NFL Player News

Stafford has been diagnosed with a swollen right thumb after hitting his hand on a teammate's helmet at Monday's practice, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

After the play, Stafford had his thumb taped up, and eventual X-rays on the region returned negative. As a precaution, the Rams are expected to hold the quarterback out for a few days due to what's considered a minor injury. In Stafford's stead, John Wolford likely will get most of the run with the first-team offense, with Bryce Perkins and Devlin Hodges picking up any scraps.

Prescott (shoulder) won't throw in practice Tuesday, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

The report notes the QB hasn't suffered any setbacks with his strained right shoulder, with coach Mike McCarthy noting that the team is "just being more conservative" at this time and keeping the big picture in mind. Prescott won't play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Steelers, but could resume throwing next week, per Archer.

Watson has a minor foot injury and won't practice Tuesday, NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reports.

With the Texans putting on pads for Tuesday's practice, Watson might've been absent or limited even if he didn't have the foot issue. Between his standing trade request and the 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and misconduct, it isn't clear the 25-year-old quarterback has a professional future in Houston. However, Watson presumably will continue attending training camp, if only to avoid the possibility of $50,000 fines for each day missed.

Hurts was sharp at Monday's practice, enjoying his best day of training camp so far, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sports Radio 94 WIP Philadelphia agrees it was Hurts' best practice this summer, with highlights including perfect throws on a go route to Quez Watkins and a deep out to Travis Fulgham. The second-year QB completed nine of his first 10 passes in the team portion of practice, but on a less positive note, he did lose top receiver DeVonta Smith to a knee sprain later in the session. Shorr-Parks notes that Hurts has steadily improved throughout camp, building up to Tuesday when the Eagles put on pads for the first time under new coach Nick Sirianni.

Mills looked better in one-on-one and team drills Monday than he did Saturday, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Mills threw several interceptions when he stepped in with the first-team offense for red-zone drills Saturday, but he was reportedly more accurate Monday. "I thought he bounced back really well," Texans head coach David Culley said. "We expected that. What that tells me about him is he's not going to get rattled." Mills has been getting increased reps with Tyrod Taylor (personal) away from the team.

Trubisky has looked polished during the first week-plus of training camp, Dante Lasting of the Bills' official site reports. "Mitch has been a really good addition since he's been here," offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said Monday. "A guy that's played 50-some games. Has seen a lot of football. Standing back at that position, it's different than watching it from the press box, or watching it from the sideline, or anything like that. So, there are things that have happened to him throughout his young career so far that I think can help Josh and assist Josh, and vice-versa."

Trubisky has a 0.0 percent chance of unseating Josh Allen, but he was wisely brought in because the Bills were looking for someone that could run the offense in passable fashion to Allen should the latter ever go down with injury. And Trubisky fits that bill with his size and legs. Given the Bills' high-powered offense and his ability to do some damage on the ground, Trubisky should be toward the top of any cheatsheets once you get to the backup QB section.

Stafford hit his right thumb on a teammate's helmet during Monday's practice and was shut down from throwing for the rest of the day, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Stafford got his thumb taped up shortly after the incident, and according to Rodrigue, he appeared to have a good grip on his helmet and a towel. Coach Sean McVay said after practice that he didn't have further details on the injury, but he believes his starting quarterback will be okay. Stafford's status will be worth monitoring moving forward.

Beathard (undisclosed) was placed on the COVID-19 list Monday.

It's unclear whether Beathard tested positive for the virus or was deemed a close contact, but he'll be unavailable until he clears the COVID protocols regardless. Jake Luton should work as Jacksonville's No. 3 quarterback in the meantime.

Neither Lock nor Bridgewater is leading in the competition to be the Broncos' starting quarterback in 2021, Ryan O'Halloran of The Denver Post reports. "Still even Steven," said coach Vic Fangio on Monday. "There's been no separation. We're going to keep the rotation these next three days the way it's been."

Lock handled the initial offensive snap on the first practice of training camp last Wednesday, but he and Bridgewater proceeded to split those reps in ensuing sessions. As intimated by Fangio, who previously said in the offseason that the breakdown would be "50-50" between the pair, the status quo will reign for the foreseeable future, likely in both practice and during the preseason when the No. 1 offense is on the field. Lock hasn't exactly lit it up since the Broncos selected him in the second round of the 2019 draft, completing 59 percent of his passes, averaging 219.6 yards per game and putting together a 23:18 TD:INT in 18 starts. Meanwhile, Bridgewater is more of a game manager, so it'll be interesting to see if the Broncos opt for upside or stability under center this fall.

Fields isn't ready to supplant Andy Dalton as the starting quarterback, but the rookie is on the right track, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Although Fields has shown progress at camp each day, and he's at or beyond where the team needs him to be at the current moment, he's focusing on learning the finer details of being a quarterback at the NFL level. Ultimately, his performance in preseason games will show the coaching staff whether the rookie is able to continue improving while taking reps at the speed the practice games will present, but for now he remains behind Dalton on the depth chart.