NFL Player News

Young will be working with a new play caller in 2026 with offensive coordinator Brad Idzik taking those duties from head coach Dave Canales, Mike Kaye of ESPN.com reports.

Idzik is entering his third year as the Panthers' OC, and the switch in play callers has been described by Young as "aggressive, which is huge for us." The results in two preseason contests were tepid, to say the least, as Young completed eight of 11 passes for 67 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while directing four drives. Having dynamic second-year WR Tetairoa McMillan at his disposal will help matters once the games begin to count Week 1, but the rest of the skill-position group leaves something to be desired.

Howard (head) announced after Thursday's practice that he has been cleared from concussion protocol, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.

Howard experienced concussion-like symptoms during last Thursday's 28-27 preseason loss to Buffalo, though he still managed to finish the first half. The 2025 sixth-round pick has has yet to play a regular-season snap for the Steelers, and he's unlikely to do so again in 2026 unless both Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph are sidelined simultaneously at some point.

Coach Ben Johnson lauded Williams' approach Tuesday as the quarterback enters his third NFL campaign, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports. "He's executing at a much higher clip than he ever has, and I think it's going to continue to grow," Johnson said. "He's going to continue to elevate everyone around him, coaches included."

Williams played just one possession during exhibition season, leading the Bears to a Cairo Santos field goal to kick off preseason Week 2 at Cincinnati. The performance (2-for-5 passing for 28 yards, no TDs and no interceptions) was nothing to write home about, but Williams is set to take another step forward in his development in 2026. There are two question marks within Chicago's skill positions as Week 1 approaches: RB Kyle Monangai is attempting to put a hyperextended knee behind him, while WR Luther Burden is continuing his recovery from an early August groin injury. Having said that, Williams still has the healthy trio of RB D'Andre Swift, WR Rome Odunze and TE Colston Loveland at his services, so the QB's first 4,000-yard season through the air may be on the horizon.

Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain said Tuesday that he's recognized growth in Nix during the offseason and anticipates the quarterback taking another step forward both on the field and as a leader in his third NFL season, Susanna Weir of the team's official site reports. "I think his cerebral approach to the game is off the charts," Surtain said. "I always say he's so poised, but he's always had that calm demeanor going into his third year just bringing all the guys together offensively and just being a tremendous leader on the team."

Tight end Evan Engram and offensive tackle Garett Bolles also chimed in with praise for Nix, who finished the 2025 regular season with a 25:11 TD:INT and 3,931 yards on an NFL-high 612 pass attempts while adding 356 yards and five scores on the ground. He then helped lead Denver to a divisional-round win over Buffalo before sitting out the AFC Championship Game loss to the Patriots due to a broken bone in his ankle, but he made a full recovery from surgery in advance of June minicamp. Nix performed efficiently during his lone preseason appearance Aug. 21 versus the Packers, connecting with offseason pickup Jaylen Waddle on a deep throw for a 35-yard gain during that contest. With a new field-stretching weapon like Waddle in the fold, Nix can potentially offset any decline in his league-leading passing volume by generating more splash plays. Nix saw his yards per attempt drop from 6.7 as a rookie to 6.4 during his sophomore season.

Love wrapped up the Packers' preseason slate having completed eight of 12 passes for 74 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in two appearances.

Love led one drive apiece in Green Bay's first two exhibitions, with his sole TD a connection with RB MarShawn Lloyd over the middle in Denver in preseason Week 2. Love also linked up with each of his top three WRs Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden at least one time. Especially against the Broncos, Love appeared to be hitting on all cylinders, and he'll aim to carry it over to a Week 1 road matchup with the Vikings on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Lawrence will have a new backup in 2026, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the Jaguars traded for Quinn Ewers from the Dolphins on Saturday.

Ewers was retained on the 53-man roster after final cuts, while Nick Mullens was released during cut-down day, though Mullens subsequently signed with the practice squad. Lawrence remains locked in as the team's starting QB on the heels of a 2025 regular season in which he threw for 4,007 yards and a career-high 29 passing touchdowns. The first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has exceeded 4,000 passing yards in three of his first five NFL seasons.

Stroud heads into the regular season with Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel (hamstring) and Kayshon Boutte as his top wide receivers, while Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports that Tank Dell (knee) will begin the season on IR with a designation to return.

The Texans traded for Boutte from New England after Jayden Higgins tore his ACL, knocking the 2025 second-round pick out for the season. Boutte's 551 receiving yards for the Patriots in the 2025 regular season would have ranked second among Houston's wideouts behind Collins. Hutchinson had a career-high 428 receiving yards during the 2025 regular season, Noel has some intriguing upside as a 2025 third-round pick, and Houston is hoping to get Dell back eventually from the knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2025 season. Stroud is looking to bounce back after a 2025 campaign in which he threw for career lows in both passing yards (3,041) and touchdown passes (19) during the regular season before coughing up seven turnovers in two playoff games.

Murray played six snaps during Minnesota's three-game preseason slate.

After completing two of his three pass attempts for 10 yards against the Giants in the preseason opener, Murray took a seat and parked it for the remainder of the exhibition season. Coach Kevin O'Connell settled on Murray as the Vikings' starter before training camp, and he's expected to have a long leash under center this season after J.J. McCarthy continued to look overmatched throughout the 2025 campaign. Murray has big upside in this quarterback-friendly scheme and has arguably the best supporting cast of his career. He's an ideal late-round fantasy target at quarterback.

Burrow said on teammate Ja'Marr Chase's (knee) podcast that the quarterback has high hopes for the Bengals in 2026 after the team's offseason personnel changes, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports Thursday.

"We're going to have a really good team that has a chance to win every game that we step foot on the field for," Burrow said. "We brought in a lot of the right guys, a lot of the right people with the right mindsets to go and chase this goal of winning a Super Bowl." Cincinnati's offseason additions focused primarily on fixing a defense that allowed 28.9 points per game during the 2025 regular season, which was third most in the NFL. Burrow and the offense are poised for another productive campaign if the star QB can stay healthy after being limited to eight appearances last season due to a toe injury. Starting wide receivers Chase and Tee Higgins (heel), as well as running back Chase Brown, are all reprising their roles alongside Burrow to provide continuity on offense.

Richardson will open the season as the Colts' backup quarterback, Nathan Brown of The Indianapolis Star reports.

GM Chris Ballard confirmed Tuesday that Richardson -- who requested a trade over the offseason -- would remain with the Colts for the season, and head coach Shane Steichen revealed Thursday that Richardson beat out Riley Leonard for the backup job behind starter Daniel Jones.