NFL Player News

Love (knee) isn't practicing Friday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

The Packers haven't officially ruled Love out for Sunday's game against Indianapolis, but all the signs so far suggest he'll be inactive and Malik Willis will start. Diagnosed with an MCL sprain, Love hasn't practice at all this week.

Coach Jerod Mayo noted that Maye is getting about 30 percent of the reps with the Patriots' top offense in practice, as part of the young QB's development plan, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com and Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald report.

Veteran signal-caller Jacoby Brissett led the team to a Week 1 win over the Bengals and remains the Patriots' starter at this stage, but Mayo acknowledged that Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is seeing more first-team reps than a typical backup would, with an eye toward preparing him for an eventual ascent to the top of the depth chart down the road. "Normally, it's the starter gets let's say 95 percent of the reps, and the backup doesn't," Mayo relayed Friday. "With this a little bit different. And we had a conversation. How do we, I guess the struggle is, how do you get your starting quarterback prepared for the game and also continue to develop the guy in the background, which is Drake. And so it is like a 70/30 split."

Coach Mike McDaniel said Friday that Thompson is the "next man up" at quarterback with Tua Tagovailoa in the concussion protocol, but that Miami will likely bring in a third-stringer from outside the organization, Alain Poupart of SI.com reports.

McDaniel said Miami is "very confident" in Thompson, who appears slated to start Week 3 against the Seahawks on Sunday, Sept. 22 if Tagovailoa is unable to clear concussion protocol, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Thompson entered Thursday night's 31-10 divisional loss to the Buffalo with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter, completing eight of 14 passes for 80 yards without a touchdowns or interception. He also rushed once for four yards, operating an offense without top wideouts Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle, who were both pulled from the matchup early. During the preseason, Thompson beat out Mike White for the Dolphins' backup gig by virtue of completing 35 of 61 passes for 379 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions across three exhibition contests.

Thompson entered Thursday night's 31-10 loss to the Bills for an injured Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter and completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He also rushed once for four yards.

Thompson fired incomplete and took a sack on his first two dropbacks, but he was able to start getting into somewhat of a rhythm on his next possession. Nevertheless, the game was essentially out of reach by early in the final period, and Thompson subsequently led an offense that was without Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle due to the two being pulled early from the lopsided loss. Thompson had some moments of success as a starter in Tagovailoa's stead back in 2022, and he'll be called on to fill in again in a Week 3 road matchup against the Seahawks on Sunday, Sept. 22 if Tagovailoa is unable to clear concussion protocol.

Allen completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions while adding two carries for two yards in the Bills' 31-10 win over the Dolphins on Thursday night. He also fumbled once but recovered.

As the combination of Allen's final line and the final score implies, the star signal-caller didn't have to do much to ensure a comfortable victory for Buffalo. James Cook and the defense did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Bills, although Allen had a hand in Cook's first of three touchdowns on the night by connecting with him on a 17-yard scoring pass in the first quarter. Otherwise, Allen focused almost all his attention on Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid, who were on the receiving end of nine of the quarterback's completions and 87 of his passing yards. Allen could be pressed to do more in a Week 3 Monday night home matchup against the Jaguars on Sept. 23.

Tagovailoa was diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out from returning after exiting Thursday's game against the Bills.

Tagovailoa was injured late in the third quarter after rushing for a first down and lowering his head into the midsection of Damar Hamlin. He was able to walk off the field under his own power but was quickly diagnosed and ruled out. The Dolphins have 10 days until their Week 3 matchup against Seattle, though Tagovailoa's status will be uncertain -- particularly given his history of concussions.

Tagovailoa exited Thursday's game against Buffalo after suffering an apparent head injury, Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Tagovailoa scrambled to get a first down late in the third quarter and lowered his head into Damar Hamlin. He stayed on the field for several minutes but was able to walk off the field under his own power. Tagovailoa immediately went to the locker room for further evaluation, leaving Skylar Thompson to take over under center.

Wilson (calf) was a limited practice participant Thursday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Though Wilson's limited participation represents no change from his level of activity in the Steelers' three practices since he first informed the coaching and training staff exactly one week ago that he aggravated a calf injury that first cropped up in training camp, the quarterback suggested after Thursday's session that he's noticing improvement in his condition. Per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com, Wilson said that he's "getting closer and closer" to playing again. Though Justin Fields still appears to be trending toward a second straight start this Sunday in Denver, the Steelers aren't yet ruling Wilson out from being available for the matchup with one of his former teams. At this stage, however, Wilson appears likely to reprise the role he filled in the Week 1 win over the Falcons, when he was inactive as the Steelers' emergency third quarterback behind Fields and backup Kyle Allen.

Coach Matt LaFleur confirmed that Love (knee) didn't practice Thursday, but the quarterback was "engaged, knows every play call and is coaching up Malik (Willis) and Sean (Clifford)," Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Despite not taking part in drills so far this week due to the MCL sprain that he suffered last Friday against the Eagles in Brazil, Love seemingly has a very small chance to play Sunday versus the Colts. LaFleur again implied as much Thursday, telling Zach Jacobson of 247Sports.com that Love is "gonna do everything he can to be out there, and we'll give him the week." Love has just one more chance to practice before the weekend (Friday), at which point the Packers may make a ruling on his availability for Week 2, but as it stands, Willis appears as if he'll get the starting nod Sunday.

Love (knee) is not participating in the portion of Thursday's practice open to the media, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

The Packers have left the door open for Love to play Sunday against the Colts despite the franchise quarterback reportedly sustaining a Grade 1-to-2 MCL sprain in his left knee during the team's loss to the Eagles in Week 1, but the 2020 first-round pick has yet to practice since sustaining the injury. Malik Willis will continue to work as the first-team QB Thursday, with Sean Clifford slated to be elevated from the practice squad to operate as his backup Week 2 if Love is ultimately ruled out. It sounds like confirmation on Love's status won't arrive until Friday, at the earliest.