NFL Player News

Simpson (coach's decision) is inactive but will serve as the Rams' emergency third quarterback for Monday's game against the Giants.

Stetson Bennett will once again serve as the Rams' backup to Matthew Stafford, leaving Simpson as the QB3. As the emergency third quarterback, Simpson will not be allowed to play Monday unless both Bennett and Stafford leave the game due to injury, illness or ejection.

Tagovailoa (ankle) was estimated as a limited participant in Monday's walk-through practice, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports.

Earlier Monday, head coach Kevin Stefanski told Josh Kendall of The Athletic that Tagovailoa was "getting better" after missing the Falcons' first two games of the season due to the oblique strain. The quarterback appears to have backed up his coach's comments by getting upgraded to a limited listing on the practice report, but Tagovailoa could need to participate fully Tuesday or Wednesday to put himself on a path to play Thursday against the Packers. If he's available for the Week 3 contest, Tagovailoa will be relegated to a backup role after the Falcons named Michael Penix (knee) their starting quarterback, per Tori McElhaney of the team's official site.

The Falcons announced that Penix (knee) has been named the team's starting quarterback for Thursday's game against the Packers, Tori McElhaney of the team's official site reports.

Atlanta has determined that Penix is ready to make his 2026 debut, after he was held out for the first two games of the season while ramping back up from surgery last November to address a torn ACL in his left knee. Penix was cleared to resume taking part in 11-on-11 drills in late August, then avoided any setbacks while he was a full participant in practices throughout Weeks 1 and 2. With Penix back in the fold, Cooper Rush -- who started the first two games of the season -- could be inactive for Week 3 if Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) is deemed ready to handle the No. 2 role.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that he doesn't anticipate Williams (hamstring) practicing in Week 3, though Johnson was unwilling to officially rule out the quarterback from playing Monday against the Eagles, Sean Hammond of the Chicago Tribune reports.

While Williams appears to have avoided a significant injury after exiting in the fourth quarter of this past Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Vikings due to a right hamstring strain, Johnson is labeling the third-year signal-caller as week-to-week. The Bears will wait and see how the week unfolds before deciding on Williams' status for the matchup with the Eagles, but unless he defies expectations and practices in some capacity, he appears on track to miss the first game of his career. Tyson Bagent replaced Williams late in the loss to Minnesota and will presumably take all the reps with the first-team offense this week in anticipation of his first start since 2023.

Daniels (elbow) underwent imaging Monday and will consult with multiple experts over the next few days, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Daniels undergoing further testing Monday was already a given, so there isn't much clarity coming out of Sunday's game in which Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow. He remains without a timetable for return, and Marcus Mariota is fully expected to make the start Sunday against the Seahawks. Washington pass catchers Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs both will take slight hits to their fantasy outlooks going from Daniels to Mariota.

Mariota is expected to start Sunday's game against Seattle while the Commanders continue to gather more information on the severity of Jayden Daniels' dislocated left elbow, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

After Daniels injured his elbow on the Commanders' final snap of the second quarter of Sunday's 37-20 loss to the Cowboys, Mariota directed the offense for the second half and finished with 11 completions on 16 attempts for 111 yards and a touchdown to go with three yards on his lone carry. Though a recovery timeline for Daniels has yet to be established while he plans to consult with a number of experts over the next few days before deciding on a treatment plan, the same injury kept him out for seven of the Commanders' final eight games of the 2025 campaign. With that in mind, Mariota could very well be headed for a multi-game run as Washington's starter.

Wentz will serve as the Vikings' backup quarterback Sunday against the Buccaneers after head coach Kevin O'Connell announced Monday that Kyler Murray has cleared concussion protocol and will start Week 3.

Wentz performed admirably across nearly two full games in relief of Murray, who sustained the concussion midway through the first quarter of the season opener against the Packers. After completing 12 of 19 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings' come-from-behind 39-22 win over Green Bay, Wentz started Week 2 against the Bears and played turnover-free football in rainy and windy conditions en route to leading Minnesota to a 9-3 win. While Murray will reclaim the starting job now that he's out of the protocol, Wentz's performance over the past two weeks firmly solidifies him ahead of 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy on the depth chart.

Murray has cleared concussion protocol and will return to the starting lineup Sunday against the Buccaneers, Tom Pelissero of Netflix reports.

Murray was concussed 11 snaps into his regular-season Vikings debut in Week 1 against the Packers and missed this past Sunday's win over the Bears. His return to the lineup will send Carson Wentz back to the bench as the QB2 after he completed 23 of 39 passes (59 percent) for 276 yards (7.1 YPA) and three touchdowns with no interceptions across the last two weeks against Green Bay and Chicago. Murray's return and Wentz's retreat to backup duties doesn't change much for the Minnesota pass catchers from a fantasy perspective.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson said Monday that Williams' right hamstring injury is likely "gonna be a week-to-week deal," Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

Tom Pelissero of Netflix reported earlier Monday that Williams received a favorable prognosis following an MRI, going as far to note that the team wasn't ruling the quarterback out from playing Week 3 against the Eagles. Though he confirmed that Williams appears to have avoided a major setback after exiting in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Vikings with a non-contact right hamstring injury, Johnson suggested that the third-year signal-caller will "likely miss some time," per Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. With that in mind, Tyson Bagent -- who finished out the Week 2 loss as the Bears' quarterback -- appears to be a better bet than Williams to draw the start next Monday against the Eagles. The Bears should have a better sense of Williams' availability for Week 3 and beyond after getting a chance to evaluate him further over the next few days.

Williams was cleared of a major injury to his right hamstring after undergoing tests Monday, and the Bears haven't ruled him out from playing in their Week 3 game against the Eagles, Tom Pelissero of Netflix reports.

After Williams was forced out of Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Vikings in the fourth quarter with a non-contact injury, fantasy managers may have been bracing for a long-term absence from the third-year quarterback. Fortunately, Williams appears to have received a favorable prognosis following an MRI, and the possibility exists that the 24-year-old won't even have to miss any time. Tyson Bagent finished out the Week 2 contest under center and will be preparing to start Week 3 in the event Williams can't go, but before making a decision on Williams' status, the Bears will see what, if anything, he's able to do in practice over the next few days. Williams will be aided by an additional day of recovery in between games with the Bears set to play the Eagles next Monday.