NFL Player News

Savage will serve as the Texans' No. 2 quarterback in their Week 2 matchup with the Bengals on Thursday if Deshaun Watson (ankle) is able to practice Tuesday without incident, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports.

Savage was never expected to have a long leash on the starting job after the Texans selected Watson with the 12th overall pick of the draft in April, but it appears the former's reign atop the depth chart lasted all of two quarters, shorter than most pessimists might have even predicted. The 27-year-old was pulled in favor of Watson at halftime of the Texans' 29-7 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday after he completed just seven of 13 passes for 62 yards and showed little ability to evade the Jacksonville pass rush, taking six sacks and losing two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Watson committed two turnovers of his own in the second half, but at least gave the Texans a more mobile presence in the pocket and generated the team's only score of the afternoon, connecting with DeAndre Hopkins on a red-zone touchdown. The rookie sustained a minor ankle injury in the contest, but so long as it doesn't provide any complications for him during the Texans' lone practice of the week, it looks like he'll be the team's starter in Week 2 and quite likely, the rest of the season. That would relegate Savage to a permanent backup gig, just about eliminating any fantasy appeal he might have offered in 2017.

The Texans plan to have Watson start their Week 2 matchup Thursday against the Bengals if his injured ankle doesn't present any issues for him during Tuesday's practice, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports.

After the Texans failed to put up any points behind Tom Savage in the first half of their blowout loss to the Jaguars in Week 1, coach Bill O'Brien turned to the team's first-round pick at quarterback to begin the second half. The decision paid immediate dividends with Watson tossing a touchdown pass on his first NFL drive, but the rookie's performance was otherwise uneven, as he finished with 102 yards through the air while completing 12 of 23 passes and 16 yards on the ground while committing two turnovers. Even so, Watson provided enough of a spark to convince O'Brien that he was worthy of a starting assignment, though the quick turnaround won't afford the signal caller much time to prepare for the nod. The exact nature of the ankle injury that Watson suffered in the opener isn't known, but it's viewed as only a minor concern, so it would be surprising if it ended up preventing him from dressing Thursday.

Siemian completed 17 of 28 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns, and he also scored a rushing touchdown during Monday's win over the Chargers.

The Chargers defense didn't give up too much in the passing game, so while Siemian's yardage total was rather pedestrian, this wasn't a cakewalk matchup. Of course, his rushing score was a huge fantasy boost alongside his two passing touchdowns. To his credit, Siemian looked extremely mobile and took advantage of a number of rushing opportunities that opened up. He finished with 19 rushing yards. The Broncos' defense positioned Siemian in game-manager mode for most of the night, and not making mistakes will likely continue to be more important than making big plays. Unfortunately, despite Monday's strong showing, the third-year quarterback's fantasy upside is probably capped as a result. Outside of two-QB settings, Siemian is likely best viewed as a matchup-based option.

Bradford completed 27 of 32 attempts for 346 passing yards and three touchdowns in Monday night's win over the Saints.

Bradford was simply superb to start this season, connecting on over 84 percent of his passes while hitting seven different targets. After setting a new league record for completion percentage last season, Bradford's precision shouldn't come as a surprise, but his 10.8 yards per attempt already top any mark from his first year in Minnesota. In fact, besides his numbers in last season's Week 16 loss to the Packers, Monday represented Bradford's best performance as a Viking. All three of his touchdown tosses came inside the red zone, but a whopping eight of Bradford's completions went for at least 20 yards. Granted, he was going against a Saints defense that's been historically bad in recent seasons, but with the help of a running attack that appears much improved, Bradford should like where he stands heading into Week 2's meeting versus the Steelers.

Heinicke (concussion) agreed to an injury settlement Monday, per the NFL's official transaction log.

Heinecke is now removed from injured reserve and immediately eligible to sign with any team other than the Vikings.

Texans coach Bill O'Brien said Monday that he hasn't decided if Watson (ankle) or Savage will start Thursday's game against the Bengals, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports.

Both quarterbacks were highly ineffective in the opener while playing behind a porous offensive line with an injury-riddled supporting cast. Watson also suffered an injury of his own, though the Texans haven't suggested that the ankle issue is serious enough to threaten his Thursday availability. The team probably doesn't want to jump right back to Savage after benching him Sunday, but the decision becomes much trickier if Watson's mobility could be limited. Houston will get Jaelen Strong (suspension) back for Week 2, but the team may be playing without its top three tight ends, each of whom suffered a concussion during Sunday's loss.

Savage was benched at halftime of Sunday's 29-7 loss to the Jaguars.

Savage took six sacks and lost two fumbles as the Jaguars jumped out to a 19-0 lead. Deshaun Watson led a 75-yard touchdown drive immediately after taking over, but the rest of the second half was similar to what Savage experienced, with the rookie committing two turnovers and taking four sacks behind an overmatched offensive line. The Texans likely will stick with their first-round pick for Thursday's game against Cincinnati, though coach Bill O'Brien avoided commenting on the matter after Sunday's loss.

The Texans likely will stick with Watson (ankle) for Thursday's game against the Bengals, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Watson entered Sunday's 29-7 loss to Jacksonville at the beginning of the third quarter, after Tom Savage took six sacks and lost two fumbles in the first half. Watson immediately led a 14-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins, but the rookie was unable to move the ball the rest of the afternoon, ultimately taking four sacks of his own and turning the ball over twice. It makes sense that the Texans would stick with their 2017 first-round draft pick, though Watson did suffer a minor ankle injury in Week 1 that could complicate the decision, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Prescott completed 24 of 39 passes for 268 yards and one touchdown in Sunday's 19-3 victory over the Giants. He also rushed three times for 24 yards.

After losing to the Giants twice last season, Prescott pulled off the victory in efficient fashion Sunday while looking to be a more decisive passer than he was in his rookie year. He looked to be more aggressive as well, taking chances down the field in a way he hadn't last season. While his overall stats weren't all that impressive, Prescott was close to connecting with WR Dez Bryant for big gains on multiple occasions and also drew a 21-yard pass interference penalty at one point. Prescott will likely have a much tougher time throwing the ball next week, though, as the Cowboys are traveling to Denver to take on a vaunted Broncos secondary that allowed the fewest passing yards in the league last season.

Mariota completed 25 of 41 passes for 256 yards while adding three rushes for 26 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 26-16 Week 1 loss to the Raiders.

Mariota found pay dirt on a 10-yard scramble in the first quarter, but failed to lead his team back into the end zone the rest of the way. It was surprising to see the third-year quarterback fail to throw a touchdown in 41 passing attempts after posting a 26:9 touchdown to interception ratio last year, especially with rookie wide receiver Corey Davis serving as another receiving weapon alongside Rishard Matthews and tight end Delanie Walker. Things don't get any easier next week in a road tilt with a Jaguars defense that logged 10 sacks and held Houston under 200 passing yards in its opener.