NFL Player News

Winston (shoulder) was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Like the past two weeks, Winston kicked off this one with a cap on his practices reps. However, he bucked the trend by taking part in every passing drill during the open portion of Wednesday's session, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. The Buccaneers have suggested a lack of timing was to blame for Winston's miserable outing Sunday against the Panthers, during which he completed 21 of 38 passes for 210 yards and two interceptions. On the other hand, Winston may be experiencing improvement with the sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Only time will tell, but he doesn't appear in any danger of sitting in Week 9 against the Saints.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that he can't promise that Garoppolo will play this season, Joe Fann of the 49ers' official website reports.

Per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Shanahan emphasized that the team acquired Garoppolo to improve their organization rather than save their 2017 season. That probably goes without saying for a team has an 0-8 record, but it nonetheless seems the 49ers have every incentive to at least give Garoppolo a look for a few games before the end of the campaign. He's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, and while a strong showing undoubtedly would raise his price, it also would give the 49ers a better idea of what they'd be getting. C.J. Beathard will start at least one more game and possibly a few more after that, but Garoppolo should get his shot before the season concludes.

Winston (shoulder) threw during the portion of Wednesday's practice open to the media, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Since suffering an AC joint sprain in his right throwing shoulder Week 6, Winston has followed a strict regimen of no throws until Friday, so he appears to be in a better spot than the last two weeks. It remains to be seen if he'll be able to log a full practice, which will be confirmed during the release of Wednesday's injury report. Achieving such status would more or less clear Winston for Sunday's divisional game at New Orleans, barring a setback.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said Tuesday that Bridgewater (knee) isn't necessarily guaranteed to start for the team once the quarterback is activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list, Jeremy Bregman of NFL.com reports. "I haven't decided that yet," Zimmer said, regarding who would start at quarterback for the VIkings when Bridgewater returns. "We'll continue to take it one day at a time. Just see where [Bridgewater] is at, where the team is at, how Case [Keenum] is doing. The whole deal."

With Bridgewater's left knee apparently presenting few complications since he resumed practicing Oct. 18, Zimmer noted that the team is "prepared" to activate the signal caller ahead ahead of its Week 10 matchup with Washington. Given that Keenum has admirably guided the Vikings to a 6-2 record amid the season-long absence of Bridgewater and the absence of Sam Bradford (knee) for all but two games, there's reason to believe that Zimmer will elect to maintain the status quo coming out of the team's bye week. That would allow Bridgewater to get some more practice time under his belt and remain sharp in the event that Keenum regresses or succumbs to an injury.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday that Bradford (knee) is "getting healthier and has made some progress this week," but the team has yet to issue a definitive timetable for the quarterback's return.

Since sitting out the entire second half of the Vikings' Week 5 win over the Bears after enduring a setback with his surgically repaired left knee, Bradford has yet to resume practicing this week. While Spielman's comments seemingly paint a positive picture for the quarterback's health, Bradford will likely need to string together multiple practices in a row before the Vikings have a better feel for when he might be able to suit up again. With Case Keenum playing effectively as the interim starter and Teddy Bridgewater (knee) seemingly further along than Bradford in his recovery from injury, it's possible that Bradford's services won't be needed by the time he's healthy again.

Winston is nursing some soreness with his right shoulder, but is set to practice Wednesday, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

During preparations for both of the Buccaneers' last two games, Winston hadn't practiced until Friday while nursing the shoulder injury, so even if he ends up going down as a limited participant Wednesday, his involvement in the team's first session of the week suggests he may be showing some improvement on the health front. Winston struggled mightily in Sunday's loss to the Panthers, completing 21 of 38 passes for 210 yards and tossing two interceptions, but since he shredded the Bills for 384 passing yards and three touchdowns a week earlier, his poor play probably can't be attributed solely to the shoulder injury. Even in times of better health, Winston's production has proven quite volatile from game to game, and the high variance in his performance will likely only continue in the second half of the season.

Hoyer signed a three-year contract with the Patriots on Wednesday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

With the team having traded Jacoby Brissett to the Colts prior to the start of the season and Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers earlier this week, the Patriots had a pressing need for a backup quarterback heading into their Week 9 bye. Hoyer, who played for New England from 2009 to 2011, brings familiarity with the organization -- as well as NFL starting experience -- to the table, thus giving the Patriots a viable insurance option in the event of an injury to starter Tom Brady. Moreover, the duration of the 32-year-old's deal creates a scenario that could possibly lead to the franchise drafting a young quarterback this spring to develop behind Brady.

Broncos head coach Vance Joseph informed the team Wednesday that Siemian would be removed as the starting quarterback for the Week 9 matchup against the Eagles, with Brock Osweiler instead receiving the nod, Mike Klis of 9 News Denver reports.

Siemian got off to a nice start to the season by tossing six touchdown passes against two interceptions and completing 65 percent of his passes over the Broncos' first two contests, but things have gone downhill ever since for the third-year signal caller. In the subsequent five contests -- during which the Broncos have gone 1-4 -- Siemian has turned the ball over nine times, with his three-interception showing in Monday's loss to the Chiefs representing the nadir. Considering he tossed 16 interceptions in 15 games with the Texans last season, Osweiler might not prove much more capable than Siemian in protecting the ball, but Siemian won't necessarily be first in line to take back the starting role if Osweiler falters. Instead, 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch, who is still easing back in after a shoulder injury kept him inactive for the Broncos' first seven games of the season, may rank as the top alternative in the event Osweiler is unable to guide the offense effectively.

Hoyer is slated to visit the Patriots on Wednesday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Hoyer, who was released by the 49ers earlier this week following the team's acquisition of Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots, began his NFL career in New England, where he played from 2009 through 2011. Assuming Hoyer signs with the Patriots, he'll serve as Tom Brady's new backup at quarterback.

Taylor will have a new teammate to throw to after the Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin to the Bills on Tuesday for two draft picks.

The only negative whatsoever to this trade is that it comes in the week the Bills play the Thursday game, meaning Benjamin may not have much time to get ready for a new offense. Other than that, this is nothing but a blessing for Taylor, who hasn't had much to work with all season outside of LeSean McCoy and Charles Clay, but Clay is now injured, and the wide receivers haven't done much. Taylor ranks 23rd among quarterbacks in standard scoring, though the Bills have been hitting their stride more effectively on offense lately, and with a legitimate starter like Benjamin on board, it could be a decent time to pick up Taylor if you need bye-week help, etc.