NFL Player News

Rodgers (coach's decision) appears doubtful to play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Eagles, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Rodgers appeared in just one preseason game last season, so his expected absence from Green Bay's exhibition opener comes as no surprise. Brett Hundley took the first snap with the team's starting offense Monday, suggesting he'll receive the starting nod against Philadelphia.

Coach Vance Joseph said Monday that Siemian will start the Broncos' first preseason game Thursday against the Bears, while Paxton Lynch will start the team's second preseason tilt against the 49ers.

That the two quarterbacks will both draw a turn as the team's starter to open the preseason isn't surprising, given that they are listed as co-starters on the Broncos' initial depth chart and have been splitting first-team practice reps. For now, Siemian probably holds an edge in the competition due to his superior experience, but the job battle is too close call at this juncture and may end up being decided by how the two signal callers perform in exhibition play.

Dolphins coach Adam Gase said Tannehill (knee) has yet to decide whether he'll undergo surgery, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

Tannehill's likelihood of going under the knife appeared to increase upon Miami's signing of veteran quarterback Jay Cutler on Sunday, but a final determination may not be made for a few more days. If Tannehill indeed opts for the surgical route, he'd effectively be ruled out of the entire 2017 campaign. Tannehill's other option would be to simply rehab his partially torn ACL, which would likely require a 6-to-8-week recovery period.

Savage has taken all of the Texans' first-team snaps thus far in training camp, Harry Latham-Coyle of KHOU 11 News reports.

Savage faces competition from rookie first-rounder Deshaun Watson to start at quarterback this season, and although there's optimism that Watson could get playing time early in his career, the veteran looks to have clear leg up at this time. Savage's advanced understanding of the Texans' scheme always figured to give him an early edge, but if he fails to translate that knowledge into dependable production in games, Watson could gain ground in the competition. It'll be interesting to see when Watson gets his chance to work with the starters, but Savage can take confidence from presiding over the offense thus far.

Peterman has not taken many, if any, reps with the second-team offense in several days and appears to be slotted as the No. 3 quarterback behind Tyrod Taylor and T.J. Yates, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW reports.

Peterman might have had a chance to pass Yates had the youngster wowed right out of the gate, but, as expected of most sixth-round rookies, he's struggled at times. There's still plenty of camp and preseason left, but as of now, he doesn't pose a threat to Yates' slotting, leaving the Bills with a clear 1-2-3 pecking order at quarterback.

Miami's decision to sign Jay Cutler suggests Tannehill (knee) likely will have season-ending surgery, NFL Network's James Palmer reports.

At last check, Tannehill was still gathering information while trying to decide between season-ending surgery and taking another shot at rehabbing his partially torn ACL without any procedure. The latter approach likely would still require an absence of 6-8 weeks, which would rule him out for at least the first couple games of the season. At a reported $10 million for one year, Cutler would be an oddly expensive insurance policy if the Dolphins were actually expecting Tannehill to play this season.

Coach Bruce Arians said Gabbert still has a long ways to go in his bid to usurp Drew Stanton, Bob McManaman of AZCentral.com reports.

Gabbert started the Hall of Fame Game and completed 11 of 14 passes for 185 yards, leading Arizona to touchdowns on its first two drives. It was as good of a start as he could've hoped for, but the former first-rounder still faces an uphill battle due to Stanton's ample experience working in Arians' offensive system. Even if Gabbert doesn't win the backup job, a strong preseason might convince Arians to carry three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

Lynch didn't complete any of his four pass attempts and was baited into a pick during Saturday's scrimmage, Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC reports.

Head coach Vance Joseph said that Lynch was "very solid" outside of the pick and that he had a key completion called back due to penalty. Renck noted that Lynch's recent struggles have come as Denver has expanded its playbook. Lynch similarly struggled in minicamp before mastering the offense's basics and taking an early lead in the quarterback competition. It's possible that a similar transformation can happen with the current elements of the offense. It better be soon, though. If Trevor Siemian keeps humming, it might be too late.

Siemian completed three of five passes for 31 yards during Saturday's scrimmage and is showing better mastery of the offense than competitor Paxton Lynch, Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC reports.

Renck highlighted a 22-yard dart to Bennie Fowler and quoted head coach Vance Joseph as saying that Siemian has been very consistent with his ball placement. After falling behind a bit at the end of minicamp and the start of training camp, Siemian seems to have turned it on as Denver adds to its playbook. There's probably still some time before a decision is made, but Siemian will be in position to take complete control if he continues to distance himself in Thursday's scrimmage against Chicago.

Siemian was the better of Denver's two primary quarterbacks on Friday, Cecil Lammey of 104.3 The Fan reports.

The book on Siemian is that he's the savvier, but more physically limited of Denver's competing quarterbacks. There is probably some truth in that, though such assessments also lazily underestimate Siemian's escape ability and arm talent while giving him a pass on some of his poorer decision making. All that being said, Siemian has seemed to take a dink-and-dunk approach to training camp, as opposed to Lynch's boom-or-bust tendencies. One isn't inherently worse than the other, but if you're rookie head coach Vance Joseph and have what projects to be a top-five defense, the safer route maybe more attractive.