NFL Player News

Jones isn't expected to play in Thursday's preseason opener against Detroit, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

The same is true for most of the Giants' other starters, including new No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers. Raanan notes that the second week of the preseason, against Houston, is when the Giants are most likely to play starters. There haven't been any reports of setbacks with Jones' surgically repaired knee.

Head coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that Johnson will suit up for Friday's preseason opener against the Eagles, Jonas Shaffer of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Top quarterback Lamar Jackson won't play, likely putting Johnson on track for the start. Johnson spent last season as Baltimore's third-string quarterback, but the 38-year-old veteran appears in good position to enter the 2024 campaign as the No. 2 option behind Jackson. His primary competition will come from rookie sixth-round pick Devin Leary, with undrafted rookie Emory Jones likely slated enter Friday's contest last among Ravens quarterbacks.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that Jackson won't suit up for Friday's preseason opener against the Eagles, Jonas Shaffer of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Harbaugh said that Josh Johnson will play Friday, and that Baltimore's starters will see action in the preseason, per Giana Han of TheBaltimoreBanner.com, just not versus Philadelphia. With two more exhibitions on deck after Friday, it's possible the bulk of the preseason action for the Ravens' first-team units could come in the team's final contest Aug. 24 versus Green Bay. Jackson missed a number of practices due to illness early in training camp but has been fully healthy since July 27.

Head coach Andy Reid said Mahomes and other starters will play the first quarter of Saturday's preseason game against Jacksonville, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

Reid has long given his starters more preseason reps than most other teams do, including superstars like Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. It'll be the first chance in a game setting for Mahomes to connect with new Chiefs wide receivers Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel suggested Wednesdays that Tagovailoa isn't likely to play in Friday's preseason game against Atlanta, Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post reports.

McDaniel didn't quite commit to holding Tagovailoa out Friday but told assembled media that it wouldn't be surprised by the team's plan for the preseason opener. Tagovailoa was held out of the preseason opener in 2023 before playing in the final two exhibition contests.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that Wilson won't play in Friday's preseason game against the Texans, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

According to Pryor, Tomlin insinuated that Wilson is the current leader in the battle for the starting quarterback job with Justin Fields, as the coach noted that the depth chart he released Tuesday is "real." The depth chart has Wilson listed as the starter and Fields as the backup, even though the latter has taken far more first-team reps this summer while the former has been limited by a calf injury. Wilson was a full practice participant Tuesday and still has plenty of time to build chemistry with the starters, but the preseason opener will give Fields another chance to impress.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday that Fields and the first-team offense will likely play a couple of drives in Friday's preseason game against Houston, Missi Matthews of the Steelers' official site reports.

Fellow quarterback Russell Wilson (calf) won't play despite returning to full practice participation Tuesday, with Tomlin noting that the 35-year-old is still in the driver's seat for the Week 1 start, as reflected by Pittsburgh's initial preseason depth chart, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. Fields may still be an underdog for the starting quarterback job, but he's getting plenty of opportunities to make an impression and gain ground on Wilson thanks to the calf injury that limited Wilson for the first two weeks of training camp.

Perez inked a deal with the Chargers on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Perez most recently played in the UFL and finished the year with a league-high 2,309 passing yards and 18 touchdowns on 225 completions. His most recent NFL experience also came in Los Angeles last season, but for the Rams, where he was ultimately cut during last year's training camp. The journeyman went undrafted out of Texas A&M-Commerce in 2018 and has yet to make a roster. With Justin Herbert (foot) sidelined for approximately two weeks, head coach Jim Harbaugh has opted to bring some more depth under center.

Head coach Dave Canales said Tuesday that Plummer will get a lot of the work in Thursday's preseason game against the Patriots, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

With Bryce Young ruled out for Thursday's contest and Andy Dalton dealing with a quadriceps injury, Plummer is set to start while recent signing Jake Luton serves as the backup. Plummer signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in April, and a strong outing Thursday could give the Louisville product a shot at the backup quarterback job behind Young.

Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sports Radio 94 WIP Philadelphia relays that McKee has gotten more reps with the second-team offense as the Eagles' training camp has progressed.

McKee, whom the Eagles selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, spent all of his rookie year as the emergency quarterback. While Philadelphia acquired Kenny Pickett from Pittsburgh in March to serve as Jalen Hurts' backup, Moore has shown enough improvement during training camp to see more reps with the second-team offense during practice. The Eagles play the Ravens in the first week of preseason action Friday, which will give McKee a chance to make his case for the backup job behind Hurts.