NFL Player News

Rodgers completed 39 of 56 passes for 326 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in Thursday's 26-10 victory over the Bears. He also gained seven yards on two rushes and lost a fumble.

For at least one night. Rodgers was able to put forth the type of performance that will help silence some of his recent critics. Granted, his impressive yardage was the product of an atypical and unsustainable 56 throws, meaning the All-Pro signal-caller averaged only 5.8 yards per attempt. However, given the makeshift condition of the Packers' backfield, Rodgers responded to having a heavier-than-usual workload placed on his shoulders by finding Davante Adams for a whopping 13 receptions and a pair of touchdowns and Randall Cobb for another 11 catches for 95 yards and a score. Factoring in Ty Montgomery's 10 grabs, Rodgers targeted the trio a total of 44 times, completing 34 of those passes. Surprisingly, Jordy Nelson only saw four looks from Rodgers, as he focused on a short-to-intermediate passing game that worked to near perfection. While Thursday's path to a win was fairly unorthodox from a passing game perspective, Rodgers will try to build on his positive momentum when he and the Packers take on the Falcons in a Week 8 showdown.

Barkley completed six of 15 passes for 81 yards with no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in Thursday's 26-10 loss to the Packers. He also lost a yard on his sole rush.

Barkley was pressed into action after Brian Hoyer exited in the second quarter with what turned out to be a broken arm and looked like you'd expect a quarterback who'd made a grand total of one pass attempt since 2013 to look. The 26-year-old had trouble establishing any type of rhythm and consequently, Zach Miller found himself as the Bears' leading receiver with only 40 yards through the air. With Jay Cutler (thumb) inactive, the Bears had nowhere else to turn Thursday once Hoyer went down, but it would appear highly likely that the former will get the starting nod when Chicago takes on the Vikings in Week 8.

Tracey Wolfson of CBS reported during Thursday's telecast that Hoyer suffered a broken arm taking hit in the first half.

Hoyer completed four passes on 11 attempts for 49 yards before the injury occurred. He was replaced by Matt Barkley, who is now the only healthy quarterback on the Bears' roster. It is not yet clear how long Hoyer will be sidelined.

Hoyer (forearm) will not return to Thursday's contest against the Packers.

Hoyer left early on in Thursday's game and was taken directly to the locker room for x-rays. The specifics of his injury have not yet been disclosed but with him out Matt Barkley is the only active quarterback for Chicago. Hoyer finished with 49 yards on 4 of 11 passing.

Hoyer was forced to leave Thursday's game against the Packers due to an arm injury, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN reports.

Hoyer was hit by Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers early in the second quarter of Thursday's game and was immediately taken to the locker room with trainers holding his left forearm. It remains unclear what the specifics of the injury are and his return is in question. Matt Barkley will fill in for Hoyer in the meantime.

Smith was officially named the Jets' starting quarterback by head coach Todd Bowles on Wednesday.

Smith replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick in Monday's game against the Cardinals after throwing yet another red-zone interception, and while Smith was also picked off in his limited playing time, Fitzpatrick's struggles over the course of the season have landed him on the no. 2 spot on the depth chart. Smith was a fairly weak fantasy option when he was the starter a few years ago, and with Brandon Marshall his only established wideout, it's tough to see a fantasy breakout happening anytime soon.

Heinicke (ankle) returned to practice Wednesday after a lengthy recovery stemming from July foot surgery, Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune reports.

Heinicke has a three-week window for the Vikings to either activate him from the reserve/NFI list, waive him, or send him to IR. If he's activated he'll likely serve as the No. 3 option at quarterback behind starter Sam Bradford and veteran backup Shaun Hill.

The Jets are expected to name Smith their starting quarterback Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

It's not clear if this is a short-term or long-term plan, and the move will not be official until confirmed by either the Jets or head coach Todd Bowles, but it appears Smith is set to replace Ryan Fitzpatrick as the team's primary quarterback.

Prescott will start in Week 8 against the Eagles following the Cowboys' bye week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.

The Cowboys have not committed to Prescott starting the rest of the season, but fellow quarterback Tony Romo is not expected to be ready to play until Week 9 at the earliest, so Prescott will get at least one more start coming out of the Cowboys' off week. The team has little reason to push Romo given Prescott's performance so far, and figures to wait on making a call as to who starts when Romo is finally back to full health.

Head coach Todd Bowles may be considering a switch of signal-callers for Sunday's game versus the Ravens, Rich CImini of ESPN.com reports. "I did re-visit [the situation between Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith]," Bowles said Tuesday.

Down 21-3 late in the third quarter and in the red zone, Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed a back-breaking interception and was replaced by Geno Smith on the Jets' ensuing drive. Smith fared OK, completing four of six passes for 31 yards, but his final attempt was picked off by the Cardinals' Tyrann Mathieu. Afterward, Bowles merely referred to Smith as a "relief" option, but his state of mind has seemingly been altered following the return trip to the east coast. Before a decision between Fitzpatrick and Smith is made, Bowles will touch base with the coaching staff and general manager Mike Maccagnan.