NFL Player News

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.

Mond tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Mond will be away from the team until he clears the health and safety protocols. Kirk Cousins and Nate Stanley are also unavailable while going through the protocols as apparent close contacts. Jake Browning will receive all the reps at quarterback for Minnesota for the immediate future.

Cousins (undisclosed) is unavailable while going through the COVID-19 protocols, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Kellen Mond tested positive for the virus, so it appears Cousins is sidelined as a close contact until he clears the protocols. Nate Stanley (undisclosed) is also caught up in the protocols, leaving Jake Browning to take all the reps at quarterback for the immediate future.

Allen injured his ankle in practice Saturday, Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic reports.

It's unclear yet how severe the injury is and whether it has any relation to the broken ankle Allen suffered last October and had surgically repaired. Allen's currently third on Washington's depth chart behind Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke, and he can ill afford to miss much time if he wants to surpass at least one of those alternatives. He'll try to heal up in time to participate in Washington's Aug. 12 preseason opener.

Stidham underwent surgery Wednesday for a back injury and is expected to miss around 12 weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Stidham was placed on the PUP list last week and it appears he'll continue to be saddled with the designation when the regular season rolls around. Even when he's cleared for action, Stidham ranks third, at best, on the Patriots' depth chart at quarterback behind Cam Newton and 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones, so his absence shouldn't have many fantasy ramifications.

Coach Vic Fangio said Friday that he hasn't seen any separation in the competition between Bridgewater and Drew Lock, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Lock got the first snap of training camp, but with the stipulation that Bridgewater would take just as many reps with the starters this summer. While that may be the case for a few more weeks, the Broncos eventually will want to focus on preparing one or the other for Week 1 against the Giants. Until then, we'll look for any possible signs of one QB moving ahead of the other in their battle for the starting job.

Allen isn't part of Washington's quarterback competition at the moment, but he could enter the fray once he proves his surgically repaired ankle is back at full strength, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Coach Ron Rivera is calling it an open competition for the starting job between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke, though it'll be a major surprise if the latter actually ends up starting Week 1. Allen starting would be an even bigger surprise -- realistically, he's more likely to lose his roster spot than win the starting job. In any case, the 25-year-old quarterback has at least made it back on the field for the start of training camp, after missing out on offseason practices. Allen most likely will end up battling Heinicke for the backup job or Steven Montez for the No. 3 spot.

While Winston opened training camp with the second-team offense, head coach Sean Payton indicated after practice that Winston and Taysom Hill will rotate with the first-team offense throughout training camp, Luke Johnson of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

It's possible that Hill's long-standing tenure with New Orleans played a role in him opening training camp with the starters. As both he and Winston should get plenty of reps with the first-team offense as the summer unfolds, fantasy managers need to keep tabs on who is favored to open Week 1 in the starting lineup given the contrasting styles of play between the two quarterbacks. Case in point: All but one of Hill's throws seemed to travel less than eight yards during Thursday's practice, while Winston sent one deep on his very first pass attempt in team drills and he reportedly finished the day with a number of impressive completions on deep passes, including a 60-yard touchdown to Deonte Harris.

Rodgers has agreed to a re-worked deal with Green Bay, NFL.com reports.

Per terms of the agreement, the QB now is under contract with the Packers through 2022, with the 2023 portion of his deal having been deleted. In any case, Rodgers -- who previously expressed frustration with the organization -- is in the fold and currently practicing with the team in training camp. Additionally, he'll be joined by wide receiver Randall Cobb, a player the veteran signal-caller reportedly wanted to play with once again and who was recently re-acquired in a trade with the Texans.