NFL Player News

Jackson practiced fully Thursday and isn't listed on Baltimore's Week 5 injury report, suggesting the back issue he managed last week is no longer much of a concern, Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official site reports. "I'm 101 percent," Jackson said.

The back injury sidelined Jackson for two practices last week and resulted in him taking a questionable designation into Sunday, but he looked plenty healthy in Baltimore's 23-7 win over the previously unbeaten Broncos. Though he took more of a back seat than usual as a runner with seven carries for 28 yards, Jackson completed 22 of 37 attempts while clearing 300 passing yards for the second time in his career. With an extra day to rest up this week with Baltimore hosting Indianapolis on Monday night, Jackson appears to have moved past his bout with back soreness, which could result in him taking back a more prominent role in the run game than he handled in Denver.

Garoppolo (calf) isn't on the field for Thursday's practice, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

Though head coach Kyle Shanahan has thus far been unwilling to rule Garoppolo out for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, the quarterback said himself after exiting the Week 4 loss to the Seahawks that he expects to miss a couple of weeks, per Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News. Based on Garoppolo's consecutive absences at practice to begin Week 5 prep, any hope of him playing in Arizona seems to be dwindling. Trey Lance will direct the first-team offense for the second day in a row Thursday and is trending toward his first career start this weekend.

Bridgewater (concussion) will practice Thursday in a limited fashion, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Bridgewater thus is progressing through the NFL's concussion protocol and trending in the right direction as Sunday's game against the Steelers approaches. If he continues to clear the necessary medical hurdles, there's a chance the veteran QB could head into the weekend minus a Week 5 injury designation.

Bridgewater is progressing well in his recovery from a concussion suffered in Sunday's loss to the Ravens, George Stoia of the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

Bridgewater did not practice Wednesday, but the quarterback did participate in other team activities. Coach Vic Fangio said, "He's getting better. He was able to lift today with the group and attend meetings." Fangio also added that it's possible Bridgewater could be a limited participant in Thursday's practice. In order to play in a Week 5, the 28-year-old will have to clear the concussion protocol. If he doesn't, the Broncos will rely on Drew Lock to take the helm as the team's signal caller in a matchup against the Steelers.

Mayfield suffered a partially torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder in the Browns' Sept. 19 win over the Texans, but he's expected to avoid surgery for the time being and isn't at risk of missing any game action, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Not only has Mayfield played all but five snaps -- three of which were Case Keenum kneel downs -- in Cleveland's two games since suffering the injury, but he's also handled every rep with the first-team offense in the Browns' subsequent practices. With that in mind, fantasy managers shouldn't look to dramatically their expectations for Mayfield moving forward, even while he continues to play with a harness on the shoulder. Per Rapoport, Mayfield said playing with the harness had no affect on his poor showing in the Browns' 14-7 win over the Vikings last Sunday, when he completed only 15 of 33 attempts for 155 yards. Mayfield could still opt for offseason surgery if the shoulder doesn't heal while he continues to play through the injury.

Watson (not injury-related) didn't practice Wednesday.

Watson is expected to be a non-participant in practice and healthy inactive on game day for the fifth straight week. Davis Mills will start at quarterback for the Texans this Sunday against the Patriots.

Garoppolo won't practice Wednesday, though 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the quarterback's calf injury has improved, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Shanahan isn't ready to rule Garoppolo out for Week 5 against Arizona, as swelling in the signal-caller's bruised calf has subsided since Sunday, per David Lombardi of The Athletic. Garoppolo may still end up missing the game, in which case No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance would make his first NFL start.

Head coach Matt Nagy said Dalton (knee) has been demoted to the backup role, with rookie Justin Fields being named Chicago's starting quarterback Wednesday, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports.

Nagy changed his mind after previously saying Dalton would be the starter once he recovered from a bone bruise in his knee. Dalton is scheduled to practice fully Wednesday, clearing the way for him to return to action as the No. 2 option Week 5 in Las Vegas. The coach could always change his mind again if Fields continues to struggle, but he'll likely give the rookie at least a few weeks to build up job security before considering another move.

Head coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday that Fields will be Chicago's starting quarterback moving forward, even with Andy Dalton (knee) cleared to practice without any restrictions, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports.

Nagy previously said Dalton would be the starter once he was healthy, but the coach apparently changed his mind after Fields led the Bears to a 24-14 win over the Lions in Week 4, completing 11 of 17 passes for 209 yards with an interception. Though the rookie didn't light the world on fire while starting the past two games, Dalton has plenty of his own shortcomings, including issues with durability in the latter part of his career. The rookie out of Ohio State will make another start Week 5 at Las Vegas, likely taking his snaps in a backfield that won't have David Montgomery (knee). With that in mind, more passing and rushing attempts could be in the forecast for Fields.

Bridgewater (concussion) won't practice Wednesday, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.

That said, the report notes that head coach Vic Fangio is optimistic that Bridgewater could advance through the NFL's concussion protocol and return to practice before the end of the week. In the meantime, Drew Lock will handle Denver's first-team quarterback reps in practice.