and DeVante Parker, but he'll also get significant upgrades to his offensive line following the offseason pickups of left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) and left guard Connor Williams in free agency. Additionally, head coach Mike McDaniel could have a chance to finally provide Tagovailoa with a rushing game to rely on, given his success in San Francisco and the arrivals of Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert (knee). The flip side, of course, is that if Tagovailoa fails to make a leap forward in spite of all the offensive upgrades, he could quickly face pressure from new backup Teddy Bridgewater (concussion) for the starting job.