NFL Player News

Cookus is signing with the Vikings on Monday, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Cookus' chance in Minnesota comes while all of Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond and Nate Stanley are going through the league's COVID-19 protocols. For the time being, only Cookus and Jake Browning will be available to take reps under center.

Jackson (illness), who is on the reserve/COVID-19 list, won't return to practice until Friday or Saturday at the earliest, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

Until Jackson, who Zrebiec indicates recently tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in nine months, is cleared to return to action, Trace McSorley and Tyler Huntley are in line handle the the majority of the Ravens' QB reps at practice.

Allen is watching practice Monday after tweaking his surgically repaired ankle Saturday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Allen was cleared to practice at the beginning of training camp, but coach Ron Rivera suggested the QB wasn't back at full strength, and a setback early in camp reinforces that notion. Realistically, Allen will hope to compete for the backup job with Taylor Heinicke, who is said to be competing with Ryan Fizpatrick for the starting job. As things stand, Allen appears on track for the No. 3 job, assuming Washington even keeps three signal-callers.

Trask, whose reps in training camp have been fairly limited thus far because of the players in front of him, nevertheless is picking up a great deal from daily one-on-one sessions with coaches and from the other players in the quarterback room, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Florida product unsurprisingly is doing a lot of listening and not much throwing at the moment, as Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin all are prioritized in terms of getting practice reps. Nevertheless, Trask is making the best of the situation by getting some early work in each day with quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen and also peppering his experienced position mates with plenty of questions during film study. Trask could well end up a healthy inactive most weeks this coming season, but given that Brady and Gabbert particularly may not see much action in the preseason, the rookie could get a solid allotment of live reps during the three exhibition contests.

Luton (illness) was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, John Reid of the Florida Times-Union reports.

Luton spent a week on the COVID-19 list after he tested positive for the virus, but he'll return to the team after he missed the first few days of practice. The 25-year-old recorded 624 passing yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions as a rookie in 2020.

Lance has impressed early on in training camp with his arm strength and scrambling ability, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Lance's strong arm and athleticism were the skills that enamored the 49ers' front office leading up to the draft, so it's no surprise that he put those skills on display early in camp. The rookie's accuracy from the pocket and ability to pick up coach Kyle Shanahan's complex playbook will be what determines when he truly is ready to take the reins of San Francisco's offense. Shanahan was clear in his intentions to start incumbent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to begin the 2021 campaign, but if Lance stays aggressive and progresses quickly this preseason, then he may find himself starting sooner than expected.

Winston practiced with the first-team offense Saturday, Mike Triplett of ESPN reports.

Head coach Sean Payton seems to be keeping his word that both Winston and Taysom Hill will rotate practices with the first-team offense. While Hill practiced with the starters for the first two days of training camp, Winston had those honors Saturday, and the 27-year-old reportedly has impressed Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr., who deemed Winston a "quick study." However, there remains no substantial evidence to suggest either Winston or Hill is in the lead for the starting job, and it's possible that won't change until the end of the preseason.

Mills spent time with the first-team offense Saturday, as Tyrod Taylor (personal) was not at practice, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It was a red-zone day for the Texans, and Mills started well, throwing touchdown strikes to Jordan Akins and Chris Conley. Later, however, he was picked off twice by safety Justin Reid. Overall, the rookie threw five interceptions, per Aaron Reiss of The Athletic. Houston head coach David Culley took a big-picture view, noting it was a good learning experience for Mills, the 2021 third-round draft pick that is expected to back up Taylor and possibly Jeff Driskel.

Taylor did not practice Saturday for personal reasons, Aaron Wilson of Houston Sports News reports.

Coach David Culley said Taylor's absence was excused, and that the 31-year-old will be back with the team Monday. Taylor's personal day gave rookie quarterback Davis Mills an opportunity to work with the first-team offense, while Jeff Driskel handled second-team reps. Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson once again participated in camp activities but didn't handle any full-team work. Through the early days of training camp, Taylor has operated as Houston's clear top option at quarterback.

Browning will receive all the reps at quarterback with Kirk Cousins (undisclosed), Kellen Mond (illness) and Nate Stanley (undisclosed) sidelined due to the COVID-19 protocols, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Mond tested positive for the virus, while Cousins and Stanley are sidelined until they clear the protocols as apparent close contacts, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Browning, a 2019 UDFA, faces long odds to make the season-opening roster, but he'll have an opportunity to showcase himself with the other quarterbacks out of the picture for the immediate future.