NFL Player News

Driskel left Thursday's preseason game against the Colts with a right hand injury, Jay Morrison of the Dayton Daily News reports.

It's unclear whether the Bengals plan on keeping three quarterbacks as they did last season, but with trade rumors swirling around No. 2 signal caller AJ McCarron, Driskel's health could take on greater importance. For that reason, he'll likely be kept out of the rest of Thursday's game.

Heinicke is expected to start Thursday's game against the Dolphins, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Should the Vikings keep three quarterbacks until Teddy Bridgewater (knee) is able to return from the Physically Unable to Perform list, it appears Heinicke will be in good shape to win a roster spot. In Sunday's game against the 49ers, he led a game-winning drive, which included running for a two-point conversion to secure the victory. Heinicke will now get a chance to build on that performance in the preseason finale, with Mitch Leidner likely in line to pick up most of the snaps behind center in the second half.

Bills general manage Brandon Beane said Thursday that Taylor believes he'll be cleared to return from his concussion for the Week 1 matchup with the Jets, Marc Sessler of NFL.com reports.

Of course, Taylor still has to be cleared by doctors and pass all steps of the league's concussion protocol, but there have been no reported setbacks thus far and two weeks (Taylor suffered the concussion in the third preseason game) is typically within reason for a player to return from a concussion not of extreme severity. The Bills will go with rookie Nathan Peterman if by chance Taylor can't get cleared in time to suit up in Week 1.

Smith and Josh Johnson are expected to split the snaps at quarterback during the first half of Thursday's preseason finale against the Patriots, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

This is the final stand in the battle between Smith and Johnson for the No. 2 quarterback job. The loser won't make the final roster, as 2017 third-round pick Davis Webb will serve as the No. 3 quarterback this season. Webb could see the most playing time of the bunch in Thursday's game, as he'll likely be in line for all of the second-half reps.

Brissett is in line to start Thursday's preseason finale against the Giants, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports.

Barring a surprising twist, Brissett and many other fellow reserves will see extended action Thursday, while starting QB Tom Brady and other established players will remain observers, with an eye toward continued availablity as Week 1 approaches. Brissett is slated to serve as the Patriots' No. 3 QB this season behind Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Thursday's scheduled preseason game between the Texans and Cowboys has been canceled to allow the Texans to return to Houston as the city recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.

In a statement released by the Texans on Wednesday, the team has "made the decision to travel back to Houston after local authorities have now found a safe route for the team to drive home today. The fourth preseason game scheduled for Thursday night in Dallas will be cancelled." Prescott and the Cowboys have a home date against the Giants on Sunday Night Football in Week 1.

Thursday's scheduled preseason game against the Cowboys has been canceled to allow the Texans to return to Houston as the city recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.

In a statement released by the team Wednesday, the "Texans have made the decision to travel back to Houston after local authorities have now found a safe route for the team to drive home today. The fourth preseason game scheduled for Thursday night in Dallas will be cancelled." The Texans' statement further notes that "at this time, the priority of our organization is getting our players, coaches and staff back home to be reunited with their families, many of whom have been evacuated from their homes and are currently sheltered. The team feels it is imperative to get back home to help the Houston community recover from devastation of Hurricane Harvey." Savage and the Texans' next scheduled contest is the team's regular-season opener, Sept. 10 at home against the Jaguars.

Although Bridgewater (knee) has "progressed a lot" he needs to show more to be activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list, head coach Mike Zimmer told ESPN. "He's got to be able to protect himself on the field and be able to do the movements that are required by his position," he said.

Bridgewater is all but certain to begin the season on the PUP list and miss at least six weeks. It's uncertain if he'll be healthy enough to be on the active roster at all in 2017 after suffering a torn ACL and dislocated left knee during a training-camp practice in August 2016. The Vikings may also be motivated to keep him on the PUP list all season, as it would extend his rookie contract another year and delay his free agency until at least 2019.

Peterman, with the possibility of being the only healthy Bills' quarterback for Week 1, may be limited in Thursday's preseason finale against the Lions, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

With Tyrod Taylor still going through concussion protocol after this weekend, the Bills coaches will look to be protective of their potential Week 1 starter, as their options are limited with T.J. Yates both struggling and dealing with a concussion himself. With that, newly signed Keith Wenning could see plenty of snaps under center in the team's preseason finale in order to preserve the health of Peterman.

Head coach Mike Mularkey said Mariota and the rest of the starters will "play a series or two" in Thursday's preseason finale against the Chiefs, Jason Wolf of The Tennessean reports.

This may come as a surprise to some, as established starters don't often take part in the preseason finale. However, the Titans offense as a whole didn't fare well in last weekend's dress rehearsal, so Mularkey might simply be wanting to get them a little more polishing in advance of Week 1. Look for Matt Cassel to take over once Mariota is retired for the day.