NFL Player News

Ravens quarterback Tyrod Taylor said he spoke with coach John Harbaugh and understands he'll have to compete for the backup job in 2014.

"Yeah, we talked about it, and there's competition across the league every day," Taylor told the Baltimore Sun. "You've got to compete for your job to stay there. We know where we stand. I'm trying to get better every day. Competition — that's the name of this game."

Taylor has a career 47.2 passer rating, with no touchdowns and two interceptions among 35 pass attempts.

Having lost backup quarterback Shaun Hill to the Rams, the Lions are expected to "turn their sights" to free agent Dan Orlovsky, reports the Detroit Free Press. Orlovsky played for Detroit from 2005-08 and spent the last two years with the Buccaneers.

In 2011 Orlovsky played for the Colts under coach Jim Caldwell, now the head man in Detroit. Orlovsky played reasonably well that season, completing 63.2 percent of his throws for 1,201 yards in eight games. He threw six touchdows and four interceptions while losing three fumbles.

Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley had a realistic shot at backing up Nick Foles -- until the team agreed to terms Thursday with Mark Sanchez. Now Barkley, a fourth-round pick out of USC last year, figures to compete with G.J. Kinne for the third-string job.

Barkley played in four games last year, completing 30 of 49 throws for 300 yards and no touchdowns. He tossed four interceptions and lost a fumble.

Jets coach Rex Ryan told Pro Football Talk that the quarterback competition between Geno Smith and Michael Vick won't be a distraction because "we're not going to let somebody else's agenda get in our way." Ryan presumably referred to the media.

Ryan also reiterated that Smith, who accounted for 18 touchdowns and 25 turnovers as a rookie, will be hard to beat out.

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said the team has not received any inquiries about third-year quarterback Kirk Cousins, who would welcome a trade and a chance to start, reports the Washington Post.

“No. no. nothing,” Gruden said. “We’re excited to have Kirk. You need two great quarterbacks on your team. you never know. The way Robert plays and the style he plays with, you never know what can happen. Injuries are a part of the game. You need two excellent quarterbacks and we’re fortunate to have two of the better quarterbacks.”

Quarterback Luke McCown re-signed with the Saints on a one-year deal, his agent said.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford ranked 30th last year with a 58.5 percent completion rate. New coach Jim Caldwell is focused on raising that number significantly.

"Every single time you throw, you throw at a target," Caldwell said, per MLive.com. "I'm trying to hit your right ear, I'm trying to hit your left shoulder. Every single time, even when you're warming up. You work on your accuracy just constantly and you look at small targets. That's what gets you accustomed to being able to pinpoint your accuracy."

Caldwell said Stafford can be much more precise."He has the ability to do that," Caldwell said. "But the key is to be able to do it more consistently. That's what we're always striving for."

Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed the team wants to upgrade at backup quarterback. Tyrod Taylor is entering the final year of his contract and has never completed 60 percent of his passes in the preseason, notes ESPN.com.

"We've been very happy with Tyrod, and we feel like he has a great future, but we have been a little disappointed how he's played in games certainly," Harbaugh told the website. "We feel like he's a lot better than he's showed. I know he feels that way, too. We feel like Tyrod's best football is by far definitely in front of him, but he's only got one year left with us, so we need to add a quarterback into the mix, whether it be offseason or in the draft.”

The Texans are expected to draft a quarterback with the top overall pick in May's NFL draft. But whoever it is will have to compete for the job, so says head coach Bill O'Brien via the Houston Chronicle. 

"They've been told they're going to be given a shot to compete," O'Brien said of passers Ryan Fitzpatrick, T.J. Yates and Case Keenum. "They've all been told basically the same thing -- they're going to be given a shot to compete. We brought Fitzy in and had a good talk with him. We told him nothing's guaranteed, that he's being brought in to compete, to get better every day and try to be the starting quarterback. They all have starting experience. The deal is competition."

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis rallied for his quarterback Andy Dalton on Tuesday, specifically saying he deserved a contract extension. Dalton has improved statistically over three NFL seasons but has gone 0 for 3 in playoff appearances over three consecutive years. 

"It's something we hope we can do sooner than later because it's a big piece of our puzzle that is kind of holding out there nebulous right now," Lewis said of signing Dalton to an extension, per the official website. "So we'd like to get it done where it makes sense for us and makes sense for him and we can preserve a small portion of the football team to go forward."

Lewis said Dalton deserved a contract extension on the merits of his play and growth so far. 

"What he's accomplished has been great ... We want to continue to grow with him," Lewis said. "He's got all the work ethic and the dynamics of why we drafted him to begin with, so that hasn't changed. All he's done is made good on everything we thought he would. One player doesn't lose a playoff game ... we feel like we have a great young player in Andy, we are hopeful we can get a deal done that works and Andy can put it behind him. ... He doesn’t have to go into the season and worry about this contract thing."