NFL Player News

Mendoza did not appear in Sunday's 35-21 loss to the Rams.

Mendoza didn't see any action for the second straight week after he got his toes wet in the team's Week 5 loss to New England. With the Raiders falling to 3-4 with the loss in Week 7, current starting quarterback Kirk Cousins may not remain in that role for much longer. Las Vegas will travel to face the Jets in Week 8 before a trio of tough matchups against the 49ers, Seahawks and Broncos in the next three weeks.

Payton (coach's decision) is inactive for Monday's game against the Cowboys but will serve as the team's emergency quarterback.

Payton will serve as the emergency signal-caller. However, unless Tanner McKee and Joe Milton exit the game due to injury, illness or ejection, Payton won't be on the field.

The Browns activated Gabriel (back) from injured reserve Monday.

Cleveland needed to make a decision on the quarterback after opening his 21-day practice window 20 days ago, so he'll now join the 53-man roster as one of the team's four quarterbacks. The Browns figure to make a move at the position in the near future, and perhaps they'll try to gauge trade interest in Gabriel.

Head coach Klint Kubiak said that Cousins will remain the Raiders' starting quarterback heading into Sunday's game against the Jets, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN reports. "There is no controversy," Kubiak said. "He is playing at a very high level."

Though the Raiders have dropped four straight games to drop to 3-4 on the season, Kubiak reaffirmed his commitment to Cousins, who has done his part to keep the team competitive amid the losing streak. The veteran signal-caller leads the NFL with 16 touchdown passes and ranks third with 1,877 passing yards, with the Raiders' struggling defense (28.1 points allowed per game) and poor running game (3.0 yards per carry) having been the bigger culprits in the team's recent swoon. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Kubiak said that No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is "going to play at some point," but the rookie looks like he'll have to wait at least one more week before seeing extended action while Cousins has directed a serviceable offense.

Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said that Jackson (ankle) is "in a decent spot" to play Sunday against the Bills, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

The coach's comments don't provide much in the way of new insight into the status of Jackson, who has sat out the Ravens' last three games due to what the quarterback has labeled as a left high-ankle sprain. Minter has classified Jackson as day-to-day ahead of the Ravens' past two games, only for the two-time MVP to be ruled out from playing at least a day in advance of both contests. Jackson was at least able to take a notable step forward in his recovery last week by practicing on a limited basis Wednesday through Friday, so if the signal-caller is able to maintain that level of activity or take on more reps during Week 8 prep, he should have a good chance at returning to action. The Ravens have gone 1-2 and have averaged 17.7 points per game while Tyler Huntley has started in place of Jackson.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that Jones will remain the team's starting quarterback in Sunday's game against the Jaguars, Mike Chappell of Fox 59 News Indianapolis reports.

Though the Colts have limped out to a disappointing 2-5 start to the season, Steichen reiterated that he has confidence in Jones, who signed a two-year, $88 million extension in March after his inaugural campaign in Indianapolis was cut short by a torn Achilles tendon. As expected, Jones hasn't provided much of an impact as a runner (21 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown) coming off major surgery, but his significant regression as a passer (59.6 percent completion rate, 4:7 TD:INT, 5.8 yards per attempt) has impeded the Indianapolis offense. While his contract should give Jones some level of security, another poor performance or two could compel the Colts to give 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson another look under center.

Mariota (knee) is on track to return to practice this week, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports.

Mariota was unavailable for the Commanders' past two games due to a sprained MCL in his right knee, but the veteran QB benefited from the team's Week 7 bye and could be back in the mix for Sunday's night's contest against the Eagles. In his absence, Athan Kaliakmanis had been filling in as top signal-caller Jayden Daniels' understudy.

Mahomes completed 19 of 33 passes for 165 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 20-3 loss to the Seahawks. He added two rushing attempts for 14 yards.

Mahomes was picked off in the second quarter and remarkably recovered his own fumble in a pile of bodies to avoid a second turnover in the third quarter, setting up a Harrison Butker field goal on the next play for the Chiefs' only points of the night. This was the first start in Mahomes' career during which Kansas City failed to reach the red zone, and he hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in two games since KC's Week 5 bye. Seattle's defense dominated while Kansas City struggled to move the ball in the absence of No. 1 WR Rashee Rice (hamstring/knee), whom the Chiefs will hope to get back for a Week 8 road game against the Broncos.

Darnold completed 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 20-3 win over the Chiefs. He added two rushing attempts for 17 yards.

Darnold threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the second quarter to give the Seahawks a 10-0 lead, but Darnold's end-zone interception from the 3-yard line in the final minute of the first half allowed the Chiefs to stay within striking distance. Seattle's dominant defense made sure Darnold's eighth interception in five starts since returning from a glute injury wouldn't prove too costly. He has matched that interception total with eight touchdown passes over that span. Darnold and the 4-3 Seahawks will play at home in primetime again Week 8, hosting the Bears on MNF.

Stafford completed 23 of 29 passes for 195 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and rushed three times for minus-3 yards in the Rams' 35-21 win over the Raiders on Sunday.

Stafford was operating with a less-than-100-percent Puka Nacua (calf) and without Davante Adams (IR, hamstring), so his reduced passing yardage total wasn't entirely surprising. The reigning MVP still found a way to deliver a highly useful fantasy performance via a trio of first-half scoring strikes to Davis Allen (three, five yards) and Nacua (11 yards). Stafford also extended a streak of games with better than a 74.0 percent completion rate to three, and his 79.3 percent tally Sunday was a season-high figure. Stafford next takes aim at the Chargers defense in a Week 8 home matchup next Sunday.