NFL Player News

Mariota left the first quarter of Friday's preseason game against the Dolphins due to an apparent right knee injury, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Mariota may have picked up the injury when he was hit by Tyrel Dodson right after a pass to Dyami Brown. Mariota initially stayed in but was favoring his right leg after handing the ball off to Kaytron Allen, and the veteran quarterback has gone to the locker room to undergo further tests, per Jhabvala. Sam Hartman has taken over as the Commanders' quarterback following Mariota's departure.

Mertz (knee) suffered a torn ACL during Thursday's preseason opener against the Chargers, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

With the severity of the injury confirmed, Mertz will undergo season-ending surgery shortly. The reserve quarterback behind C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills played just one half of football in 2026, completing four of seven passes for 23 yards and rushing three times for 15 yards. The Texans will likely bring in another quarterback to shore up the unit's depth before the start of the regular season.

Rourke (ribs) was discharged from the hospital Thursday night, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Rourke left Thursday night's preseason opener against the Titans with shortness of breath due to a rib injury. The quarterback's next chance to get preseason reps will be in next Thursday's contest against the Chargers. Rourke is competing with Adrian Martinez for the No. 3 quarterback role behind Brock Purdy and Mac Jones. Healthy preseason snaps will be a must for the 2025 seventh-rounder as he tries to remain on the 49ers' 53-man roster in consecutive seasons.

Smith won't play in Friday's preseason game against the Buccaneers due to a sore foot, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

On Tuesday, coach Aaron Glenn told Al Iannazzone of Newsday that Smith and the rest of the Jets' starters would log some snaps Friday. While an injury to Smith has quelled those plans, the team isn't concerned about it, and he'd play through it if it was the regular season. Instead, New York will take a cautious approach with its starting quarterback, meaning his next chance for exhibition action is next Friday at Pittsburgh.

Tagovailoa has the "inside track" to be named the Falcons' starting quarterback ahead of Week 1, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Helping Tagovailoa's cause so far in training camp has been his accuracy, though Michael Penix's ongoing recovery from the torn ACL he suffered Week 11 of last season has contained him to 7-to-7 drills, at best, in practice. Fowler noted that coach Kevin Stefanski "might wait this out until after the preseason to name a starter," so it appears he'll make Tagovailoa earn the role on his merits. Tagovailoa is slated to start Friday's exhibition against the Broncos, which may help him stake a claim to the eventual No. 1 role.

Daniels isn't slated to suit up for Friday's preseason game versus the Dolphins, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Other key skill-position players like RBs Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White, WRs Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs and TE Chig Okonkwo are in the same boat as Daniels. Because White, Diggs and Okonkwo all are newcomers to the Commanders this season, Daniel likely will see some exhibition action before Week 1, with his next chance to do so Saturday, Aug. 22 in Detroit.

Coach Mike Macdonald said Friday that Darnold won't suit up for Saturday's preseason game versus the Cowboys, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.

Darnold will have two more opportunities to log some exhibition action before the regular season, with the next such chance coming Sunday, Aug. 23 at Tennessee. While the Seahawks' receiving corps didn't experience significant changes in the offseason, the backfield lost Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs in free agency, while Zach Charbonnet remains in recovery mode from a January ACL tear. Darnold thus will be handing off to some combination of rookie first-rounder Jadarian Price (lower body), George Holani and Emanuel Wilson to kick off the regular season.

The Texans believe that Mertz tore his ACL during Thursday's preseason opener against the Chargers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Per Schefter, there is expected to be additional testing to confirm Mertz's injury, but at this stage it doesn't look good for the 2025 sixth-rounder. As a result, look for Houston to bring in added QB depth behind C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills in short order.

Maye did not play in the Patriots' 13-13 preseason tie with the Colts on Thursday.

As expected, the star quarterback got the night off for the exhibition opener while Tommy DeVito and Behren Morton split snaps under center. Maye's next chance to build chemistry with new wideouts A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs will come next Saturday against Brown's former team, the Eagles.

Richardson got the start in Thursday's 13-13 preseason tie with the Patriots, completing 11 of 14 passes for 145 yards and an interception while adding 53 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries. He also lost a fumble.

The 2023 first-round pick barely saw action in 2025 due to injuries, but Richardson has been healthy in training camp and played the entire first half, producing the Colts' only TD of the night on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter. His two turnovers could be attributed to rust, but ball security was an issue for Richardson even before he got hurt, as he threw 12 INTs while losing three of nine fumbles over 11 regular-season contests in 2024. He'll begin the current campaign backing up Daniel Jones, and hoping to show enough to increase his trade value.