NFL Player News

Howard's chances of starting in 2026 have diminished, as Aaron Rodgers signed a one-year contract with the Steelers on Monday.

Prior to Rodgers re-signing, Howard was in position to compete for a starting role against veteran Mason Rudolph and rookie third-round pick Drew Allar (ankle). Rodgers is comfortably situated atop the quarterback depth chart now that the 42-year-old starter has returned to Pittsburgh for the start of OTAs, while Howard will have to jostle for positioning on the depth chart and could realistically miss out on making the team at all.

Rudolph will be relegated to a backup role again in 2026, as Aaron Rodgers signed a one-year contract with the Steelers on Monday.

Rodgers will reclaim the starting role he possessed in 2025, leaving Rudolph to battle for the second spot on the depth chart with 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and 2026 third-round pick Drew Allar (ankle). If one of the younger quarterbacks shows promise in training camp, the Steelers could also opt to trade Rudolph to a team seeking an experienced backup. Rudolph has posted a 9-9-1 record in 19 regular-season starts split between the Steelers and Titans, including a loss in his lone start of 2025 with Pittsburgh while Rodgers was sidelined by a wrist injury.

Rodgers officially signed a one-year contract with the Steelers on Monday.

Rodgers is back in Pittsburgh on a one-year deal heading into his 22nd NFL campaign. The 42-year-old quarterback is participating Monday on the first day of the team's OTAs. Rodgers threw for 3,322 yards and a 24:7 TD:INT while posting a 10-6 record in 16 regular-season starts for the Steelers in 2025. In addition to replacing head coach Mike Tomlin with Mike McCarthy, the Steelers bolstered their wide receiver room in the offseason by trading for Michael Pittman and drafting Germie Bernard in the second round.

Rodgers and the Steelers are expected to agree on a one-year contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. The deal will be worth up to $25 million, according to Schefter.

Rodgers has been linked to a return to Pittsburgh throughout the offseason, and the Steelers emphasized their desire to bring the veteran QB back when they placed a right-of-first-refusal UFA tender on him in late April. Rather than sign that tender, Rodgers will return on a freshly negotiated one-year deal. He's slated to serve as the team's starting QB for a second straight campaign after leading Pittsburgh to the playoffs last season and throwing for 3,322 yards with a 24:7 TD:INT while completing 65.7 percent of his pass attempts over 16 regular-season games.

Cook is set to compete with rookie fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik for the second spot on the Jets' quarterback depth chart behind Geno Smith, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports.

Cook got to audition as the Jets' starting quarterback down the stretch in 2025, but the undrafted rookie out of Missouri struggled to a 2:7 TD:INT across five appearances (four starts). The Jets traded for Smith and have already proclaimed the veteran to be their starting quarterback. They also drafted Klubnik out of Clemson, who has thrown the ball well in drills and impressed with his leadership skills. The team could still opt to bring in a veteran backup QB, but as things stand, Cook should get a chance during training camp and the preseason to compete for the top backup role against Klubnik and Bailey Zappe.

The Falcons shared a video Tuesday showing Penix (knee - ACL) throwing to Drake London during spring offseason workouts, Marc Raimondi of ESPN reports.

Penix is six months into his recovery from a partially torn left ACL suffered in mid-November of the 2025 season, his third such injury in the last eight years, so his participation in throwing drills is an encouraging sign. Atlanta has confirmed that the third-year QB is taking part in Phase 2 of the offseason program, which includes individual and group work but not yet 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 team drills. Beyond continuing his rehab and meeting the expected trajectory of Year 3 development, Penix also faces the challenge of learning new head coach Kevin Stefanski's offense while competing for the starting job with fellow southpaw Tua Tagovailoa, who signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with Atlanta this offseason. Penix has offered optimism that he will be ready for Week 1, though the Falcons haven't provided an official timetable for his recovery.

Head coach Sean Payton told reporters Saturday that Nix (ankle) will throw during mid-June minicamp and should be at full speed at training camp in July, Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post reports.

Nix continues to progress in his recovery from surgery to repair a broken bone in his right ankle that he underwent in late January. The initial recovery timeline was 12 weeks, but the Broncos won't push the third-year quarterback too much during June's minicamp, with Jarrett Stidham expected to take the majority of snaps at that time, though Nix should be a full go for training camp.

Richardson (eye) has been cleared to fully participate in practice at voluntary workouts this week, Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan reports.

Richardson initially opted against reporting for the start of the team's voluntary offseason workout program after he requested a trade back in February but has since had a change of heart, as he reported to the team earlier this week. Coming off a fractured orbital that ended his 2025 season last October, Richardson is back to 100 percent health. There's still a decent chance he's not part of the Colts' roster later this summer after Indy declined the quarterback's 2027 option. Richardson is competing with Riley Leonard for the QB2 gig behind Daniel Jones and figures to draw interest as a one-time first-round pick with theoretical upside when healthy.

Daniels signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent Friday.

A six-year player at Kansas, Daniels finished the 2025 season by completing 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,531 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions while adding 404 yards (3.5 YPC) and four touchdowns on the ground. He has decent mobility with a 4.65 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but he needs to tidy up his work as a passer to have a shot in the NFL. Daniels will battle against Connor Bazelak for the No. 3 QB job behind Baker Mayfield and Jake Browning.

Brissett remains absent from the Cardinals' offseason program, but coach Mike LaFleur said Friday that the veteran quarterback has "played a lot of football, and we're in communication," Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports. "He knows what the expectation is," LaFleur added.

In the wake of Arizona releasing Kyler Murray and then signing only Gardner Minshew in free agency, Brissett wasn't given an assurances that he'd be the team's starting signal-caller in 2026, per Weinfuss. Brissett thus has stayed away from the early stages of the offseason program as he seeks a raise to starter-level money, as his current contract includes just $1.5 million in guarantees, while Minshew's deal ensures $5.14 million this season. Brissett went only 1-11 as the Cardinals' starting QB in 2025, but he took advantage of high volume in those contests, completing 315 of 484 passes (65.1 percent) for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The team added Carson Beck in the third round of this year's draft, but according to Weinfuss's report Friday, Brissett has been informed by the Cards that he's the starter for 2026.