NFL Player News

The thumb injury Driskel suffered in Thursday's preseason game against the Colts will not require surgery, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

While that is surely a good sign for Driskel's health, it still leaves his future with the Bengals a tad cloudy. Should the quarterback's injury require a short recovery time, it's likely the team ends up keeping him on the final roster, but if it is still seen as fairly serious, the Bengals could be reluctant to keep him around.

Bridgewater (knee) is expected to remain on the Physically Unable to Perform list for the start of the regular season, but the team has not yet ruled him out for 2017, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Bridgewater has still not returned to practice since suffering a torn ACL during last year's training camp, so his opening up the season on the PUP doesn't come as much of a surprise. The good news is that the Vikings appear to be leaning on the side of optimism regarding the quarterback's status for the 2017 campaign, as they aren't going to rule him out for the season just yet. Upon being placed on the PUP for the regular season, Bridgewater won't be eligible to return until Week 7.

Jones completed 18 of 24 attempts for 158 yards and an interception in Thursday's preseason loss to the 49ers. He also carried the ball three times for 26 yards.

As predicted, Jones got the start Thursday and put together his best statistical performance thanks to sheer volume of snaps. While Jones finished his preseason with more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (0), it seems likely the Chargers will opt to keep him on the 53-man roster, as Philip Rivers and Kellen Clemens both transition into the twilight of their careers. Either way, it appears Jones has beaten out Mike Bercovici for the No. 3 QB role, considering the latter played sparingly during the preseason and finished with two interceptions across six attempts Thursday.

Morris completed two of five passes for 51 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Thursday's preseason win over the Bengals.

Morris played just two series, so it's difficult to glean much from his performance. Veteran backup Scott Tolzien will likely start Week 1 against the Rams with Andrew Luck unlikely to play due to a shoulder injury. However, Morris showed enough this preseason that he could overtake Tolzien early in the season if the latter struggles and Luck makes slow progress in his recovery.

Peterman completed nine of 11 passes for 81 yards in Thursday's preseason finale against the Lions. He didn't have a touchdown or an interception and finished with a passer rating of 97.3.

Tyrod Taylor (concussion) looks like he's going to be ready for Week 1, but Peterman is making some observers think he could be the team's quarterback of the future. He'll enter the season as the clear No. 2 option at the position after having passed up veteran T.J. Yates (concussion), and if Taylor struggles early, there could be some calls for the rookie to play from a fan base looking for something fresh and new.

Driskel was wearing a splint on his right thumb following Thursday's preseason game against the Colts, and the Bengals fear that he suffered a broken thumb in the contest, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

The Bengals were thought to be leaning towards keeping Driskel on their 53-man roster, given the potential trade interest around the league for the services of backup AJ McCarron, but this injury muddles the picture. Cincinnati could hold Driskel out for the rest of the season by placing him on injured reserve, or designate him as a candidate to return from IR. The latter option would require the Bengals to keep Driskel through their first wave of cuts, and then put him on the IR-return list Monday, thus risking losing a player that they otherwise might keep.

Petty (knee) wasn't cleared to play in Thursday's preseason game against the Bills, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Petty, who is nursing a minor knee sprain, vowed to be healthy by the start of the regular season. Regardless of whether he heals up or not, Petty will enter Week 1 as nothing more than the No. 2 or 3 quarterback on the depth chart and thus has little value in the fantasy realm.

Shaw cleared the NFL's concussion protocol and returned to Thursday's exhibition against the Browns, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Shaw briefly exited in the fourth quarter while he was evaluated for a head injury, allowing rookie Mitchell Trubisky to see a little extra game action. Shaw should be fine moving forward now that he's passed all tests.

Shaw exited in the fourth quarter of Thursday's preseason game against the Browns to be evaluated for a concussion, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Shaw will need to clear the NFL's concussion protocol in order to return to the field before the game comes to a close.

Heinicke (concussion/oblique) is under evaluation for a concussion and won't return to Thursday's preseason game against the Dolphins, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports.

Prior to exiting the game, Heinicke was reportedly playing through a strained oblique. He now has a separate problem to deal with, as Heinicke will need to clear the concussion protocol in order to take the field again.