NFL Player News

Ridder completed 15 of 18 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 24-10 win over the Panthers.

Ridder was efficient during his first action of 2023, but he wasn't asked to do much. Regardless, the 2022 third-round pick posted a 111.8 quarterback rating as the Falcons cruised to victory against a division rival. With a stout running game and plenty of talented playmakers around him, Ridder needs to continue to be efficient while limiting turnovers. If he does that, Atlanta has a great chance to pull out victories on a weekly basis. While that's good for the Falcons, it doesn't bode well for Ridder's fantasy profile moving forward.

Pickett completed 31 of 46 pass attempts for 232 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions while rushing once for four yards during the Steelers' 30-7 loss to the 49ers on Sunday.

Pickett looked sharp during the preseason, but the Steelers' offense had trouble against San Francisco's stingy defense during the regular-season opener. The 24-year-old's preseason results still fuel optimism for the second-year pro in 2023 following an up-and-down rookie season, but it was discouraging to see him held in check in Week 1. The Steelers have a Week 2 matchup against a Browns defense that managed to stifle Joe Burrow in the regular-season opener, so Pickett will face another tough early-season test.

O'Connell (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's matchup against the Broncos, but he'll dress and serve as the Raiders' emergency quarterback.

A rookie fourth-round pick, O'Connell shined during preseason action, but he's still behind veterans Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer on the depth chart. O'Connell doesn't count against the 53-man roster, but he's eligible to play if both Garoppolo and Hoyer are forced out of the contest.

Bagent (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Packers, Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Bagent will still technically be dressed as the team's No. 3 quarterback, and he can enter the game for emergency purposes.

Thompson (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's Week 1 game against the Chargers and has been designated as the emergency quarterback behind Tua Tagovailoa and Mike White.

The Dolphins announced Thompson would begin the season as the No. 3 quarterback earlier in the week, and this makes it official with respect to Week 1. Thompson unexpectedly received plenty of playing time last season as a rookie seventh-round pick, arguably making him one of the more battle-tested No. 3 signal-callers around the NFL despite his brief time in the league. He'll only see action versus Los Angeles if both Tagovailoa and White are sidelined with in-game injuries.

Tune took reps with the Cardinals' second-team offense in warmups, confirming he'll serve as the backup to starting quarterback Joshua Dobbs in Sunday's season opener in Washington, Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.

Though Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon never announced a Week 1 starter at quarterback, all signs pointed to Tune, a rookie fifth-round pick out of Houston, beginning his career as Dobbs' understudy. Despite entering his seventh NFL season, Dobbs only has two career starts and eight appearances to his name, so he likely won't have much security atop the depth chart. As such, Tune could get the opportunity to play at some point this season, especially if Kyler Murray's (knee) return from the PUP list extends beyond the minimum four games.

Dobbs has taken the snaps with the first-team offense during warmups, signaling that he'll serve as the Cardinals' starting quarterback in Sunday's game against the Commanders, Dani Sureck of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Though first-year head coach Jonathan Gannon never officially named a starting quarterback, multiple reports over the past few days had already pointed in the direction of Dobbs getting the nod over rookie fifth-round pick Clayton Tune. Dobbs will be making just the third start of his seven-year career Sunday, after the first two came late last season with the Titans. In his sparse NFL action to date, Dobbs has completed 50 of 85 pass attempts (58.8 percent) for 456 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions to go with 14 carries for 75 yards in eight games. The Cardinals will likely lean heavily on the James Conner-led ground attack for as long as Sunday's game remains competitive, which may render Dobbs as little more than a low-end fantasy option even in leagues that start two quarterbacks.

Johnson is active and will serve as the No. 2 quarterback behind Lamar Jackson against Houston on Sunday, Jonas Shaffer of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Tyler Huntley will serve as the emergency No. 3 quarterback, meaning he is officially inactive but is dressed and can play if Jackson and Johnson are forced out of the game. Huntley had been battling a hamstring injury, but it's unclear if that played any part in his demotion. Johnson was actually let go by Baltimore ahead of the 53-man roster deadline but was quickly re-signed.

Rudolph (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against San Francisco, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky were competing for the team's backup role behind Kenny Pickett this offseason, and it seems that Trubisky has won the job for now. Rudolph's next chance to be active on game day will come in Week 2 against Cleveland.

Willis is active and will serve as the No. 2 quarterback behind Ryan Tannehill on Sunday versus New Orleans, Joe Rexrode of The Athletic reports.

Willis and rookie second-round pick Will Levis were competing for the top backup spot during preseason action, and it appears the former has won the job for now, as the latter is a healthy scratch for Week 1. Willis struggled in limited action last year but will be the first man up if Tannehill is sidelined again in 2023.