NFL Player News

Mullens is expected to start Thursday's game against the Raiders, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The 49ers' typical starting quarterback C.J. Beathard is still having difficulty gripping a football, paving the way for Mullens to see his first NFL action. Beathard will serve as Mullens' backup, though, after third-stringer Tom Savage was released Thursday afternoon. During the 2018 preseason, Mullens completed 31 of 43 passes for 396 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

The 49ers waived Savage on Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Savage's second stint of the season with the 49ers lasted only a few days longer than the first, with the 28-year-old sticking on the roster for a week and a half this time around. There appeared to be a chance that Savage would dress as the backup quarterback for the 49ers' Thursday night game against the Raiders, but the team's decision to release him implies some level of optimism that C.J. Beathard (wrist/thumb) will be available for No. 2 duties if unable to start. Nick Mullens is the only healthy signal-caller left on the roster.

Rodgers (knee) practiced in full Thursday, the Packers' official site reports.

After Rodgers logged a limited session Wednesday, coach Mike McCarthy spoke of the quarterback during media availability Thursday. "It's definitely a step ahead of where he was last week," McCarthy told Wes Hodkiewicz of the team's official site. "He did the unit drill in the pre-practice stuff. Hopefully, he'll be able to go full today." Indeed, Rodgers did just that and will now put his full focus into getting the Packers into the win column for the fourth time this season Sunday at New England.

Coach Sean McDermott relayed Thursday that Allen (elbow) resuming throwing "isn't too far off," Joe Buscaglia of WKBW.com reports.

Allen is not an option for Sunday's game against the Bears, at a minimum, but the 2-6 Bills could really use a spark on offense and getting the rookie QB some additional game experience once he's healthy is in the team's best interests. Looking ahead, the Bills may elect to hold Allen out through the team's Week 11 bye and see where he's at as a Nov. 25 match against the Jaguars approaches. For now, it looks like Nathan Peterman is line to start for the team this weekend, with Derek Anderson dealing with a concussion.

Beathard (wrist/thumb), who is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Raiders, is considered "truly 50-50" for the contest, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.

As coach Kyle Shanahan noted earlier this week, the injuries to Beathard's throwing hand are still making it difficult for him to grip the football, a troubling development for a player that has already fumbled five times in six games. The 49ers will presumably wait and see if Beathard's condition has improved at all closer to game time before rendering a decision on his availability, but Nick Mullens -- who has yet to attempt a pass in the NFL -- will direct the offense if Beathard isn't deemed fit to play. An official call on Beathard's status will likely come around 6:50 p.m. EDT, when the 49ers will release their inactive list approximately 90 minutes before kickoff.

Beathard (wrist) participated in Wednesday's walk-through practice and is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Raiders, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

The 49ers upgraded Beathard to limited participation on the final injury report after listing him as a non-participant Monday and Tuesday. His wrist injury isn't believed to be serious, but a short week means he'll likely play through soreness and discomfort if he does end up getting the start. Barrows speculates that the 49ers might want to use Beathard's wrist injury as a convenient excuse to look at untested quarterback Nick Mullens in a game situation. It isn't a crazy idea for a team with no hope of reaching the playoffs, but coach Kyle Shanahan would probably still prefer to start Beathard if that's realistic option. The 2017 third-round pick reportedly has been struggling to hold a football, and he acknowledged Wednesday that his wrist and thumb are "kind of messed up." An official call on Beathard's status may not come until Thursday, with Shanahan referring to Beathard as a game-time decision. It doesn't help that skill-position players Matt Breida (ankle), Pierre Garcon (shoulder/knee) and Raheem Mostert (ankle) are also listed as questionable, potentially leaving Beathard or Mullens without enough help to take advantage of a favorable matchup.

Rodgers (knee) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, Michael Cohen of The Athletic reports.

Having his practice reps capped is status quo for Rodgers, who has toughed out a sprained MCL to rank third in the NFL with 326 passing yards per game while boasting an outstanding 13 touchdowns versus just one interception through seven games. Expect him to ditch his injury designation by week's end as he prepares for Sunday's visit to New England, whose pass defense sits 27th overall (277.3 yards per game) in the league.

Coach Adam Gase relayed that Tannehill's lingering shoulder injury isn't a sprain, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com reports.

Tannehill was officially ruled out for a fourth consecutive week, leaving Brock Osweiler to make another start Sunday against the Jets. With a Week 11 bye on the horizon, it would be somewhat surprising if the Dolphins brought Tannehill back for their Nov. 11 game in Green Bay. Tannehill's shoulder injury was previously believed to be an AC joint sprain, an issue quarterbacks often are able to play through after a short period of rest. Gase didn't elaborate on the actual diagnosis, but he did say he expects Tannehill to make a full recovery without requiring surgery.

Peterman's chances of starting Sunday against the Bears seemed to improve Wednesday after Derek Anderson (concussion) missed practice and Josh Allen (elbow) was officially ruled out for Week 9.

While Adam Schefter of ESPN already reported that Anderson won't start this week, the Bills haven't publicly confirmed the news yet even though everything seems to point in that direction. The team also signed journeyman quarterback Matt Barkley on Wednesday, a pretty clear indication they're rolling with two healthy options for Sunday with Allen out and Anderson unlikely to play. If Peterman has another bad game, the national media will certainly have another field day at his expense since he's already tossed 10 interceptions on a mere 85 attempts between regular-season and postseason action. An optimist would say this will be a good final chance to see if Peterman truly does have NFL chops, something he displayed during the preseason. The pessimist would wonder aloud if the team's two best healthy quarterback options don't even play that position for the team, between tight end Logan Thomas and newly signed wideout Terrelle Pryor.

Tannehill (shoulder) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jets, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

The early decision isn't a great sign for Tannehill's availability beyond Week 9, though coach Adam Gase did mention Monday that the quarterback progressed to throwing a tennis ball last week. Brock Osweiler will get at least one more start, and it won't come as any surprise if he also gets the nod Week 10 in Green Bay. The Dolphins do at least have a bye coming up Week 11, offering Tannehill some additional recovery time. Gase still believes Tannehill's shoulder can be treated with rest rather than surgery, per Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.