NFL Player News

Rudolph completed 10 of 17 passes for 125 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Saturday's 16-15 preseason win over the Seahawks. He added four rushes for 15 yards.

Rudolph entered the game after Malik Willis, with his first drive coming with five minutes left in the second quarter. He immediately led a touchdown march, during which he went 3-for-4 for 40 yards. Rudolph and Willis are competing for the backup job, though the former appears to be the favorite for the role to begin the regular season.

Willis completed 12 of 16 passes for 116 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Saturday's 16-15 preseason win over the Seahawks. He added four rushes for 30 yards.

The Titans sat Will Levis for the game, leaving Willis in line for the start over Mason Rudolph. Willis had several strong throws, highlighted by gains of 24 and 14 yards. Unsurprisingly, he was able to supplement that with his work on the ground, also chipping in an 11-yard rush. Willis is competing with Rudolph for the backup job to begin the regular season, and the former's current standing with the team remains unclear.

Howell completed 11 of 14 passes for 153 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Saturday's 16-15 preseason loss to the Titans. He added two rushes for 11 yards.

The Seahawks have shown little interest in playing their starters this preseason, leaving Howell to handle the majority of the exhibition contests. He played a clean game Saturday and dropped a beautiful pass into the arms of Easop Winston late in the first quarter for a 23-yard touchdown. Geno Smith remains the clear starter in Seattle, but Howell has looked like a very serviceable backup.

Tune completed eight of his 10 pass attempts for 79 yards while rushing twice for 15 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's preseason loss to the Colts.

Tune started under center in place of Kyler Murray (coach's decision) and produced strong results for the second week in a row. The sophomore backup wound up scoring his team's only touchdown with his legs before turning the keys over to fellow backup Desmond Ridder in the second half. Tune outperformed the latter for the second week running, despite flipping roles (and strength of opposing defenses) on both occasions. Perhaps Tune has made a case to leap the slightly more experienced Ridder in the competition for the No. 2 role in Arizona.

O'Connell completed 14 of 20 passes for 96 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Raiders' 27-12 preseason loss to the Cowboys on Saturday night.

O'Connell had his opportunity after Gardner Minshew led the first five drives for Las Vegas, and the two players finished with very similar numbers. O'Connell's middling 4.8 yards per attempt was marginally better than Minshew's 4.5, although the former did stand out with a five yard-touchdown toss to Harrison Bryant. O'Connell also subsequently saw a throw intended for Bryant returned for a pick-six on the first play of the fourth quarter, putting a damper on his overall performance. The competition between the two quarterbacks seemingly remains very close, with a decision from head coach Antonio Pierce potentially coming before Friday's preseason finale against the 49ers.

Minshew started the Raiders' 27-12 preseason loss to the Cowboys on Saturday night and completed 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He also rushed once for five yards.

Minshew started and played the first five possessions, but two of those ended on downs and another pair culminated in punts. The veteran signal-caller was able to helm one scoring drive, a five-play march on which Minshew had a hand in all but one yard thanks to his 48-yard strike to Tre Tucker on the first play of the possession. However, Minshew averaged just 5.2 yards on his other nine completions, and his competition for the starting job, Aidan O'Connell, had a slightly better showing that included a touchdown pass but also a pick-six. The job battle could culminate in Friday night's preseason finale against the 49ers, or head coach Antonio Pierce may opt to name his Week 1 starter prior to that date and not risk injury to either player versus San Francisco.

Bennett completed 17 of 31 pass attempts for 213 yards, a touchdown and an interception and lost a fumble in Saturday's preseason win over the Chargers.

Bennett started and finished his second preseason game in as many weeks as starter Matthew Stafford and backup Jimmy Garoppolo (suspension) were sat by the coaching staff. The former Georgia star did not see the field as a rookie in 2023 but has now played every snap for the Rams so far this preseason. A repeat scenario figures to take place in the final exhibition before Bennett's roster situation is finalized behind the veterans on the depth chart.

Bean was 7-for-9 for 94 yards with an interception in Saturday's preseason win over Arizona. He also had four carries for 14 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run.

Bean has 4.55-second, 40-yard dash speed and there's been talk that he could be converted to wide receiver, but he's played quarterback for the Colts in the preseason. He's listed as QB/WR on the team's official web site. He's only nominally in the running for a roster spot, as the Colts may decide to develop him or change his position on the practice squad.

Wilson completed eight of 10 passes for 47 yards in Saturday's 9-3 preseason loss to the Bills.

Wilson's stat line was underwhelming, but it overstates how well Pittsburgh's first-team offense was able to move the ball. That wasn't necessarily on Wilson, as he was under constant pressure and sacked three times. He narrowly missed out on connecting with George Pickens near Buffalo's goal line on his final drive of the game, though the duo's rapport may be lacking after Wilson missed a significant amount of training camp with a calf injury. The Steelers have consistently stated that Wilson is the starting quarterback heading into the season, though this performance didn't do him any favors in his competition with Justin Fields.

Fields completed 11 of 17 passes for 92 yards in Saturday's 9-3 preseason loss to the Bills. He added eight rushes for 42 yards.

Fields followed Russell Wilson into the game and got his first series just before the two-minute warning in the first half. He worked with the second-team offense and led the team to field-goal range on his second possession on a drive that began with just over one minute remaining in the second quarter. Fields accounted for the biggest gain on the drive with a 20-yard scramble. In terms of passing, Fields primarily worked in the short areas of the field, though he did experience more success than Wilson from a statistical standpoint. He'll almost certainly see playing time in the Steelers' third preseason game at Detroit, though it remains to be seen if he gets the starting nod over Wilson as the quarterback competition remains unresolved in Pittsburgh.