NFL Player News

While Mahomes (kneecap) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Packers, the Chiefs have been pleased with his progress and believe he has a "very realistic shot to play" in the team's Week 10 game against the Titans, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Mahomes resumed practicing just six days after suffering a dislocated kneecap, an injury that was initially expected to carry a recovery timeline of 3-to-4 weeks. Based on how Mahomes has looked so far in practice, the Chiefs believe he'll be ready to return a few days before the short end of that timeline, and the star quarterback even has an "outside chance" of making it back as soon as next weekend against the Vikings. Matt Moore will step in as the starting quarterback Week 8 and is likely to garner the nod again Week 9, though that could change if Mahomes continues to bounce back from the injury far quicker than anticipated.

Bridgewater, who was starting in place of Drew Brees (thumb), will revert to his backup role with the news that the 40-year-old quarterback will play Sunday, Dianna Russini of ESPN reports.

Bridgewater was impressive during his five-game stint as the starter, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes while posting a respectable 9:2 TD:INT ratio since taking over for the injured Brees. Still, it was never in doubt the Saints' legend would return as the starting signal caller once he was deemed healthy enough to compete, something the team and Brees confirmed Saturday following a week of practice participation. Bridgewater very well might have played his way into a starting role for another team in the near future, but until that point he'll continue to be one of the league's best backups.

Coach Sean Payton suggested he'll wait until Sunday to announce his decision between Bridgewater and Drew Brees (thumb) as the Week 8 starting quarterback against Arizona, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Coming back from Sept. 18 thumb surgery, Brees was a limited participant at practice throughout the week, splitting reps with Bridgewater. An upcoming bye in Week 9 might seem to favor a cautious approach, but Brees has made it clear he wants to play this coming Sunday. The coaching staff and medical staff also figure to be involved in the decision, which will determine if Bridgewater gets one last start before handing the offense back to Brees.

Though Mahomes (knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Packers, coach Andy Reid suggested that the QB is "close" to being able to play, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.

Mahomes, who suffered a dislocated kneecap Oct. 17, was originally expected to miss at least three weeks, but favorable MRI results were followed by his limited participation at practice this week, offering hope that he could beat that timetable. With regard to this weekend's game, Reid noted that Mahomes "just wasn't ready right now. That was our decision, not his. He wanted to play right after it happened. He just needs a little bit of time here." It remains to be seen if the QB has a realistic chance of returning Week 9 against the Vikings, but that once-remote possibility can't be ruled out, given how will he's been progressing. In his absence Sunday, Matt Moore will draw the starting nod for the Chiefs.

Mahomes (kneecap) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Packers, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Mahomes made a valiant effort this week, returning to practice in a limited capacity. He even "was moving around better" during individual drills Thursday, per Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. As expected, though, Mahomes will be among the Chiefs' inactives Sunday. In his place, Matt Moore will direct the offense.

President John Elway said Lock (thumb) "is not ready to go right now" and there's a chance he remains on injured reserve, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic report.

Lock was eligible to resume practicing this week and was present on the practice field, but he remained a non-participant. Elway continues to stress wanting to avoid rushing back the rookie quarterback before he's ready, which may also have to do with the Broncos' sub-par situation on offense in addition to the thumb sprain that put him on IR. Regardless, it doesn't appear as though Lock's return to the practice field will occur in the immediate future.

Cousins completed 23 of 26 passes for 285 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in the Vikings' 19-9 win over the Redskins on Thursday. He also rushed twice for two yards.

Playing without Adam Thielen (hamstring), Cousins turned in his highest completion percentage (88.5) of the season and averaged an impressive 11.0 yards per attempt. Unsurprisingly, Cousins relied heavily on his two most talented healthy players, Stefon Diggs and Dalvin Cook, connecting with the duo for 12 of his 23 completions. Cousins fell just short of the 300-yard mark for the first time in four games, but he's now thrown just a single interception since Week 2. He'll look to keep up his strong play against the Chiefs in a Week 9 matchup a week from Sunday.

Keenum (concussion) has been ruled out for the remainder of Thursday's game against the Vikings.

Keenum's concussion paves the way for Dwayne Haskins to finish this game. If Haskins performs well, it's possible he takes over the starting quarterback job moving forward regardless of Keenum's status, though interim coach Bill Callahan said after the game that Keenum would remain the starter if healthy in Week 9.

Keenum is in concussion protocol to start the second half of Thursday's game against Minnesota, Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post reports. Rookie Dwayne Haskins is under the center to start the second half.

Keenum hit his head on the turf late in the first half, and he couldn't gain clearance to return during halftime. While Keenum's return should be considered questionable at this point, it's more likely than not that Haskins will finish out this contest.

McCoy (coach's decision) is a healthy scratch for Thursday's game at Minnesota.

With interim coach Bill Callahan running the show, McCoy has been inactive for three contests while Dwayne Haskins backs up Case Keenum. The status quo likely will remain without an injury to one of the Redskins' top two quarterbacks.