NFL Player News

Bridgewater (knee) has been placed on IR by the Vikings.

Bridgewater lands on IR in short order after suffering a dislocated knee in practice Tuesday. Bridgewater's significant injury also included a complete tear to his ACL, as well as other structural damage. Though the Vikings indicated that the QB suffered no nerve or arterial damage, Bridgewater faces a long recovery/rehab period. In his absence, Shaun Hill slots in as the Vikings' top signal-caller in advance of Week 1. With Taylor Heinicke currently on the non-football injury list, undrafted rookie Joel Stave and Brad Sorensen are the team's healthy backup options.

The Steelers have placed Gradkowski (hamstring) on IR.

With Gradkowski headed for IR with his hamstring injury, the Steelers claimed Zach Mettenberger off waivers to give the team added QB depth behind Ben Roethlisberger and Landry Jones.

Jones (shoulder) is expected to play in Thursday's preseason finale, Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News reports.

Jones may not be necessarily 100 percent as he recovers from a sore shoulder, but the rookie will likely be under center in Thursday's final preseason affair. The team plans to start the third-stringer and monitor his health as the game progresses. Recently, the Bills parted ways with Austin Trainor which all but assures that Jones will serve as Buffalo's No. 3 quarterback heading into the regular season.

Sorensen is re-signing with the Vikings on Wednesday, NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reports.

Teddy Bridgewater suffered a season-ending knee injury at Tuesday's practice, leaving Shaun Hill as the presumed top quarterback. Sorensen may still find it tough to make the final roster, as he was released by the Vikings on Aug. 20, with the team cutting him instead of Joel Stave or Taylor Heinicke (ankle). Sorensen may just be another arm for practice and/or the final preseason game.

Savage will be the starting quarterback Thursday night when the Texans face the Cowboys in their final preseason game, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Savage has been sharp during the preseason in relief of starting quarterback Brock Osweiler, earning the backup role ahead of Brandon Weeden. Through three games, the Pitt product has completed 25-of-47 passes for 318 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a rating of 95.9. His 53.9 percent completion percentage is not too impressive, but he's dealt with uneven circumstances, playing mostly with the twos and threes. "I think he's improved," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "I'd just like to see steady improvement from him. I think one of the things that we have to do at that position on Thursday is take care of the football, manage the game properly, move the sticks on third down, execute in the red area, get us into the right plays."

Vaughan (thumb) was placed on the Steelers' injured reserve list Tuesday.

Vaughan suffered a broken thumb in the Steelers' second preseason tilt and was subsequently waived Sunday. As it stands, only Landry Jones and Bryn Renner remain standing as candidates to back up QB Ben Roethlisberger entering 2016.

Bridgewater has officially been diagnosed with a torn ACL, a dislocated knee, and other structural damage, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com reports.

Bridgewater went down at practice earlier Tuesday with a non-contact injury. Just as the Vikings' brass feared, a torn ACL means he's expected to miss the entire season. The good news for Bridgewater is there's no nerve or arterial damage and he's expected to make a full recovery, so the injury isn't career threatening. Shaun Hill is the current favorite to move into the starting lineup in his place, although it wouldn't be surprising if the Vikings added another veteran quarterback prior to the regular season.

Shaw (leg) was placed on the Bears' injured reserve list Tuesday.

Shaw suffered a broken leg during Saturday's preseason tilt against the Chiefs, but no timetable has been provided for his return. It's still possible he could return this year, though, since NFL teams are each allowed to activate any one player per season off IR following Week 6. However, it's likely that Shaw's 2016 campaign has ended before it even began.

Addressing the media Tuesday, coach Mike Zimmer relayed that Bridgewater has suffered a significant knee injury.

The full extent of the injury Bridgewater suffered at Tuesday's practice has yet to be determined, but it looks like he will miss extended time. The QB is currently undergoing an MRI, after which there should be added clarity to the situation. Next up on the Vikings' QB depth chart are veteran signal-caller Shaun Hill and rookie Joel Stave.

Head coach Jeff Fisher said Goff (back) is 50/50 to start Thursday's preseason finale against the Vikings, Myles Simmons of the Rams' official site reports.

Goff's tailbone injury doesn't seem to be a concern, leaving his playing time in the hands of head coach Jeff Fisher, who will likely divide Thursday's game between the rookie and Sean Mannion. While not ruled out, Case Keenum is not expected to get much playing time, if any, in Thursday's contest. Keenum is, however, expected to start Week 1 against the 49ers.