NFL Player News

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.

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.