NFL Player News

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Brissett suffered a thumb sprain Thursday against the Texans.

Rapoport adds that Brissett's thumb injury is "not deemed to be a serious one," with the injury slated to be monitored leading up the Patriots' Oct. 2 tilt against the Bills. That said, with Tom Brady suspended for one more game and Jimmy Garoppolo dealing with a shoulder injury, we'd expect the Patriots to add QB depth in the coming days.

Hoyer's potential status as the Bears' starting quarterback isn't expected to be confirmed or not until the team releases its inactive list prior to Sunday night's game against the Cowboys.

Hoyer is anticipated to start in Jay Cutler's (thumb) absence Sunday in Dallas, but his status probably won't be solidified publicly until Chicago's inactives are posted about 90 minutes before kickoff. With 26 career starts to his name, Hoyer represents an experienced alternative to Cutler and is coming off his best season last year, but his limitations as a passer are well known at this point, making him an underwhelming fantasy option should he indeed start Sunday.

Siemian acknowledged that improvements within the Broncos' offense are needed when asked about concerns shared by Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders regarding the team's passing game, 9News Denver reports.

In fairness to Siemian, these frustrations are likely a continuation from last season's mediocre play from Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. Still, the Broncos have invested a boatload of money in Thomas and Sanders and have three 100-yard games combined between the two since Week 9 of last year to show for it. Siemian has deserved praise for his smarts and underneath accuracy through two weeks, but the team's red-zone struggles, Siemian's apparent unwillingness to throw deep, and ineffectiveness when doing so will be glossed over for only as long as the team wins. Once a low-scoring loss or two hits the team's record, there will be clamors for big-armed rookie Paxton Lynch.

Brissett completed 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Thursday's 27-0 victory over the Texans. He also gained 48 yards and scored a touchdown on eight carries.

It probably should come as no surprise that Bill Belichick and his staff would find a way for a rookie starting his first NFL game against a talented defense to put on a virtually flawless performance, but Brissett's poise was nevertheless impressive to behold. The 2016 third-rounder took no chances in the passing game, but cut loose on a 27-yard, first-quarter touchdown run, bootlegging around right tackle and streaking up the sideline while making a nifty move inside the five-yard line to avoid Texans safety Andre Hal and get into the end zone. Brissett made good use of trusty underneath targets Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, connecting with them a combined six times on eight looks. Although he had Rob Gronkowski at his disposal, the rookie only targeted the All-Pro once and leveraged the effective running of LeGarrette Blount to keep the Houston defense off-balance throughout the night. With 10 days until a Week 4 home date with Buffalo, it remains very much in the air whether Brissett or Jimmy Garoppolo will get the call in the final game before Tom Brady returns from suspension.

Brissett is slated to start Thursday night's game against the Texans, with Jimmy Garoppolo having been made inactive for the contest by the Patriots.

With Garoppolo out, Brissett is the only quarterback on the Patriots' active roster Thursday, which sets the stage for wideout Julian Edelman, who played quarterback at Kent State, to serve as an emergency option at the position for the team. While Brissett is a speculative fantasy option in his first NFL start, his prospects on that front are boosted by the return of star tight end Rob Gronkowski to the Patriots' lineup.

Garoppolo (right shoulder) is inactive for Thursday night's game against the Texans.

As a result, Jacoby Brissett will start at QB for the Patriots on Thursday, with wide receiver Julian Edelman - a college signal-caller - on hand as an emergency QB option for the team.

ESPN's Mike Reiss suggests that "at this time, the Patriots are not expected to have Garoppolo (right shoulder) in uniform" for Thursday night's game against the Texans.

Previous reports suggested that Garoppolo was in line to serve as the Patriots' backup QB behind Jacoby Brissett on Thursday, but evidently such an outcome is not a lock. Either way, Garoppolo is not expected to start Thursday's game, and unless that expectation changes closer to kickoff, Garoppolo will remain off the Week 3 fantasy lineup radar.

Garoppolo (shoulder) is expected to be active for Thursday's game against the Texans, but is set to serve as the backup behind Jacoby Brissett , Courtney Fallon of NFL Network reports.

The news that Garoppolo will suit up comes as a surprise given his "doubtful" designation, but he is apparently healthy enough to at least suit up Thursday night. The fact the Patriots did not add another quarterback to the roster, however, indicates the team has full confidence in Brissett; so Garoppolo would likely only see the field in an emergency.

Brissett will start at quarterback Thursday against the Texans, Courtney Fallon of NFL Network reports.

Fellow quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (shoulder), despite being listed as doubtful, is expected to suit up Thursday night, but he is apparently not healthy enough to start, and will instead serve as the backup while Brissett makes his first career start. Brissett held his own while filling in for Garoppolo in Week 2, and the news report indicates the Patriots have full confidence in him and will stick to their regular offensive game plan.

The Bears promoted Barkley from their practice squad to the team's active roster Thursday.

Barkley will join the active roster to provide quarterback depth with Jay Cutler dealing with a thumb injury and seemingly trending toward unavailability for Sunday's game against the Cowboys. If Cutler is indeed ruled out for the Week 3 matchup, Barkley will serve as the backup quarterback behind Brian Hoyer.