NFL Player News

The Vikings placed Cousins (Achilles) on injured reserve Tuesday.

The transaction is merely a formality, as an MRI confirmed Monday that Cousins suffered a torn right Achilles' tendon in Sunday's win over Green Bay, ending the quarterback's season. According to Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell added that Cousins is slated to undergo surgery later this week, but assuming the 35-year-old has no complications with his procedure, he could be ready for full football activities when NFL training camps open next July. Since Cousins is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, it's unclear whether he'll return to Minnesota for a seventh season or explore his options elsewhere. Rookie fifth-round pick Jaren Hall appears set to make his first NFL start in Cousins' stead Week 9 at Atlanta, but Minnesota acquired a more experienced signal-caller in Joshua Dobbs from Arizona on Tuesday and could turn the offense over to him at some point in the second half of the season if Hall struggles.

Rodgers (Achilles) said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he's not yet jogging, but he is able to walk without any discomfort, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Rodgers added that he's able to do calf-raising exercises and put "legitimate" weight on his surgically repaired left Achilles' tendon, leaving him optimistic that he'll be able to play again this season. However, Rodgers emphasized that he still has many checkpoints to hit in his recovery and noted that the Jets need to be "alive" in order for him to take the field. Given that the 39-year-old Rodgers underwent surgery Sept. 13 and is working his way back from an injury that typically entails a 6-to-9-month recovery period, the Jets will likely need to make a deep playoff run just for the veteran quarterback to have an outside shot at being available to play.

Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell said that Dobbs, whom the Vikings acquired from the Cardinals on Tuesday, isn't expected to start Sunday's game at Atlanta but could be available to play, Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press reports.

O'Connell noted that the Vikings are preparing rookie fifth-round pick Jaren Hall to make his first career start in the wake of Kirk Cousins suffering a season-ending Achilles injury Week 8 against Green Bay. While Hall could end up sticking atop the depth chart on a more permanent basis if he performs well against Atlanta, Dobbs at least gives Minnesota a battle-tested option to turn to at quarterback if Hall doesn't prove to be NFL ready. As the starter for Arizona's first eight games of the season, Dobbs completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 5.9 yards per attempt, eight touchdowns and five interceptions while adding 258 yards and three scores on 47 rushing attempts.

Head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed Tuesday that Levis is likely to remain the Titans' starting quarterback Thursday at Pittsburgh, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Ryan Tannehill hasn't been cleared to resume practicing since suffering a right high-ankle sprain in the Titans' Week 6 loss to the Ravens on Oct. 15, so unless his condition takes a dramatic turn for the better in the next two days, he'll miss a second straight game coming out of Tennessee's Week 7 bye. The Titans aren't incentivized to rush Tannehill back after Levis turned in arguably the best performance of the season by any Tennessee quarterback in this past Sunday's win over the Falcons. In what was his NFL debut, Levis completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 238 yards and four touchdowns. He added 11 yards on the ground and didn't turn the ball over, after Tannehill and Malik Willis had accounted for six interceptions and a lost fumble between them through the first eight weeks of the season.

Head coach Mike Vrabel said Tannehill (ankle) won't practice Tuesday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports. "As of right now, I'd imagine it will be Will [Levis starting Thursday at Pittsburgh]," Vrabel told Turron Davenport of ESPN.com.

Citing a source close to the situation, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported Monday that Levis was on track to make a second consecutive start Week 9, so Vrabel's comments about the Titans' quarterback situation don't come as a major surprise. Barring dramatic improvement over the next couple of days in his recovery from the right high-ankle sprain he sustained in the Titans' Week 6 loss to the Ravens, Tannehill will be inactive for the second game in a row this week. The Titans will likely wait and see if Tannehill is able to do anything at Wednesday's practice before providing more clarity on his status heading into Thursday.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell said Tuesday during his appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio that the Vikings are preparing as if Hall will be the team's starting quarterback Sunday in Atlanta, Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press reports.

The comments came mere minutes after Minnesota acquired quarterback Joshua Dobbs, whom O'Connell said could be available to play Sunday, too. In the wake of Kirk Cousins' season-ending torn Achilles, Hall is the top in-house option at the moment with Nick Mullens (back) on injured reserve and Sean Mannion on the practice squad. If Hall gets the nod this weekend, he'll be making his second appearance as a pro after completing three of four passes for 23 yards, rushing twice for minus-1 yard and losing a fumble this past Sunday in Green Bay following Cousins' exit in the fourth quarter.

Pickett (ribs) said Tuesday that he intends to play in Thursday's game against the Titans, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reports.

Pickett opened Week 9 with a limited listing on Monday's estimated practice report, and he relayed one day later that he did some light throwing in what was yet another walk-through session. He thus appears poised to be listed as a limited participant once again, which will be confirmed when the Steelers post their next injury report later Tuesday.

The Cardinals traded Dobbs to the Vikings on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Two days removed from Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon reaffirming Dobbs' status as the team's starting quarterback and then rescinding it one day later, Dobbs is on the move to a QB-needy team after the Vikings lost Kirk Cousins for the season to a torn Achilles this past Sunday. It's unclear if Dobbs will start over rookie fifth-round pick Jaren Hall immediately, but the veteran at least will have three days to practice with his new team before new coach Kevin O'Connell will need to make such a decision.

The Buccaneers signed Wolford to their 53-man roster Tuesday, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.

Russini initially reported Monday that the Rams signed Wolford off the Bucs' practice squad in response to Matthew Stafford dealing with a thumb injury, but the former will ultimately stay in Tampa Bay. The Rams and Vikings -- who lost Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury Sunday -- were reported to be interested in Wolford, but the Bucs ultimately decided to promote Wolford to the 53-man roster and will continue to operate as the third quarterback behind Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.

Goff completed 26 of 37 passes for 272 yards with one touchdown and one interception and rushed twice for minus-2 yards in the Lions' 26-14 win over the Raiders on Monday night.

Goff racked up 256 yards through three quarters before slowing down in the fourth, but he impressively spread the ball around to eight different targets on the night. The fact top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was able to overcome an illness to play was naturally a major benefit to the veteran quarterback, who connected with the talented wideout on six occasions for 108 yards. Goff has thrown for at least Monday's yardage total in three straight games, giving him some solid momentum heading into a Week 10 showdown against Justin Herbert and the Chargers following a Week 9 bye.