NFL Player News

Bridgewater (knee) isn't expected to be activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list until the Vikings' Week 10 matchup with the Redskins, Ian Rapaport of NFL Network reports.

After sustaining a gruesome knee injury in training camp of last year, Bridgewater spent the last 13-plus months rehabbing before being cleared by doctors to return to practice last week. Though early reports of Bridgewater's performance during practice have been encouraging, due to the lengthiness of his absence, the quarterback will require at least two more weeks of practice to build up his conditioning and comfort with the club's receivers. If Bridgewater continues to impress in his subsequent practices, he could force the Vikings to make a tough decision behind center. Case Keenum has performed respectably in his five appearances this season while the team's primary 2016 starter, Sam Bradford (knee), has been sidelined for all but two games. Bradford is on the mend and could also approach full health by the time Week 10 arrives.

Winston (shoulder) is active for Sunday's Week 7 battle against the Bills, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

The status is fully expected, given that head coach Dirk Koetter had anointed Winston as his Week 7 starter following a successful practice Friday. Despite the AC joint sprain currently plaguing him residing in his throwing shoulder, Winston apparently will not face any limitations Sunday, outside of a generally unfavorable matchup against a solid Bills secondary, that is.

Doctors who evaluated Rodgers' broken right collarbone believe the quarterback will be able to resume throwing in six weeks, which would put him on track for a return late in the season, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports.

Rodgers, who suffered the injury in last Sunday's loss to the Vikings, had previously missed seven weeks in 2013 with a broken left collarbone, but the early expectation that his recovery timetable would be longer this time around because he required surgery and the injury was to his throwing side. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network suggests the longer timetable likely remains in place and the Packers aren't counting on Rodgers to return in 2017, but it appears the team will at least see how the two-time MVP progresses in subsequent weeks before rendering a final verdict on that front. Green Bay moved Rodgers to injured reserve Friday, which officially rules him out until at least the team's Week 15 matchup with the Panthers. If Rodgers heals as quickly as doctors believe he can and the Packers are still in the playoff hunt, then his chances of getting activated from IR and suiting up at some point in the team's final three games would increase.

The Packers placed Rodgers (collarbone) on injured reserve Friday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Given that the injury is on his throwing side and required surgery, Rodgers seems likely to miss the rest of the season, though he technically could resume practicing in Week 13 and get activated from IR ahead of Week 15. Rodgers underwent surgery Thursday while Brett Hundley was preparing to start at quarterback in Sunday's game against the Saints, and quite likely, the next several weeks to come.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer ruled Bradford (knee) out for Sunday's game against Baltimore, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Bradford didn't practice all week and doesn't seem likely to return before the Vikings' bye in Week 9. Case Keenum will pick up another start Sunday.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed that Keenum will start Sunday's game against Baltimore, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Sam Bradford (knee) is still hurting and Teddy Bridgewater (knee) hasn't practiced enough to be ready for a game. Keenum's starting role will be tenuous heading forward, but he'll get the nod for at least one more week as the Vikings take aim at a Baltimore defense that's held opponents to a 71.1 passer rating for the season.

Bradford (knee) didn't take part in Friday's practice, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Bradford was unable to get in any practice time this week, so it's likely he'll miss a second game in a row. If that's indeed the case, Case Keenum would start at quarterback again in his stead.

Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter said Winston (shoulder) will start Sunday's game in Buffalo, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Bucs let Winston rest until Friday, at which point he took all the first-team reps in practice. Koetter apparently liked what he saw, naming Winston as the team's Week 7 starter immediately after practice finished. The third-year quarterback is thus set to play through an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder in Sunday's matchup with a Buffalo defense that has held opponents to a 66.5 passer rating, 2:8 TD:INT and 6.6 yards per attempt. Accounting for both the matchup and the injury, Winston makes for a shaky starting option outside of two-quarterback leagues. He's technically listed as questionable, but the Bucs have a slew of players with the same designation who are fully expected to play in Sunday's game.

Winston (shoulder) threw passes at Friday's practice, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Buccaneers have taken it easy with Winston this week while he deals with an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, as the franchise signal caller didn't make any throws Wednesday or Thursday. However, he was able to air it out a bit Friday, and based on a video provided by Auman, it didn't look like he was especially limited while doing so. The Buccaneers will reveal Winston's status for the Week 7 matchup with the Bills when they release their final injury report of the week at the conclusion of Friday's practice.

Carr completed 29 of 52 passes for 417 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in Thursday's 31-30 win over the Chiefs. He also gained 15 yards on his sole rush.

On a night of multiple noteworthy offensive efforts, Carr was at the center of it all, posting his second game with at least 400 passing yards in his four-year career. A late hit on Carr midway through the second quarter also prompted the eventual ejection of Marshawn Lynch, who made contact with a referee in the post-play fracas. However, the fourth-year quarterback's most prominent role came in the contest's wild finish, one that saw three untimed downs due to a pair of defensive penalties on the Chiefs. Carr finally tied the game with a clutch two-yard dart to Michael Crabtree in the left corner of the end zone, his third and final score of the night after previously having connected with Amari Cooper for touchdowns of 38 and 45 yards in the first quarter. Carr's performance was a welcome sight after he'd struggled against the Chargers last Sunday in what was an earlier-than-expected return from a serious back injury, and the fact that he hooked up with Cooper on a whopping 11 occasions for 210 yards certainly helped allay concerns about both players. He'll look to use Thursday's breakout effort as a springboard when the Raiders tangle with the Bills in a tough Week 8 road matchup.