NFL Player News
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Tyson Bagent QB | CHI
Bears' Tyson Bagent: Struggles in second start
Bagent completed 25 of 37 pass attempts for 232 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday's 30-13 loss to the Chargers. He scored a short rushing touchdown but finished with negative yards on four attempts.
Bagent's Cinderella story lost its luster rather quickly after the undrafted rookie threw a pair of interceptions in what was supposed to be a soft matchup on paper. The 23-year-old was named the starter with Justin Fields (finger) still recovering from a thumb injury, but perhaps we see the Bears' starter back in action against the Saints next Sunday. If not, Bagent figures to be the logical option to start against New Orleans, with infamous backup Nathan Peterman being the only other option on the roster should Fields sit out.
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Joshua Dobbs QB | NE
Cardinals' Joshua Dobbs: Late rally falls short Sunday
Dobbs completed 25 of 37 pass attempts for 208 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while adding 26 rushing yards and another score on six attempts in Sunday's 31-24 loss to the Ravens.
Dobbs earned another start after Kyler Murray (knee) was ruled doubtful for Sunday's matchup against Baltimore. The backup orchestrated a late comeback attempt with two touchdown throws in the fourth quarter to give the Cardinals life after trailing by multiple scores for the majority of the contest. Dobbs did throw two more interceptions Sunday, which gives him 10 combined touchdowns to nine turnovers through eight starts this year. Despite inconsistent play and Murray's improving health, head coach Jonathan Gannon said after Sunday's loss that he is sticking with Dobbs as the starter for next Sunday's game against the Browns, as reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Browns boast one of the league's top pass defenses at the midpoint of the season, adding additional risk to starting Dobbs in fantasy in Week 9.
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Justin Herbert QB | LAC
Chargers' Justin Herbert: Masterful performance on SNF
Herbert completed 31 of 40 pass attempts for 298 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers in Sunday's 30-13 win over Chicago.
Herbert was on a mission to correct last week's rough performance against Kansas City, the only game in which he has thrown multiple interceptions this season. The star quarterback was locked in from the jump and likely could have challenged his near-perfect results from Week 3 -- when he completed 85 percent of his passes for 405 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers -- had the Bears kept the score competitive in the second half. It was still an impressive display from Herbert, who is still passively recovering from a broken finger on his non-throwing hand. The Jets present a tougher challenge for the Chargers' quarterback next Monday, but it would be hard to justify benching a talent like Herbert in any matchup.
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P.J. Walker QB | SEA
Browns' PJ Walker: Three turnovers doom Browns
Walker completed 15 of 31 passes for 248 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in Sunday's loss to Seattle. He added six rushes for 27 yards and also lost a fumble.
Walker dug the Browns an early hole after he fumbled midway through the first quarter to set up Seattle's second touchdown of the day. He also threw an interception just before the two-minute warning in the final quarter as Cleveland was trying to run out the clock with the lead. In between those miscues, he showed some promise by averaging eight yards per attempt while connecting with both Amari Cooper and David Njoku regularly to pick up chunk yardage. Walker is likely to remain the starter so long as Deshaun Watson (shoulder), who currently has an unclear timeline to return, is sidelined.
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Russell Wilson QB | NYG
Broncos' Russell Wilson: Throws three TDs despite low usage
Wilson completed 12 of 19 pass attempts for 114 yards and three touchdowns and added 30 rushing yards on eight attempts with one lost fumble in Sunday's 24-9 win over Kansas City.
In a surprising turn of events, Wilson managed to outduel Patrick Mahomes (241 yards, zero TDs, three TOs) despite failing to reach 20 pass attempts for the first time since joining the Broncos. The veteran posted another paltry yardage total after finishing below 200 yards in his previous three contests, but his three scores helped mask that from a fantasy perspective. Wilson will now enter a bye week before resuming play as a mid-tier fantasy option against the Bills for Monday Night Football in Week 10.
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Geno Smith QB | NYJ
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Leads game-winning drive
Smith completed 23 of 37 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday's 24-20 win over the Browns.
Smith had both good and bad moments in the game, as he cost the Seahawks a chance at points late in the first half with a pick deep in Cleveland territory. That carried over into the second half, as he threw another interception and managed only 80 total yards. However, he found a good time to come alive, as he completed four of five passes for 52 yards on the team's game-winning drive, which Smith capped with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Overall, Smith has topped 250 yards four times in seven games, while he's thrown for multiple touchdowns on three occasions.
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Daniel Jones QB | IND
Giants' Daniel Jones: Status remains up in air
Both Jones (neck) and Tyrod Taylor (ribs) are uncertain to be available for next Sunday's game at Las Vegas, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports.
Jones has yet to pass strength requirement tests to ensure the left side of his neck is OK to take contact, which so far has forced him to miss three consecutive contests after he sustained the injury Week 5. While there's a belief those symptoms are nearly behind him, there were alternating reports from Dianna Russini of The Athletic and Adam Schefter of ESPN on Saturday that Jones may be able to return Week 9 against the Raiders or Week 10 versus the Cowboys, respectively. Jones' timetable could be expedited after Taylor suffered a rib cage injury during Sunday's loss to the Jets that will leave him hospitalized overnight for further examination, with no prognosis evident. Undrafted rookie and practice-squad member Tommy DeVito is the only other quarterback on the Giants' roster, and he didn't fare well in relief of Taylor -- 2-for-7 passing for minus-1 yard and four carries for 12 yards and one TD -- so the team may be on the lookout for another signal-caller this week due the health concerns besetting Jones and Taylor.
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Kyler Murray QB | MIN
Cardinals' Kyler Murray: Won't start before Week 10
Murray (knee) won't start in Week 9 against the Browns, and coach Jonathan Gannon said "we'll see" after Sunday's 31-24 loss to the Ravens when asked if Murray would start in Week 10 against the Falcons, Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports reports.
Murray returned to practice and had his 21-day window to rejoin the active roster opened ahead of the loss to the Ravens, but he remains on the PUP list. Gannon has named Joshua Dobbs the starter for Week 9, and while it's possible that the Cardinals will activate Murray as the backup against the Browns, such a scenario is unlikely. Arizona has little incentive to rush the starting quarterback's return considering the Cardinals are now 1-7 after Sunday's loss.
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Lamar Jackson QB | BAL
Ravens' Lamar Jackson: Modest numbers in Week 8 win
Jackson completed 18 of 27 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown while adding five carries for 17 yards in Sunday's 31-24 win over the Cardinals.
After accounting for four touchdowns in the previous game, Jackson wasn't asked to do much with Gus Edwards' three-touchdown performance leading the way for Baltimore's offense. The quarterback tied the game with a five-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews in the first quarter, kicking off a stretch of 24 unanswered Ravens points. Heading into a Week 9 home game against the Seahawks, Jackson has led the Ravens to a 6-2 record while posting a 9:3 TD:INT through the air and adding five rushing touchdowns through eight games.
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Desmond Ridder QB | GB
Falcons' Desmond Ridder: Pulled as precaution
Ridder completed eight of 12 passes for 71 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Titans. He added three rushes for 26 yards.
Ridder didn't appear in the second half of the loss, though after the game, coach Arthur Smith disclosed that his quarterback had been checked for a concussion. Despite being cleared to return, Smith, opted to play it safe, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. That means Ridder is likely to return to his starting role in Week 9 against the Vikings. As for his performance, Ridder was inefficient even in a positive matchup and also lost his sixth fumble in his last six contests.