NFL Player News

Burrow (knee) said Tuesday in an interview with Chris Collinsworth on the "Pro Football Focus Podcast" that he's "very optimistic" about his rehab progress and expects to play Week 1, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

Working his way back from Dec. 2 surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL, Burrow has now resumed throwing from a dropback position, in addition to running and weightlifting. He isn't doing rollouts or any change-of-direction work, but that's to be expected at this middle stage of the rehab process. The 24-year-old says he's ahead of schedule and even believes he'll be able to practice at some point this summer.

Mahomes has regained flexibility in his left toe, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Mahomes underwent surgery Feb. 10 to repair a torn plantar plate in his left foot, with the expectation of a three-month recovery timeline. With everything seemingly on track, the superstar QB should be healthy for training camp and might even make some on-field appearances at the offseason program or June minicamp.

Dobbs signed a one-year deal with the Steelers on Wednesday, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The 2017 fourth-round pick returns to Pittsburgh to fill a depth role behind veteran starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He'll be competing with Dwayne Haskins and Mason Rudolph for the top backup job heading into 2021.

Mahomes (toe) was pictured attending the Masters Tournament without a walking boot Thursday, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Mahomes is nearing the end of his estimated three-month recovery timeframe for surgery surgery to repair a torn plantar plate in his left foot Feb. 10, and the fact that he's been cleared to shed his walking boot suggests that things are progressing on track. The NFL recently announced that clubs can kick off Phase One of offseason activities April 19, which includes small group workouts at team facilities, so an official update on Mahomes' health could come then. Of course, mandatory minicamps don't take place until June even in a typical year, and the NFL has yet to announce an offseason schedule beyond April 19's events.

The 49ers signed Sudfeld to a one-year contract Wednesday.

Sudfeld will join a crowded quarterback room in San Francisco that already includes Josh Rosen and Josh Johnson as depth options behind Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle). The 49ers could also invest their No. 3 overall pick in April's draft into a signal-caller, so the addition of Sudfeld could create robust competition even for the third spot on the depth chart.

The Panthers are allowing Bridgewater to talk with other teams to facilitate a potential trade, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The Sam Darnold trade didn't remove all of Bridgewater's leverage, as he still has a $10 million guarantee on his $17 million base salary for 2021. That means there's some chance he sticks around in Carolina, even if it's ultimately as a backup to Darnold. The Panthers seemingly prefer to trade Bridgewater, but that might be easier said than done at this point in the offseason.

Bridgewater could be traded after the Panthers acquired QB Sam Darnold on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The Panthers could instead ask Bridgewater to adjust his contract, though a $10 million guarantee on his $17 million base salary gives the quarterback an awful lot of leverage in negotiations. If he does end up staying in Carolina, he'll likely be given an opportunity to compete with Darnold for the starting job.

The Jets traded Darnold to the Panthers on Monday in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round pick and 2022 second-round and fourth-round picks.

The Jets ended up coming away with a strong haul for Darnold, who wasn't expected to be in the team's plans for 2021 with the likelihood of New York selecting a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft. As for the Panthers, a Teddy Bridgewater trade could be on deck, as Carolina plans to exercise the fifth-year option on Darnold's rookie contract, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Darnold thus looks positioned to enter 2021 as Carolina's starter, and though he struggled to find consistent success during his three years in New York, the Panthers are hopeful that offensive coordinator Joe Brady and a pass-catching corps highlighted by Robby Anderson, DJ Moore and Christian McCaffrey can get the best out of the 23-year-old signal-caller.

The Houston Police Department released a statement Friday regarding a report filed against Watson. "Today, a complainant filed a report with the Houston Police Department concerning Deshaun Watson. As with any allegation, the Houston Police Department is now conducting an investigation and will not comment further during the investigative process."

In recent weeks, 21 civil lawsuits have been filed against Watson alleging inappropriate conduct and sexual assault. The NFL opened an investigation into the matter March 18, at which time the Texans noted they "still stay in close contact with the league as they do" but "do not anticipate making any additional statements until" it concludes, per NFL.com. After Friday's complaint, Watson's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, released a statement on behalf of Watson. According to Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com, the statement said, "We welcome this long overdue development. Now we will learn the identity of at least one accuser. We will fully cooperate with the Houston Police Department." There appears to be no end in sight to Watson's situation as the legal system does its due diligence.

General manager Ryan Pace confirmed Friday that he views Dalton as the Bears' starting quarterback, Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

The Bears had already listed Dalton as the "QB1" heading into OTAs, but to see Pace so openly talk of him as the starter would seem to confirm that a competition with Nick Foles isn't being seriously considered. Per Hoge, the general manger discussed Dalton's style of play -- specifically his affinity for play-action, RPOs and ability to drop back -- as being a good fit for coach Matt Nagy's offense. Dalton should certainly offer Chicago more consistency under center than Mitchell Trubisky did in recent years, but it's also fair to question the fantasy ceiling of a 33-year-old quarterback who only managed two 4,000-yard passing seasons in nine years as a starter.