NFL Player News

Stidham is listed as the No. 1 quarterback on the Broncos' first unofficial depth chart of the preseason Tuesday.

Stidham is currently in the lead of Denver's quarterback competition, per the team's first unofficial depth chart, with Zach Wilson listed as the No. 2 man and rookie first-round pick Bo Nix in the No. 3 spot. Preseason depth charts mean little, though, especially given the caveat that not a single rookie is listed higher than as a third-stringer. Competition for the Week 1 starter gig could stretch deep into the preseason for Stidham, Nix and Wilson. If coach Sean Payton opts for all three quarterbacks to get some action during Sunday's exhibition matchup against the Colts, one or two of those signal-callers could have an early opportunity to pull away from the pack.

Young won't play in Thursday's preseason game against the Patriots, Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Coach Dave Canales previously said Young might not play at all this preseason and now has confirmed the QB will be held out for the first exhibition. With Andy Dalton nursing a quad injury and also unavailable, the Panthers will rely on Jack Plummer and recent signee Jake Luton -- a situation that seemingly sets up Plummer for a lot of playing time.

Wilson (calf) returned to practice as a full participant Tuesday, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Wilson had been managing a minor calf strain for nearly the last two weeks, which gave Justin Fields a chance to command Pittsburgh's first-team offense at training camp alone, but the former is now back in the mix at practice. Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Wilson and Fields are alternating reps to begin Tuesday's session, which can be considered confirmation of Adam Schefter of ESPN's recent report that the two remain in a competition for the Week 1 starting gig. Friday's preseason game against the Texans could serve as an opportunity for Wilson or Fields to pull ahead, if they do suit up for a series or two.

Coach Dan Campbell said Tuesday that Goff isn't in line to play in Thursday's preseason game against the Giants, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Campbell suggested other key players will be held out but only mentioned Goff by name. The list of absentees figures to include WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, TE Sam LaPorta (hamstring) and RBs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, among others.

Coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday that the plan is for Brissett to start Thursday's preseason opener against the Panthers, Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston reports.

Mayo said "everyone who is healthy enough to play in the game, will play," per Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site, so Brissett figures to have command of the full first-team offensive unit. New England's starters likely won't play more than a few series, and Brissett could have a further cap on his reps if the team also wants rookie third-overall pick Drake Maye to also get some work in with the first-team unit. Albert Breer of SI.com reports that Brissett has shown out as the best quarterback throughout training camp, so the veteran remains the favorite to start Week 1 under center, though Maye has quietly also shown progress.

Coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday that Maye will play in Thursday's preseason contest against the Panthers, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reports.

Maye has spent training camp working behind veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who remains the favorite to open the 2024 campaign as New England's starter. The rookie No. 3 overall pick has reportedly had an up-and-down camp, but Albert Breer of SI.com reports that many of those struggles can be attributed to working with the second-string O-line, and that Maye has nonetheless impressed the coaching staff with his vision. Brissett figures to start Thursday's exhibition matchup, but it will be interesting to see whether Maye also gets a chance to work with the first-team offense.

Darnold is listed as the starting quarterback on Minnesota's initial preseason depth chart.

The preseason depth charts often don't mean much, but this does line up with what's been reported by Vikings beat writers all summer. The catch is that coach Kevin O'Connell recently said J.J. McCarthy will start getting first-team reps later in August once more of the offense has been installed, at which point the rookie QB could perhaps make a strong enough impression to push Darnold out of the top spot. So far, Darnold has dominated first-team reps, dating back to the offseason program and now through two weeks of training camp.

Purdy was spotted putting in extra reps with the training staff following the 49ers' last team practice in an effort to improve his mobile throwing accuracy, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

When asked about the optional throwing session, Purdy referenced the team's upcoming off day while adding that he felt he needed to improve on his accuracy while evading pursuers on the run. The 24-year-old is coming off of an MVP-caliber season in which he completed 69 percent of his passes for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdown passes over 16 regular-season games, so the fact that he isn't resting on those laurels should excite potential fantasy investors for the 2024 season. There shouldn't be too many doubters left regarding Purdy's elite status both as an NFL player and asset in fantasy following his meteoric rise to stardom in San Francisco as the last pick of the 2022 Draft.

Daniels is listed atop the initial preseason depth chart at quarterback and will start Saturday's preseason game against the Jets, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Daniels is one of three Washington rookies listed as a starter, with the others being left tackle Brandon Coleman. taken with the 67th overall pick, and slot corner Mike Sainristil, drafted 50th overall. In Daniels' case, there's never really been any doubt he would start, as he's taken more first-team reps than Marcus Mariota during training camp. The second overall pick won't have the best receiving talent around him in Year 1 aside from Terry McLaurin, although a rebound season from Austin Ekeler would help. Daniels' running ability still hints at fantasy value even if the Commanders' passing game ends up being subpar under coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Rudolph is listed ahead of Malik Willis on the Titans' first unofficial depth chart, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Rudolph reportedly split reps evenly with Willis to begin training camp but has since begun to separate himself as the winner of the backup quarterback competition in Tennessee. Wyatt reports that Rudolph has completed 84.2 percent of his pass attempts in camp.