NFL Player News

Wolford (neck) was back at practice Tuesday, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Wolford suffered the injury in Saturday's preseason victory over the Jets. Despite being carted off the field on a backboard and taken to a local hospital, the 27-year-old managed to avoid a serious injury, which is, of course, good news for the Wake Forest product.

Richardson is slated to start Thursday's preseason finale against the Eagles, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star reports.

The report notes that whether the team's other starters see snaps Thursday will be determined on a case-bay-case basis, but the Colts plan to give Richardson one more opportunity to see game action ahead of Week 1. Once his stint against Philadelphia is complete, the 2023 first-rounder will turn his focus to preparing for his regular-season starting debut, Aug. 10 against the Jaguars. While there's clarity with regard the Indy's QB pecking order, it remains to be seen who will be handling the team's rushing duties early on this season, with Jonathan Taylor having been granted permission by the franchise to seek a trade.

Coach Todd Bowles announced Tuesday that Baker Mayfield, not Trask, will begin 2023 as the Buccaneers' starting quarterback, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Trask put together a solid performance in Saturday's preseason win over the Jets, completing 20 of 28 passes for 218 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, but Mayfield has nonetheless evidently shown enough throughout training camp to be named the starter. Trask, the 2021 second-round pick, instead stands to start the year as Mayfield's backup, and Tampa Bay could still add another reserve QB, with John Wolford (neck) battling injury. In the event that Mayfield struggles and Trask can continue to log positive showings in practice throughout the season, it's possible he could still push for a chance to line up under center sometime during the 2023 campaign.

Coach Todd Bowles officially named Mayfield the Buccaneers' starting quarterback for Week 1 on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Mayfield winning Tampa Bay's quarterback competition was foreshadowed when he sat out the team's preseason win over the Jets on Saturday despite the absence of John Wolford (neck). The 2018 No. 1 overall pick will get a chance to reignite his career as a starter with wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin as his clear top targets on offense, beginning with the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Vikings. Now that the Buccaneers' quarterback battle is at an end, it remains to be seen whether the team will opt for Mayfield and the starters to get some reps in during Saturday's preseason finale against the Ravens or have them get some rest.

Howell completed 19 of 25 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns in Monday's preseason game against Baltimore, adding three carries for 17 yards.

Three days after being named the Week 1 starter, Howell led the Washington first unit to 17 points on four drives while playing the entire first half against Baltimore's second/third-string defenders. He played well even considering the soft competition, though he also showed some of the bad in his scouting report when he took a 13-yard sack on a second-and-2 after needlessly bailing from a relatively clean pocket. Howell bounced back with a 16-yard dart to TE Cole Turner on the next snap, leading Washington to an opening-drive field goal before adding second-quarter TD passes to RB Antonio Gibson and WR Dyami Brown. The biggest negative was WR Terry McLaurin exiting in the second quarter with a toe injury, though it may not end up being a big deal given that X-rays came back negative, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. The prolonged playing time Monday likely means Howell and other starters will be rested for their preseason finale Saturday against the Bengals, leaving a 20-day gap before a favorable Week 1 home matchup with the rebuilding Cardinals.

Tune completed 12 of 24 passes for 133 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed six times for 35 yards during Saturday's 38-10 preseason loss to Kansas City.

After Colt McCoy handled the Cardinals' first three drives of the contest, Tune took over the offense and logged almost two full quarters of work before yielding to David Blough. The current breakdown of Arizona's QB room is a result of Kyler Murray's ongoing recovery from last December's torn ACL and Jeff Driskel sitting out with a calf strain. Tune hasn't exactly been accurate (53.2 percent) or productive (5.7 yards per attempt) through two exhibitions, but the rookie fifth-rounder seems poised to be the team's No. 2 signal-caller behind McCoy until Murray is healthy enough to suit up.

McCoy completed five of eight passes for 25 yards and had a six-yard run during Saturday's 38-10 preseason loss to Kansas City.

McCoy was afforded the Cardinals' first three possessions of the game, but all three ended in punts. Despite the lack of headway on offense, he again worked ahead of Clayton Tune and David Blough with Kyler Murray (knee) still in recovery mode. If Murray isn't healthy by Week 1, McCoy figures to lead Arizona's offense until the starter is ready to roll.

Coach Ron Rivera told Lisa Salters of ESPN before Monday's preseason game against the Ravens that Howell will "probably see a good half" of action, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Just three days removed from Rivera announcing Howell as the Commanders' starting quarterback for the 2023 season, he'll get a decent amount of run in the team's second exhibition. This follows the 2022 fifth-round pick working three series in the preseason opener against Cleveland, when he completed nine of 12 passes for 77 yards and one touchdown. It's unclear if stalwarts like WRs Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson and RBs Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson will stay on the field as long as Howell, but he'll likely be afforded at least a series or two with the quartet.

During his Monday press conference, coach Zac Taylor noted that Burrow, who is dealing with a calf strain, "looks great" at this stage of his recovery, Kelsey Conwayof the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

"Physically just walking around he looks probably as good as he's ever looked at this point. That's a positive, and we will just go from there," Taylor indicated of the Bengals' franchise QB, who hasn't practiced since July 27. While a timetable for Burrow's return to action has yet to be outlined by the team, Conway suggests that based off his pregame workout before the Bengals' Aug. 11 preseason game against the Packers -- during which the signal-caller was spotted running and throwing -- it appears at though he's trending in the right direction ahead of Week 1.

Blackman agreed to a contract with the Dolphins on Monday, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com reports.

Blackman was waived by the Dolphins on Aug. 7 after joining them as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas State in May. This move comes as fellow quarterback, Mike White, was placed in the league's concussion protocols. Blackman will work to make the most of his second opportunity in Miami.