NFL Player News

Lynch (head) had to exit Sunday's preseason matchup with the Vikings in the fourth quarter after taking an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit from Vikings cornerback Holton Hill, Gregg Bell of The News Tribune reports.

Hill was ejected on the play, while Lynch was eventually able to walk to the sideline under his own power. Lynch had struggled prior to leaving the game, completing only six of 15 passes for 67 yards without a touchdown or turnover. His bid to beat out Geno Smith for the backup job behind Russell Wilson looks unlikely to succeed at this point.

Bridgewater completed five of 12 passes for 40 yards with one interception in Sunday's preseason win over the Chargers.

Getting the start with Drew Brees on the sidelines, Bridgewater struggled to move the chains consistently but didn't get much help, either -- his pick came when a simple dump-off pass in the red zone clanked off Dwayne Washington's hands straight up into the air, with the ball falling to Chargers safety Jaylen Watkins. Per Mike Triplett of ESPN, coach Sean Payton revealed after the game that Bridgewater was feeling under the weather, so it's hard to read too much into this performance. Bridgewater remains the No. 2 QB for the Saints, with Taysom Hill as the No. 3.

Barkley completed eight of 10 passes with a touchdown pass and no interceptions in Friday's preseason win over the Panthers, good for a 145.8 passer rating.

Despite two excellent preseason games, there's no chance the veteran Barkley will be overtaking Josh Allen for the starting QB job, unless the latter gets hurt or struggles horribly for much of the season on a team whose defense keeps it in playoff contention. However, Barkley is locked into the No. 2 job -- between his last few outings dating back to the 2018 season, he's proving the Bills should still be in capable hands if he gets forced into action at any point.

Keenum's teammate, Colt McCoy (leg), doesn't have a concrete timetable for a return to action, Brian McNally of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

Meanwhile, McNally relays that coach Jay Gruden said he hopes to pick his Week 1 starting QB after this Thursday's preseason game versus Atlanta. With McCoy seemingly out of the picture for now, Keenum remains the front-runner for the assignment, though rookie Dwayne Haskins still has a bit of time to make a late run for the nod.

McCoy suggests he's had no setbacks with his right leg, but acknowledged there's still no timetable for when he'll be 100 percent, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Per the report, at this stage, McCoy's main issue remains "an inability to fully push off when passing." Meanwhile, Adam Schefter of ESPN relays that coach Jay Gruden is also uncertain about when McCoy might return. "Oh man, it might not be the end of camp, it might be two or three weeks into the season," Gruden said Sunday. "We don't know yet." With that, McCoy's chances of being the team's Week 1 starter at QB are dwindling, which makes Case Keenum the favorite to handle the assignment.

Rudolph was 10-of-15 for 77 yards passing in the Steelers' 17-7 preseason win over the Chiefs on Saturday.

This was Rudolph's second solid outing and he has clearly outperformed Joshua Dobbs in the battle for the backup quarterback job. Although he still is listed behind Dobbs on the depth chart, the final two games of the preseason could see that change.

Mariota remains in line to be the Titans' Week 1 starter at QB, backed up by Ryan Tannehill, Joe Rexrode of the Athletic reports.

That's a notion also put forth by Erik Bacharach of the Tennessean. Mariota's perch atop the posted depth chart is not something we expected to discuss at this stage, but as John Glennon of the Athletic notes, there's been some recent speculation that a QB competition between Mariota and Ryan Tannehill could be brewing. Tannehill is one of the NFL's more qualified backups, but his presence doesn't seem to be a threat to the short-term job security of Tennessee's incumbent starter. The story could be quite different if Mariota struggles come September.

Coach Jay Gruden reiterated Sunday that the team won't rush McCoy (leg) into game action, then adding, "I don't anticipate him being out too long," John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Per the report, the main problem for McCoy at this stage is pushing off his right leg. Though Gruden's quote suggests the QB's current issue isn't viewed as something major, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington hints that it could impact McCoy's status early on in the regular season. In the absence of a concrete timetable for McCoy's return, it seems increasingly likely that Case Keenum will land the team's Week 1 starting QB assignment.

Walker was 10-of-17 passing for 109 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns in Saturday's preseason loss to Cleveland.

Walker improved from his subpar first preseason game, but he was outperformed by Chad Kelly again in the battle for the third-QB role. However, with Kelly set to miss the first two games of the regular season due to a suspension, Walker could begin the season as the third quarterback. The Colts may keep a third quarterback on the roster, which they usually don't do, given Andrew Luck's questionable status for the start of the season due to ankle and calf injuries.

McCoy (foot/leg) wasn't spotted at practice Sunday, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reports.

McCoy didn't play in Thursday's preseason loss to the Bengals and his current absence puts a pause on his efforts to re-enter the conversation when it comes to claiming Washington's top QB assignment for Week 1. Though the team's posted preseason depth chart still lists McCoy ahead of Case Keenum and Dwayne Haskins, Ben Standig of the Athletic relays that coach Jay Gruden notes starting is "not even in the equation right now (for McCoy) until he's healthy. Once I get the word he's 100 percent healthy, then we'll start talking about the competition." With the regular season looming, the odds favor Keenum drawing the nod Sept. 8 against the Eagles, but Washington's QB situation remains fluid enough at this stage that McCoy could quickly make up ground once he's able to practice again without restriction.