NFL Player News

Darnold and the rest of the Seahawks' starters won't play in Thursday's preseason game versus the Raiders, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

This likely means Kenneth Walker, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and the starting offensive line will sit out, but it remains to be seen who else will stay in street clothes. Darnold has put forth a solid training camp thus far and is locked in as the starter after throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with the Vikings last season. Rookie third-round pick Jalen Milroe and Drew Lock are battling for the No. 2 job and are expected to be active for Thursday's game.

Flacco is the "strong favorite" to begin the regular season as Cleveland's starting quarterback, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

Flacco has been the "presumed favorite" since the beginning of training camp, and multiple factors have helped him tighten his grip on the role. First, Jackson reports that the veteran QB had his best two days of throwing Friday and Saturday. Second, Kenny Pickett strained a hamstring July 27 and is still working his way back to full speed, though he's returned to practice in a limited capacity. Finally, rookie Shedeur Sanders hasn't been able to do much as he deals with arm soreness, though Jackson suggests that neither Sanders nor fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel ever had a "realistic chance" of winning the starting job out of the gate. It all adds up to Flacco looking like the Browns' starter Week 1 against Cincinnati, though Pickett still could make a case for the role if he outshines Flacco upon returning to full health.

Stafford (back) is unlikely to participate in joint practices with the Cowboys next week, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports.

The Rams have taken a cautious approach with Stafford and reiterated that they have a plan in mind that will have their quarterback on the field for Week 1 against the Texans. That said, he doesn't appear likely to see the field much, if at all, in the early portions of August. Jimmy Garoppolo will see the majority of first-team reps in the meantime.

Sanders did not participate in team drills during Saturday's training camp practice due to arm soreness, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

With Sanders and Kenny Pickett (hamstring) both sidelined during team drills, it was Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel who split those reps Saturday. Sanders was spotted in sprinting drills with teammates at the end of Saturday's practice, and with the Browns off Sunday, the rookie fourth-rounder could be back on the field for Monday's session.

Head coach Todd Bowles relayed that Mayfield (hand) will not participate in Saturday's practice but is expected to return to the field next week, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Mayfield suffered a contusion on his throwing hand during Thursday's training camp practice. There's no urgency to have him return to the practice field given that it's training camp, but the veteran should be back to work with the first-team offense in the coming week before the Buccaneers' preseason opener against the Titans on Aug. 9. Kyle Trask will likely get the lion's share of reps with the first-team offense in Mayfield's absence.

Though Joe Flacco handled the bulk of the first-team QB reps during team drills Friday, Gabriel mixed in with the first unit as well, Dan Labbe of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

That's an arrangement that had had been in play while Kenny Pickett dealt with a hamstring issue. However, with Pickett back on the field Friday -- albeit in a limited fashion -- we'd expect a return to Flacco and Pickett sharing most of the first-team work in practice before long, with Gabriel mixing in to a lesser degree while Shedeur Sanders gets reps with the second- or third-team offense.

Though Kenny Pickett (hamstring) was back on the practice field Friday, Flacco continued to handle the bulk of the Browns' QB reps during team drills, Dan Labbe of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

In his first practice back from a hamstring injury that he suffered last Saturday, Pickett went through individual drills Friday. Once he's ready to work fully, however, we'd expect Pickett to resume splitting most of the first-team reps with Flacco, with Dillon Gabriel mixing in with the first unit to a lesser degree, while Shedeur Sanders gets reps with the second- or third-team offense. With that in mind, Cleveland's QB competition is far from settled, with coach Kevin Stefanski declining to reveal his signal-caller plan for the team's Aug. 8 preseason opener against the Panthers, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com.

Coach Kevin Stefanski said that Pickett (hamstring) will return to practice Friday in a limited capacity, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

After missing three practices with a hamstring injury, Pickett is back on the field for Friday's session, though he won't work in team drills. Now that he's back in action, Pickett will return to the task of competing with veteran QB Joe Flacco for the team's Week 1 starting nod. Prior to sustaining his hamstring issue, Pickett had been splitting most of the first-team reps with Flacco, with Dillon Gabriel also sprinkling in, while Shedeur Sanders didn't get any work with the first unit.

Jones and Anthony Richardson have remained neck and neck throughout the Colts training camp quarterback competition, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

The two signal-callers continue to share training camp reps, with coach Shane Steichen not yet inclined to reveal his plan for who will get the starting nod in the team's Aug. 7 preseason opener against the Ravens. Following Thursday's practice, Steichen noted that both players "have made plays at a high level the past couple of days, and that's what you want to see. You want to see growth; you want to see completions; you want to see the offense moving up and down the field. So, both have been doing a really good job."

Panthers coach Dave Canales said Friday that Young and other starters will play in the first two preseason games, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

Young made one appearance last preseason, throwing a TD pass on his lone drive but then getting off to a dreadful start in the regular season. He was better later in the year after he returned from a benching, especially over the final few weeks, setting up 2025 as essentially a make-or-break season. The good news for Young, apart from his progress late last year, is that he has a solid offensive line in front of him -- with all five starters seemingly healthy right now -- and an upgrade group of pass catchers. Rookie No. 8 overall pick Tetairoa McMillan highlights the group, but there's also optimism coming out of Panthers camp about WR Xavier Legette and TE Ja'Tavion Sanders making strides in Year 2. It sounds like we'll see most of them next Friday (Aug. 8) when the Panthers kick off their preseason with a home exhibition against the Browns.