NFL Player News

Coach Nick Sirianni said Sunday that he has yet to make a decision on Hurts' availability for Friday's preseason contest at the Jets, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Three days after taking a seat preseason Week 2 due to a non-COVID-19 illness, Hurts was back on the field in his usual capacity, but what is less clear is whether he'll get any more in-game reps before Week 1. Fortunately for Sirianni, he'll have joint practices with the Jets this week before having to make a call on Hurts and other key Eagles.

Hurts (illness) put in a full practice Sunday, Tim McManus of ESPN.com reports.

After sitting out preseason Week 2 with a non-COVID-19 illness, Hurts spent two days away from the team. Upon his return Sunday, he took part in stretches, tossed a few passes and progressed to team drills, taking part in every stage of the session. With his illness behind him, Hurts now will wait and see if coach Nick Sirianni will turn to the starters in Friday's exhibition at the Jets.

Jones is expected to play at least the first half of next Sunday's preseason finale against the Patriots, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports.

After working against the Browns in back-to-back practices this past week, coach Joe Judge opted to rest Giants starters this Sunday at Cleveland. With Jones poised to make his debut this exhibition season next weekend, he'll be working with many of his top skill-position players, but questions still surround whether Saquon Barkley (knee) and Kenny Golladay (hamstring) will suit up. In any case, Jones and the rest of the Giants offense soon will have their dress rehearsal for the regular season.

Hurts (illness) returned to practice Sunday, Josh Tolentino of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Hurts was a late scratch from Thursday's preseason game against the Patriots as he arrived at MetLife Stadium feeling ill and eventually went to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a non-COVID-19 illness and told to stay away from the Eagles for two days. After exactly that much time away, Hurts was in pads for the stretching portion of Sunday's session, but it's unclear how many reps he'll be able to log.

Boyle completed seven of 15 passes for 44 yards during Saturday's preseason loss to the Steelers.

After racking up stats during the 2019 preseason with the Packers, Boyle has completed just 50 percent of his passes with no passing touchdowns and a lowly mark of 2.7 yards per pass attempt this preseason. While the in-game struggles have prompted some to think David Blough could be making a push for the backup job behind Jared Goff, Boyle did have to go up against most of Pittsburgh's starting defense Saturday, and his struggles are understandable against a unit that finished third in total yards per game allowed (305.8) in 2020. The odds of Boyle keeping the No. 2 role ultimately seem to be in his favor, especially after he was signed to a $2.5 million deal in free agency.

Blough is making a case for the backup quarterback job behind Jared Goff, Justin Rogers of The Detroit News reports.

Tim Boyle had been the presumed backup after getting a one-year, $2.5 million deal in free agency, but Blough has given the coaching staff something to think about after seeming to perform significantly better than Boyle during the preseason. While Blough was playing against lesser competition than Boyle most of the time, it nonetheless was impressive that Blough inherited Boyle's 23-point halftime deficit Saturday and ultimately led three touchdown drives to bring Detroit within seven points from winning. Even if he hasn't passed Boyle on the depth chart, Blough could be convincing the Lions to carry three quarterbacks on the regular-season roster.

Coach Matt LaFleur said Love (shoulder) is slated to participate in individual drills at Monday's practice, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Love injured his right throwing shoulder on a strip sack preseason Week 1, which has held him out of drills in the meantime. LaFleur noted Love got in some tosses with the training staff this past week, per Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, and if all goes well Monday, the second-year signal-caller may get some work in team drills at Tuesday's session. Love hasn't been ruled out of the Packers' exhibition finale next Saturday at Buffalo, but his availability for the contest likely is contingent on how he progresses in the coming days.

Walker completed just one of eight passes for eight yards in Saturday's 20-3 preseason loss to the Ravens.

Walker watched Will Grier start and complete 11 of 14 passes for 144 yards prior to entering the game during the third quarter. From there, Walker struggled to move the ball whatsoever, enabling Grier's performance to close the gap on the competition to serve as Sam Darnold's backup this season. With that job still up for grabs, Friday's exhibition finale versus the Steelers takes on increased importance for Walker and Grier.

Grier completed 11 of 14 passes for 144 yards in Saturday's 20-3 preseason loss to the Ravens.

Grier started and played until the second drive of the second half, impressing with his performance along the way. Although Carolina managed just three points, Grier had a couple connections of over 25 yards to rookies Chuba Hubbard and Terrace Marshall. His efficient play contrasted teammate P.J. Walker's 1-for-8 passing outing, tightening the competition to serve as Sam Darnold's backup going into Friday's exhibition finale versus the Steelers.

Rush could be putting pressure on Garrett Gilbert for the No. 2 QB job behind Dak Prescott (shoulder), Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com reports.

Rush was by far the most effective signal-caller for the Cowboys on Saturday night, completing 10 of 12 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Gilbert, who got the start, completed three of five passes for 30 yards and lost a fumble, and Ben DiNucci was picked off three times by the Texans' second and third-string defenders in the second half. Any camp battle could wind up moot if the team brings in a more established veteran after rosters get cut down across the league, but based on Saturday's showing Rush is making a case to surpass Gilbert on the current depth chart.