NFL Player News

The Bengals cut backup quarterback Josh Johnson. They'll go with Jason Campbell and rookie AJ McCarron behind Andy Dalton.

With pick No. 194 in the NFL Draft, the Ravens selected quarterback Keith Wenning from Kent State.

Wenning will enter the season at No. 3 on the depth chart at best behind Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor. He has long-term potential, but he's not expected to play any time soon.

In 2013, Wenning became the first Ball State quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season after going 319 of 498 for 4,148 yards with 35 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 13 starts. He set school career records for completions (1,035), attempts (1,642), passing yards (11,402) and touchdowns (92). 

With pick No. 178 in the NFL Draft, the Titans selected quarterback Zach Mettenberger from LSU.

Mettenberger has the chance to challenge Charlie Whitehurst as the No. 2 quarterback for the Titans behind starter Jake Locker. He could be limited in training camp coming off last year's torn ACL.

Chances are Mettenberger would have gone a little bit higher had he not suffered a torn ACL last season. That injury compounded a problem he's had over his career where he has been slow to move around and out of the pocket. But he's close to healed and still has a heck of an arm -- some believe he had the strongest arm in the draft. The numbers back it up as he threw for 5,691 yards and 35 touchdowns in 25 games. 

With pick No. 164 in the NFL Draft, the Bengals selected quarterback A.J. McCarron from Alabama. McCarron will compete with Jason Campbell to be the No. 2 quarterback behind starter Andy Dalton.

Even though Dalton is entering the final year of his contract, McCarron is not in line to start any time soon unless Dalton leaves as a free agent, which isn't likely. McCarron had a standout senior campaign in 2013, winning the Maxwell Award (college football player of the year), the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting.

He set the Alabama record for passing yards after throwing for 3,063 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 13 starts. He had a 36-4 record in 40 career starts with all four losses coming to opponents ranked in the Top 15. 

With the No. 135 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans selected quarterback Tom Savage from Pittsburgh.

The 6-foot-4, 228-pound pocket passer has the strong arm that head coach Bill O'Brien wanted in the draft. He completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,958 yards with 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2013 for the Panthers.

Savage will join a group that has Case Keenum, Ryan Fitzpatrick and T.J. Yates currently at quarterback.

With the No. 62 pick in the NFL Draft, the Patriots selected quarterback <player idref= from Eastern Illinois.

Garoppolo will be No. 3 on the depth chart for the Patriots behind Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett. He could be the eventual replacement for Brady if Mallett isn't with the Patriots beyond 2014 when he's a free agent.

A four-year starter, Garoppolo ran a unique offense that combined an up-tempo approach with a pure read philosophy at Eastern Illinois. The end result was a slew of plays week after week -- and the stats to match. Garoppolo threw for 13,156 passing yards and 118 touchdowns over four seasons and impressively had just nine interceptions over 568 pass attempts.

He's considered a smart, big enough quarterback with a good arm and a very fast release, but questions about his experience playing in the FCS rather than the FBS cloud his future. The Patriots have time to find out with Brady not going anywhere any time soon.

Derek Carr's landing in Oakland is a positive. He's a strong-armed, sharp quarterback who should find playing time before the season ends. He's also a local California kid, which shouldn't hurt things for the franchise. This is a squad that has lacked a quality quarterback for a long time. Carr fits the bill. Once he gets in there he'll end up throwing a bunch -- he's a Raider and that's what they do, whether by choice or because they're playing from behind.

Carr's a Fantasy pick for the future, not for the present. We like him with a middle- to late-round pick in dynasty/keeper leagues and a Top 10 pick in rookie-only drafts. We wouldn't take him in a seasonal format.

With the No. 36 pick in the NFL Draft, the Raiders selected quarterback Derek Carr from Fresno State. Carr is expected to be No. 2 on the depth chart behind Matt Schaub.

Carr, the younger brother of former No. 1 overall pick David Carr, is 6-foot-3, 214-pounds. He has a strong arm and put up 5,083 passing yards and 50 touchdowns while completing 68.9 percent of his passes as a senior.

Over four years with the Bulldogs he played in 43 games and threw for 12,626 yards and 111 touchdowns with just 23 interceptions. He will likely sit as a rookie behind Schaub barring injury or poor play by the veteran, but Carr could be the starter in 2015.

The Vikings have plans to not rush Teddy Bridgewater along in his progress and have no problems starting the season with Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback. 

"There is no pressure on this kid to come in and play," GM Rick Spielman said. "We're very comfortable with Matt Cassel right now. We're very comfortable with Christian Ponder. He'll come in and compete and then the coaches will determine if he's even ready to play this year."

With playing time not promised to Bridgewater and a good but not great receiving corps waiting for him even if he does play, Fantasy owners shouldn't get too excited about his prospects this season. That can change of course if he does do well in training camp and unseats Cassel. Until then, he's only worth drafting with a middle- to late-round pick in dynasty/keeper leagues and a pick between fifth and 15th overall in rookie-only drafts. 

Even though the Browns drafted quarterback Johnny Manziel in the first round of the NFL Draft, coach Mike Pettine still expects Brian Hoyer to be his starter in Week 1, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer .

"Whether he was taken at four, or going at 22, it will be a competition and I meant that when I said it," said Pettine. "I don't think you can hand jobs to people when they come in. It's a situation where despite what's around him and what's following him -- and there will be that pressure to play him -- we're in the business of evaluating the best quarterback for the Cleveland Browns to win football games and that's who's going to play, whether that's Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel."