NFL Player News

Watson is among the Texans' key players who sat out Thursday's preseason opener against the Packers, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Watson appeared in all 16 of the Houston's regular-season games last year, but his injury history prior to that offers the team incentive to limit his exposure to unnecessary preseason contact. The Texans' franchise-signal caller got some good news Thursday, when the team traded for running back Duke Johnson, a talented pass-catcher, who gives Watson another legitimate playmaker to work with this coming season.

Stidham completed 14 of 24 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in Thursday's preseason opener, a 31-3 win over the Lions.

It's just one game, but Stidham took care of the ball, had some nice throws and displayed solid poise for a rookie fourth-rounder. The 23-year-old is obviously no threat to Tom Brady's starting job, but the early returns have been good and Stidham looks like a signal-caller worth grooming. Whether that occurs with him as the team's No. 3 signal-caller or as Tom Brady's direct backup in 2019 remains to be seen, though with that in mind, we'd be surprised if the team let veteran Brian Hoyer go.

Boyle completed three of five passes for 40 yards and two touchdowns in Thursday's preseason opener.

Boyle was only on the field for 16 snaps, but he made the most of his opportunities, finding paydirt twice and demonstrating poise in the pocket. Fellow reserve quarterback DeShone Kizer played the entire first half Thursday -- and played relatively well also -- so not much changed with the backup situation behind Aaron Rodgers. Kizer is the favorite to land the No. 2 spot, but Boyle remains alive in the competition. At the least, his showing probably made it more difficult for the Packers to cut ties with him, and it would hardly be a surprise if the team kept three quarterbacks even if Kizer heads into Week 1 as the backup.

Rodgers did not suit up for Thursday's preseason opener, but Packers.com senior writer Mike Spofford presumes Rodgers will see action in the Packers' next two exhibition contests.

Rodgers was not expected to play Thursday, but the Packers did not reveal until shortly before kickoff that he would indeed be held out. It's probably beneficial for him to see at least some action this preseason in order to get in a test run with new head coach and play caller Matt LaFleur, but the Packers will no doubt be cautious with him in order to make sure he is 100 percent for the team's season opener against the Bears. As was the case prior to exhibition game No. 1, Rodgers' availability for the Packers' second preseason contest, against the Ravens, may not be determined until close to game day.

Sudfeld, who underwent surgery Friday to address a broken bone above his left wrist, is expected to return to the field in about six weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The timetable still puts Sudfeld on track to miss time early in the season, but it's far from a worst-case scenario. Unless the Eagles add a new signal-caller in the coming days, Cody Kessler and Clayton Thorson are next up on the team's QB depth chart behind Carson Wentz.

Siemian completed 13 of 16 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown while adding 13 yards on two rushing attempts in Thursday's preseason opener against the Giants.

Siemian dinked and dunked his way to a modest performance, highlighted by a seven-yard touchdown pass to Elijah McGuire. His case for the backup job was strengthened by a combination of Siemian's competence and an awful performance from third-stringer Davis Webb, who completed two of seven passes for 11 yards and two interceptions.

Minshew completed seven of 14 passes for 46 yards and rushed twice for three yards in Thursday's preseason loss to the Ravens.

Minshew played the entirety of the first half and was never able to push the ball past midfield, which the Jaguars were unable to do in the second half, as well. The rookie sixth-round pick is the favorite to secure the backup job and certainly didn't play well Thursday, but he still looked better than the QBs that followed, Tanner Lee and Alex McGough, who combined to go three of 11 for 19 yards and two interceptions. Minshew should see plenty of chances again next Thursday against the Eagles.

Taylor completed all six of his passing attempts for 72 yards and carried the ball twice for 34 yards in Thursday's 17-13 preseason loss to the Cardinals.

Taylor played the first two series of the contest with starting quarterback Philip Rivers given a veteran's night off. The 30-year-old certainly appears to have the edge for the No. 2 job in training camp thus far, with both Cardale Jones and Easton Stick struggling to put together consistent practices. However, it's not out of the question Los Angeles could roster three quarterbacks come the start of the regular season. In any case, Taylor's performance Thursday did nothing to jeopardize his status as the primary backup to Rivers.

Trubisky started the preseason opener against the Panthers, handing the ball off three times to Mike Davis before exiting for the night.

Aside from David Montgomery, Trubisky was the only skill position starter to take the field in this contest. It's unclear as to how much work he'll see in preseason games, but going into his second year in Matt Nagy's offense, it's possible Trubisky could see an increase in opportunity after the Bears ranked in the bottom third of the league in pass attempts last season. For now, he's being drafted as a backup in fantasy leagues, but if this offense breaks out, Trubisky could crush his draft position.

Smith, who will have a cyst removed from his knee Friday, is expected to miss seven-to-10 days, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Smith's absence should free up added reps for fellow Russell Wilson backup Paxton Lynch. Additionally, it wouldn't surprise us if the Seahawks add another quarterback in advance of the team's second preseason tilt, Aug. 18 versus the Vikings.