NFL Player News

Dobbs is expected to finish the second half in Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game against the Cowboys, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Press-Gazette reports.

The Steelers plan to rest Ben Roethlisberger in Thursday's preseason opener, so Dobbs will follow Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins in the exhibition game. The 2017 fourth-rounder has an uphill climb to secure a spot on the 53-man roster while competing against Rudolph and Haskins, who both have more in-game experience than Dobbs.

Rudolph will start Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game against the Cowboys, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Coach Mike Tomlin plans to rest Ben Roethlisberger on Thursday, so Rudolph will begin the preseason opener under center. The 26-year-old will be replaced by Dwayne Haskins to close out the first half before Joshua Dobbs enters the contest to finish the second half. Rudolph appeared in five games during the 2020 campaign and completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 324 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He's had more in-game experience than Dobbs across the last two seasons, but he'll face competition for the Steelers' No. 2 job at quarterback from Haskins during training camp and in the preseason. The Steelers will likely give Roethlisberger plenty of rest ahead of his age-39 season, so Rudolph should have plenty of opportunities to play during the team's four exhibition games.

Prescott (shoulder) won't play in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Steelers, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Prescott spent the offseason rehabbing his surgically repaired right ankle, making enough progress to be a full participant at the start of training camp. There was an expectation he would make an appearance during exhibition season, but a strain in his right throwing shoulder has thrown a wrench into those plans. As of Wednesday, Prescott has missed four practices in a row, instead going through individual drills before moving on to conditioning work on the side. After Thursday's contest, the Cowboys have three more preseason games on the schedule, so Prescott is likely aiming to be available for action Aug. 21 versus the Texans. Head coach Mike McCarthy has described that game as the Cowboys' dress rehearsal for the regular season.

Watson missed practice again Wednesday due to an apparent foot injury, Coty Davis of The USA Today reports.

Even once he's past the reported foot issue, Watson's status with the Texans remains unclear. Between Watson's desire to be traded and his pending legal situation, there's plenty of uncertainly with regard to how things will play out between the signal-caller and the franchise that drafted him in 2017. While Watson's participation in training camp has been limited, Tyrod Taylor continues to handle Houston's first-team reps in practice.

Head coach Mike Zimmer said he expects Cousins (COVID-19 health and safety protocols) to return to the Vikings' facilities Thursday, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Cousins was merely a close contact of Kellen Mond -- who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday -- and didn't catch the virus himself. Once the Vikings activate Cousins from the reserve/COVID-19 list, the quarterback room will inch closer to full health, with only Mond out of commission for another five days, at least.

Ehlinger has been taking the majority of the Colts' second-team quarterback reps at practice, Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan Indianapolis reports.

Meanwhile, Jacob Eason has settled in with the first-team offense after Carson Wentz underwent a foot procedure earlier this week. Ehlinger joined the Colts as a sixth-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but with Wentz out, the Texas product will have an opportunity to gain valuable training camp and preseason experience working behind Eason, a second-year player who has yet to take an NFL snap.

Stafford (thumb) handled a full workload at Tuesday's practice, Stu Jackson of the Rams' official site reports.

A thumb contusion couldn't stop Stafford from suiting up for the first day of padded practice with his new team. He should be fine to make an appearance this preseason, though Rams head coach Sean McVay has typically been cautious with his starters in August.

Burrow and the Cincinnati offense have struggled to move the ball in training-camp practices, with the Bengals' defensive line often putting intense pressure on the team's quarterbacks, Jay Morrison and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

There are two big concerns about Burrow heading into 2021; how mobile he is after recovering from a torn ACL and MCL, and how well his offensive line will be able to protect him. Thus far, the second concern hasn't been put to rest. It's not unusual for defenses to be ahead of offenses at this time of year, but the way Dehner describes the imbalance -- ("... most lopsided practice in a long time ...") -- is certainly disturbing.

Johnson agreed to a contract with the Jets and will practice with the team Wednesday, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The Jets are one of the many teams with whom the journeyman has prior experience, though Johnson spent less than two weeks on the roster back in 2015. The 35-year-old quarterback has seen action in only three regular-season games since 2013 and none since 2018, but he could make a legitimate bid for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart in New York. Behind No. 2 overall pick and clear-cut starter Zach Wilson, the Jets' remaining backup options are James Morgan and Mike White, who have zero NFL regular-season snaps between them.

Stafford (thumb) took part in a number of drills at Tuesday's practice, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Stafford kicked off the session with some light throws, proceeded to take snaps in the shotgun, moved on to handoffs with running backs and then connected with both Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp deep down the field. If Stafford hadn't emerged from Monday's practice with a swollen right thumb due to hitting his hand on a teammate's helmet, it appeared he was going through his usual routine. According to Rodrigue, Stafford had X-rays come back negative and was scheduled to have the day off Tuesday, but he felt well enough to go through a full workload and still felt good after practice. He appears to have avoided any serious concerns, though it's worth keeping an eye on his practice work until fully recovered.