NFL Player News

Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert was able to throw on the side during practice Wednesday, but that does not appear to indicate a big improvement in his hand injury. According to coach Gus Bradley, Gabbert is still not expected to play in Week 3 against the Seahawks.

"It'd be a stretch [for Gabbert to play]," Bradley said "We took out some of the stitches. He came out here and threw real light just to see. We're going to have him do some agility-type drills and maybe just throw on the side, but no competition-type things." 

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill apparently injured his shoulder in Sunday's win over the Colts, as he was limited in practice Wednesday. According to the Miami Herald, Tannehill suffered the injury during the game, but was never forced to miss a snap. The Dolphins are preparing to host the Falcons in Week 3. 

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford heads into Week 3 at Washington licking his lips. The Redskins have been atrocious at defending the quarterback this season.

Fantasy owners should be excited about this matchup after the Redskins secondary has allowed 683 passing yards in two games with seven touchdowns -- one rushing -- given up and no interceptions. The 'Skins have given up more Fantasy points to QBs than any other NFL team to this point and Stafford thinks it is his turn next.

Since 2011, Stafford is second in the NFL with 10,640 passing yards. He's won both his career starts against the Redskins and threw for four touchdowns against them in his last meeting.

With Stafford already playing well this season with four touchdowns and one pick after two games, consider him a must-start No. 1 Fantasy QB for Week 3.

Jaguars coach Gus Bradley reiterated Wednesday "it's a stretch" for quarterback Blaine Gabbert (hand) to play Week 3 at Seattle. Gabbert missed his first game of the season Week 2 at Oakland.

The fear of the unknown could scare Fantasy owners away from adding new Browns starting quarterback Brian Hoyer to their rosters and especially to their lineups on Sunday. And, in this case, fear is a good thing.

Hoyer is a risky pickup because of the uncertain nature - as usual - of the Browns' quarterback situation. One doesn't know how long Brandon Weeden (thumb) will be sidelined or if he will get his job back upon his return. Jason Campbell is also in the mix if Hoyer doesn't thrive.

That leads to the obvious question: How can any quarterback thrive with the lack of talent on the Cleveland offense? The return of wide receiver Josh Gordon from suspension and emergence of tight end Jordan Cameron are pluses, but everything else in a minus. Both the pass blocking, particularly off the right side, and overall receiver play have been horrendous.

The Minnesota pass defense has been porous against NFC North rival quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler, but Hoyer is far less accomplished with nowhere near the quality of offensive weapons around him. Hoyer might be a decent pickup as a reserve in deeper leagues if he has an encouraging performance on Sunday. But Fantasy owners should bide their time before even considering adding him to their rosters, let alone playing him on Sunday.

Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski announced Wednesday third-string quarterback Brian Hoyer will start Week 3 at Minnesota in place of the injured Brandon Weeden (thumb). Hoyer was chosen over backup quarterback Jason Campbell, who replaced Weeden in a Week 2 loss at Baltimore.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford has averaged 325.5 yards over his first two games this season, throwing for five touchdowns and two interceptions, while putting up about 27.5 points per game. And his Week 3 opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, have given up the fifth-most Fantasy points per game to quarterbacks in 2013 (31), including six total touchdowns.

It's important to note, however, that much of Bradford's success has come late in games this season. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out that Bradford's passer rating in the first half of games is 82.3, with one touchdown and an interception, while his second half rating is 101.2 with four touchdowns and an interception. And to get even more specific, his fourth quarter rating is 113.6 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Much of this can be attributed to a hurry-up offense that most of the offense prefers. The problem here is that the coaches want to stick with their style and keep the hurry-up confined to the later parts of games in which they fall behind.  

If the Cowboys lead late, we can expect to see more of the no-huddle. If it's a tight game, however, we may see Bradford stuck in the traditional, conservative offense, which will likely hold his numbers back. 

This is all assuming, of course, that these quotes aren't part of a big ploy by the team to make the Cowboys think they won't be running the hurry-up.

On my teams, I am keeping Bradford on the bench, in fear that they team goes back to their conservative style, hangs tough with Dallas, and never gets to run the hurry-up offense. Our rankings back this up, with Bradford inching closer to the top 12, but just not there quite yet. 

Although quarterback Sam Bradford excelled in the no-huddle offense against Atlanta, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said he's not considering using it a lot more often. St. Louis scored three touchdowns in the final 16 minutes, 11 seconds out of the no-huddle.

“We did it because we got behind,” Fisher told the Post-Dispatch.

Fisher noted the team has sometimes gone no-huddle earlier in games, but said there are risks to that approach. “You do it early in the ballgame against a guy like Matt Ryan, go 3-and-out, you got problems,” Fisher said, referring to the Falcons’ quarterback. “You’re putting him back on the field all the time.”

Bradford threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in the loss at Atlanta.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton passed for 280 yards and a touchdown in Monday's win over the Steelers, but he was plagued by overthrows, especially in the first half when he hit 16 of 32 passes. Dalton finished strong and ended up 25 of 45.

He was not intercepted after getting picked off twice in Week 1. 

Dalton found running back Giovani Bernard on a dumpoff for a 27-yard score in the third quarter. He targeted A.J. Green 14 times but connected only six times for 41 yards with his star receiver, who was covered well by Ike Taylor.

Dalton plays the Packers in Week 3.

Through two games Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has been pressured on 22.9 percent of his dropbacks, the lowest rate in the league, according to ProFootballFocus.com. Stafford has thrown for 635 yards and four touchdowns with one interception while posting a 102.0 passer rating.

Stafford has dropped back 83 times. He's been sacked once, and pressured or hit 18 other times. The Lions visit the Redskins in Week 3.