NFL Player News

Rodgers isn't slated to play in Thursday's preseason game versus the Packers, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

With Rodgers in street clothes ahead of the contest, the Steelers will turn over the offense to Mason Rudolph (likely 1-to-2 series), Will Howard (the rest of the first half) and Drew Allar (after halftime), per Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. Coach Mike McCarthy has suggested he would like Rodgers to get some exhibition reps this month, so the quarterback's next chance to do so is Friday, Aug. 21 versus the Jets.

Bennett is slated to start Saturday's preseason opener against the Chiefs, Stu Jackson of the Rams' official site reports.

With top QB Matthew Stafford presumably not set to see the field Saturday, Bennett will get the start while his competition for the team's No. 2 job, Ty Simpson, will see action in the contest as well. Matthew Caldwell is also a candidate to see snaps versus Kansas City once Bennett and Simpson have had their turns.

Purdy isn't in line to play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Titans, Vic Tafur and Matt Barrows report.

The report indicates that the 49ers won't play most of their starters Thursday, and with Purdy set to sit this one out, Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke and Adrian Martinez are the team's available signal-caller option against Tennessee. With Jones already entrenched as Purdy's top backup, Rourke and Martinez could end up seeing the bulk of the QB reps Thursday.

Beck won't play in Thursday's preseason game against the Raiders due to a rib injury he sustained in the previous Thursday's preseason game against the Panthers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Beck practiced through soreness all week and the injury isn't considered serious, per Rapoport, but the Cardinals are nonetheless opting to hold the rookie third-round pick out of action for the second of Arizona's four preseason contests. Beck impressed in the Hall of Fame Game, completing 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown while playing the entire first half. Jacoby Brissett, who is expected to be Arizona's Week 1 starter, is set to start Thursday's preseason tilt. Beck's next chance to see preseason action will come Aug. 22 against the Cowboys.

Bagent is in line to start and play the first half of Saturday's preseason opener against the Browns, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Head coach Ben Johnson named Bagent the starter for Saturday's game and added that Caleb Williams won't play Saturday and may not see action at all in the preseason. Bagent is firmly penciled in as Williams' backup in a quarterback room that also includes Case Keenum and Miller Moss.

Williams won't play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Browns, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Head coach Ben Johnson revealed Thursday that the Bears plan to sit "a number" of their starters, with Williams among those getting the day off. Per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Johnson seems to be leaning toward resting Williams for the entire preseason, though a final determination on the starting quarterback's status for the second and third preseason games has yet to be made. Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum and Miller Moss are the other QBs on Chicago's roster, and Finley reports that Bagent is on track to play the first half of Saturday's preseason opener.

Rattler will start Saturday's preseason game against the Jaguars, per Saints head coach Kellen Moore.

Rattler will get the first opportunity to make his case for the backup role behind Tyler Shough. Zach Wilson is competing for the second spot on the Saints' quarterback depth chart as well, and New Orleans also has Hunter Dekkers in the QB room. Rattler and Wilson are likely to both see plenty of preseason action as the Saints sort out their backup QB situation.

Mahomes (knee) won't play in Kansas City's preseason opener against the Rams on Saturday, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

Mahomes has been progressing well in his recovery from a torn ACL that was surgically repaired in December. He has been cleared for 11-on-11 drills, but the Chiefs don't have much incentive to rush the star quarterback's return to game action. Justin Fields, Garrett Nussmeier and Chris Oladokun will suit up at quarterback Saturday. Mahomes continues to target the Sept. 14 regular-season opener against the Broncos as his return date.

McCarthy told reporters Wednesday that he wants to remain in Minnesota despite losing the Vikings' quarterback competition to Kyler Murray, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

"This is the place I want to be," McCarthy said. "And I love every single person in this building. I love the state. I love the fanbase. And I'm going to continue to just do whatever I can for this team and this organization." Murray was named the team's Week 1 starter Tuesday and veteran backup Carson Wentz remains on the roster, leading to speculation that the Vikings could try to trade McCarthy. Minnesota's 2024 first-round draft pick missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury, and McCarthy then threw for 1,632 yards with an 11:12 TD:INT across 10 starts during the 2025 regular season, prompting Minnesota to bring in an alternative option in Murray.

Head coach Joe Brady said Thursday that Allen and the rest of Buffalo's healthy starters will play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Panthers, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

Brady added that he wants Allen to be competitive but mindful Saturday, per Glab. Allen is expected to start Saturday's preseason game but probably won't play more than a few series before giving way to backups Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele.