NFL Player News

Petty appears to have fallen behind Josh McCown and Christian Hackenberg in the Jets' quarterback competition, ESPN's Rich Cimini reports.

Petty's standing on the team was clear Tuesday, as the 2015 fourth-rounder only received nine reps during team drills compared to 27 for McCown and 18 for Hackenberg. This isn't much of a surprise since McCown and Hackenberg have seemingly been considered the only two legitimate contenders for the job all along. In fact, on the last year of his rookie contract, Petty could be on the roster bubble.

Hackenberg has gotten reps with the first-team offense of late, but Josh McCown continues to get more as the two battle for the starting quarterback job, NJ.com reports.

McCown is widely favored to win the job, but the Jets are going to give Hackenberg, and to a lesser extent Bryce Petty, every opportunity to supplant the veteran. Hackenberg likely has more upside given McCown's history in the league, though he's also much more likely to make costly mistakes.

Gabbert will start and play the first half of Thursday's Hall of Fame Game versus the Cowboys, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

With Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton taking a seat, along with the rest of the starters, Gabbert will be given the first opportunity to direct the offense. Gabbert has been in the system since mid-May, but his previous stops in Jacksonville and San Francisco were less than inspiring, as he averaged 171 yards per game and compiled a 38:37 TD:INT ratio across 43 games. Once Gabbert steps off the field at halftime, fellow reserve Trevor Knight will be under center.

Hoyer put his arm strength on display by firing two accurate throws of 50-plus yards during Monday's practice, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

One of Hoyer's deep shots was simply dropped by Aldrick Robinson, but the other was successfully hauled in for a touchdown by Marquise Goodwin. Both attempts came off play-action setups, an aspect of the game in which head coach Kyle Shanahan believes his starting quarterback can excel this season. The 49ers' revamped running back corps should help create more play-action opportunities for the veteran quarterback, but the key to seeing a more vertical aerial attack will be the performance of an offensive line that struggled mightily in 2016. If everything goes according to plan, we could see Hoyer show off arm strength not many knew he had coming into the season.

Lynch threw two touchdowns and two interceptions during red-zone drills on Monday, Cecil Lammey of Sportsradio 104.3 The Fan reports.

Lynch's competition for the starting quarterback role, Trevor Siemian, reportedly didn't throw a touchdown or a pick during the same session. Though one practice isn't going to make or break things for Lynch or Siemian, it illustrates the differences between the two and how far both have to go. Whoever improves their faults best -- Siemian in making more positive plays and Lynch cutting down on the negative ones -- will likely be the Broncos' top man come Week 1.

Broncos coach Vance Joseph said that both Siemian and Paxton Lynch performed better at Monday's practice following poor showings Sunday,Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post reports.

Joseph also noted that decision making will be a key factor in determining which player wins the starting quarterback role coming out of training camp. That criterion should favor Siemian, who didn't flash much upside as a playmaker in his 14 games in 2016, but excelled at protecting the ball. The Broncos should remain one of the league's top defenses again in 2017, so Siemian's more conservative approach to running the offense could be ideal.

Garoppolo, who dealt with a minor leg-related injury during OTAs, is healthy for training camp, per the Patriots' official site.

As long as starter Tom Brady, who turns 40 on Aug. 3, remains healthy, Garoppolo will be entrenched as the Patriots' No. 2 signal-caller, while Jacoby Brissett slots in as the team's third QB. After an offseason that featured rumors the Patriots might consider dealing Garoppolo, it's clear that the 2014 second-rounder will remain with the franchise for at least 2017 season. Brady has a solid history in terms of durability (other than a torn ACL in 2008), but if Garoppolo is forced into action due to an injury to his veteran counterpart, he'd gain immediate fantasy relevance while helming the Patriots' deep and talented offense.

Goff was sharp during Sunday's practice, Myles Simmons of the Rams' official site reports.

In particular the second-year quarterback connected with Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods on impressive completions during 11-on-11 drills, and Goff has shown especially strong chemistry with Woods through the first two days of training camp. It's encouraging that Goff is in stride with two of his new receivers already. Still, after a dreadful rookie debut, he has a lot to prove before he can be viewed as a reliable fantasy asset in the majority of settings.

Winston's use of a knee brace during Saturday's practice was merely precautionary, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.

Winston was utilizing the brace on his plant leg as a guard against injury, but until head coach Dirk Koetter explained as much after practice, there were some concerned whispers. As was eventually revealed, Winston had actually wanted to wear the brace for Friday's opening practice and had to refrain from doing so when the fit wasn't right. The emerging quarterback did find his secondary to be a bit on the stingy side Saturday, but he still managed to connect on several impressive throws to first-round pick O.J. Howard and prize offseason acquisition DeSean Jackson.

Mahomes required just four plays to lead the offense to a score during a two-minute drill at practice Saturday, Adam Teicher of ESPN reports. "You want to get off the right foot," said co-offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. "[Something] that happens in these two-minute drills, when you have to go 75 yards and you need a touchdown to do it, that first play, it's nice when you get a big chunk."

Mahomes displayed veteran savvy early in the drive, reportedly looking off the safety and connecting with tight end Ross Travis for a big gain. He required just 1:05 and four plays to turn the two-minute drill into a score and has reportedly grown leaps and bounds since the early portions of his time with the team. "I tell everybody from his very first practice that he had when he came in and was screaming in the huddle what the play was -- and didn't realize he was talking to the defense -- to where he is right now, looking off safeties, it's a huge leap," Nagy said. While Mahomes will likely need to sit at least one season behind starter Alex Smith, the strides he's made early in camp seem to have him in the good graces of the coaches. A year under Smith's tutelage should pay dividends down the road, with Mahomes expected to take over the reins under center in a year or two. Naturally, an injury to Smith could also expedite the process if Mahomes proves capable of handling the duties.