NFL Player News

Rudolph will get an extended look in Thursday night's preseason game at Green Bay, Bob Labriola of Steelers.com reports. "We will not play selected veteran players," said coach Mike Tomlin. "Ben (Roethlisberger) won't play. It's really about an opportunity to get a legitimate evaluation of the guys who do play."

It is still unclear if Rudolph or Joshua Dobbs will start the game, or how playing time between the two will shake out, but neither Roethlisberger (concussion) nor Landry Jones will play. While this is still considered to be an open competition, smart money is leaning towards Rudolph, a rookie third-round pick, to earn a roster spot this season.

Carr already seems to have a strong command of coach Jon Gruden's offense, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Known for his intensity and complex terminology, Gruden is asking Carr to take on a more active role making adjustments at the line of scrimmage. The 27-year-old quarterback seems to be responding as well as anyone could've hoped, though he only completed two of four passes for 11 yards in the preseason opener against Detroit. As encouraging as the positive reports from training camp may seem, Carr is still surrounded by uncertainty in an offense with a new coaching staff and no clear identity. The Raiders appear to have upgraded their receiving corps by swapping out Michael Crabtree and Cordarrelle Patterson for Jordy Nelson, Martavis Bryant and Ryan Switzer, but they made other moves hinting at an increased emphasis on the rushing attack, signing FB Keith Smith and TEs Lee Smith and Derek Carrier. New offensive coordinator Greg Olson has typically deployed pass-heavy attacks, whereas Gruden, the unquestioned shot-caller of the operation, has a more balanced track record.

Watson (knee) took part in practice Tuesday with "no brace, moving easy, and throwing with accuracy," Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com notes.

Watson tore his right ACL in Week 8 of the 2017 season, but his subsequent rehab and recovery has gone smooth and the fact that he's already seen preseason action and is able to work without a brace at this stage is highly encouraging. In the absence of any setbacks, Watson -- whose star was on the rise before his injury -- is on track to be good to go to start the coming season, at which point he'll look to pick up where left off last year.

Coach Andy Reid relayed Tuesday that Mahomes will play the first half of Friday's exhibition game against the Falcons, BJ Kissel of the Chiefs' official site reports.

Mahomes, who will be working with the team's first-team offense in the game, should thus be in line for an uptick in attempts and yardage after completing five of seven passes for 33 yards in limited action in the Chiefs' preseason opener. The 2017 first-rounder is locked in as his team's franchise QB, following the offseason departure of Alex Smith. Though Kansas City's 2018 offense should feature a healthy dose of running back Kareem Hunt, Mahomes has the arm strength and weapons (notably Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Travis Kelce) to make a notable fantasy impact in his first year as a pro starter.

Keenum completed one of four passes for five yards during Saturday's 42-28 preseason loss to Minnesota.

Keenum completed a short pass to Demaryius Thomas on his first throw of the game and then missed on his final three attempts before leaving the game after two unsuccessful drives. Denver reportedly treated the contest as an opportunity to test out specific concepts as opposed to going up against an opposing team. A clearer sense as to how Keenum is performing in Denver should come into greater focus in the coming week or two as the coaching staff seeks to establish the offense's in-season identity.

Lynch was overtaken by Chad Kelly as the Broncos' No. 2 quarterback, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Lynch was abysmal in Saturday's preseason game against the Vikings, completing only 6 of 11 passes for 24 yards and an interception. Kelly, on the other hand, looked much more impressive and totaled more yards on the ground (three carries for 38 yards) than Lynch had through the air. The 26th overall pick of the 2016 draft was the de facto backup quarterback after the Broncos signed Case Keenum in March but now finds himself practicing with the third-string offense.

Bradford will play more than a series in Friday's preseason game at New Orleans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Bradford did little more than hand off the ball to David Johnson and rookie Chase Edmonds in his debut with the Cards on Saturday, attempting just one pass. With more than one possession expected of Bradford on Friday, the offense likely will be a bit more diverse, especially to build an in-game rapport with Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and others in the passing attack. Urban also relayed that 2018 first-rounder Josh Rosen will work with the first-team offense, so Bradford's usage should be more indicative of what will occur during the regular season.

Rodgers is taking reps in the team period of Monday's practice, putting him on track for the start in Thursday's preseason game against Pittsburgh, Michael Cohen of The Athletic Wisconsin reports.

Rodgers hasn't played in a preseason opener since 2015, typically making his annual debut during the second week of the exhibition schedule. He only played for one series at the same juncture last year, then handled two drives in the third week of the preseason. Training camp is his real opportunity to build chemistry with Jimmy Graham (knee) and the Packers' slew of rookie wideouts.

After taking practice with all three units Sunday, Allen worked exclusively with the second-team offense for Monday's practice, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW.com reports.

Buscaglia thinks Allen might even get reps with the first team during Tuesday's practice, which would be an indication he's not out of the mix for the starter's job, even though the Bills' plan all along has been to bring him along slowly. We still feel AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman are the best bets to be the Week 1 starter, but it's clear the Bills like what they've seen in training camp from the highly touted rookie. Giving him some challenges along the way has always been part of the plan, so if he keeps handling these well he'll remain a long shot to begin his career as a starter.

For the second straight day Monday, Darnold (finger) took the bulk of the Jets' first-team QB reps at practice, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Though coach Todd Bowles won't say who will start Thursday night's preseason game against Washington, it looks like Darnold will get the nod over Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater. Beyond that, as certain as it is that Darnold will eventually claim the team's starting job for the long haul, it remains to be seen if the rookie's ascent to that role will be complete by Week 1.