NFL Player News

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday that Fields will play during Saturday's preseason opener against the Titans, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

Eberflus said "selected starters will play here and there" Saturday, so Fields and the first-team offense may not play too many reps. Still, many will be keen to take a look at the dynamic quarterback in his first real exhibition action entering Year 3. Now joined by top wideout DJ Moore alongside returning playmakers Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool (hamstring), Fields is set up well to potentially take another step forward as a passer.

Trask will start Tampa Bay's second preseason contest Aug. 19 versus the Jets, but Baker Mayfield will open Friday's game against the Steelers, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Head coach Todd Bowles said there was no real reason behind the decision for Trask to start after Mayfield, an indication that the Week 1 starting role is still up for grabs. A 2021 second-round pick, Trask never got a chance to start for the Buccaneers during Tom Brady's tenure, but he's split first-team reps with Mayfield throughout camp and could finally get his opportunity if he's able to win the preseason job battle. Trask has reportedly had more success than Mayfield pushing the ball downfield in practices, so it will be interesting to see whether that translates to game action.

Pickett will start Friday's preseason contest against the Buccaneers, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Pickett has reportedly showcased an improved ability to read the field early in training camp, and he'll look to carry over that success into preseason action Friday. The second-year quarterback is coming off a rookie season in which he threw for more than 200 passing yards in just four of 13 appearances while turning in a 7:9 TD:INT. He and the Steelers' first-team offense may only handle a series or two in Tampa Bay on Friday.

Watson is slated to start Friday's preseason game against the Commanders, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Watson isn't sure how much action he'll see Friday, but after not playing in last week's Hall of Fame Game against Jets, the Browns' top quarterback will see his first exhibition snaps of 2023. Given that Watson is set to take the field Friday, he'll presumably log some snaps alongside most of the team's other healthy starters.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that Mayfield will start Friday's preseason contest against the Steelers, but Kyle Trask will get the starting nod for the team's second preseason contest Aug. 19 versus the Jets, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mayfield and Trask are listed as co-starters for the top spot on the Buccaneers' first unofficial depth chart, and the team will indeed take a look at both options during the preseason. Mayfield will get the first shot to start, though Greg Auman of Fox Sports relays that it doesn't necessarily mean Mayfield is ahead in the quarterback competition. The ultimate factor in determining Tampa Bay's starter for Week 1 could come down to which of the two signal-callers performs better in preseason action.

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com suggested Tuesday that Jones probably won't play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Texans.

That's a notion echoed by both Mark Daniels of Masslive.com and Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site. In the event that Jones does sit out Thursday's contest, Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley and Malik Cunningham would be candidates to log QB snaps against Houston.

On the Buccaneers' initial unofficial depth chart, Mayfield and Kyle Trask are listed together in the QB1 slot.

The listing offers confirmation that the two players are competing for the team's top QB spot ahead of Week 1. With that in mind, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site notes via coach Todd Bowles that whichever of the two signal-callers starts Friday's preseason game against the Steelers, the other one will get the nod in the team's second exhibition game and get an equal amount of playing time.

Trask has made significant strides thus far in training camp and drawn very close in his job battle with Baker Mayfield, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Laine notes that Mayfield appeared to have a sizable lead over Trask back during June minicamp, but the paradigm appears to have shifted since training camp began. The 2021 second-round pick has looked far more decisive with the ball and has been making noteworthy plays in every practice. The two players continue to alternate first-team reps for the moment and could well compete through the duration of the preseason, with Friday's exhibition opener versus the Steelers serving as the first in-game platform for their job battle.

The Lions and Bridgewater agreed to terms of a contract Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Behind Detroit's starting quarterback Jared Goff, there previously wasn't much experience on the depth chart between six-year pro Nate Sudfeld, 2023 third-round pick Hendon Hooker (knee) and rookie UDFA Adrian Martinez. Bridgewater himself has 65 starts for five different teams in his career, including two for the Dolphins last year. In five appearances overall in 2022, he completed 49 of 79 passes (62 percent) for 683 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Bridgewater will slot in as Goff's top backup moving forward.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday he "doubts" Purdy will play during Sunday's preseason opener against the Raiders, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Purdy will continue to take part in joint practices this week, but it looks like if the second-year QB is to handle preseason action, it won't come until later. Instead, the 49ers could use Sunday's contest to take a longer look at Sam Darnold and Trey Lance in game situations, while Brandon Allen remains available to close it out. Purdy remains on schedule to shed his required days off from the practice schedule next week, indicating that his rehab continues to go as planned.