NFL Player News

Jacksonville named Lawrence its starting quarterback for Week 1 against Houston, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

The first overall pick hasn't exactly knocked it out of the park this preseason, but neither has Gardner Minshew, who presumably needed a huge summer to make his case for the Week 1 start, if he even had a chance at all. Lawrence has completed 20 of 32 passes (62.5 percent) for 184 yards (5.8 YPA) through two preseason games, with three sacks, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He's carried just once for nine yards, but his work in college suggests he should run for at least a few hundred yards and multiple TDs per season in the NFL. Lawrence will start his career with a soft matchup, traveling to Houston to face the AFC South's other rebuilding team.

Watson worked out on a field away from the practice area Tuesday, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Watson is not injured but has not been taking part in team drills. He attends meetings and works out on the side or on another field by himself. Watson did not travel with Houston for its first two preseason games, and the team is preparing to move forward without him.

Wolford isn't expected to play Saturday after coach Sean McVay said QB Bryce Perkins would play the entire game against the Broncos, with Wolford serving only as an emergency option with no other backup quarterbacks on the roster, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Wolford remains the projected backup to No. 1 quarterback Matthew Stafford heading into the 2021 season. It's encouraging to hear Wolford has quickly recovered from the appendectomy he underwent earlier this month, and he ran all of the second-team reps during practice Monday. While there probably isn't a lot of current fantasy upside with the third-year signal caller in most settings, McVay has shown confidence in Wolford in the past because of his dual-threat potential.

Winston is ahead of Taysom Hill in the competition to be the Saints' starting quarterback, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. "It's very clear to me that Jameis Winston is the leader in the clubhouse," Rapoport said Tuesday.

Winston put together an impressive showing Monday against the Jaguars, tossing touchdowns on two of his three drives. Specifically, a 43-yard TD to Marquez Callaway was referenced by Rapoport as a throw "that (Drew) Brees has not made in many, many years." Overall, Winston is a combined 16-for-22 for 219 yards, three touchdowns and one interception through two preseason games. As for Hill, he's been a bit more uneven during exhibition season. If Winston ultimately wins the job, he still may have to yield the occasional gadget play or red-zone opportunity to Hill, as Brees did before him the past few campaigns.

Jackson is likely to play in Saturday's preseason game at Washington, as he's one of just two healthy quarterbacks on Baltimore's roster after the team released Kenji Bahar on Tuesday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

The other is Tyler Huntley, who hopes to usurp Trace McSorley for the No. 2 role behind Jackson. The Ravens will probably give the backup more snaps, but it makes sense to give Jackson a bit of run after he missed the first two games of the preseason. The Ravens offense has been hamstrung by injuries to wide receivers and offensive linemen all summer, but the latter situation is finally improving, if not the former. Assuming he does play, Jackson's top targets Saturday could be young players competing for depth roles like Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace and Josh Oliver

The Seahawks waived McGough on Monday, John Clayton of ESPN Seattle reports.

McGough has spent time with the Jacksonville, Houston and, most recently, Seattle practice squads, but the 25-year-old has never seen a snap in an NFL regular season game. The Seahawks currently have three quarterbacks on their roster -- Russell Wilson, Geno Smith and Sean Mannion.

Beathard completed nine of 14 pass attempts for 121 yards and two touchdowns during Monday's preseason game against the Saints.

Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew continue to operate as Jacksonville's top two quarterbacks, but Beathard has played well in the No. 3 role. He completed 13 of 16 pass attempts for 102 yards and a touchdown during the preseason opener last week. The veteran signal-caller is doing his best so far in the preseason to show the Jaguars he's fit to be the top backup.

Siemian completed four of eight passes for 59 yards during Monday's preseason victory over Jacksonville.

Siemian got some run after not getting any action in the preseason opener when Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill and Ian Book shared all of the snaps. However, with head coach Sean Payton reportedly looking to name a starting quarterback before Saturday's preseason finale against Arizona, it's possible that both of the top candidates in Winston and Hill could be done for the preseason. Siemian, a 30-year-old pocket passer, would subsequently figure to split snaps with Book this weekend, though it's clear he has nonexistent rushing upside compared to the dual-threat rookie with 4.59 speed.

Fields will start Saturday's preseason game against the Titans, likely playing about two quarters, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Andy Dalton, confirmed as the Week 1 starter, won't play in the preseason finale, but the Bears do plan to play at least some of their O-line starters for a brief period at the beginning of the game. In any case, Fields gets another chance to put pressure on Dalton, who already seems on thin ice for anything beyond the season opener. The rookie has completed 23 of 39 passes (59 percent) for 222 yards (5.7 YPA) through two preseason games with one touchdown and one interception, plus nine carries for 76 yards.

Minshew completed 13 of 21 passes for 149 yards and an interception in Monday night's 23-21 preseason loss to the Saints.

Minshew entered after watching rookie top pick Trevor Lawrence complete 14 of 23 attempts for 113 yards in the first half, managing just three points on six drives. Although Minshew was more efficient and had the Jags on the doorstep of scoring, his interception from the opposing two-yard line put a big damper on his performance. The third-year pro already was facing an uphill battle to be named starter over Lawrence, and even though that determination is yet to be made, it wouldn't be surprising if Minshew learns his second-string fate sometime soon.