NFL Player News

Washington head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday that Howell will be the "quarterback to beat" during the offseason program, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

A 2022 fifth-round pick, Howell was a healthy scratch for the majority of his rookie season, but he served as Washington's starting signal-caller Week 18 against the Cowboys, completing 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception while taking five carries for 35 yards and another score in a 26-6 win. Considering Rivera's comments, the Commanders don't seem poised to make a big offseason splash at quarterback this offseason after bringing on Carson Wentz last March. While Wentz is under contract for 2023, the team can move on from him without any dead-cap hit. As for the other quarterbacks on Washington's 2022 roster, Taylor Heinicke will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so if the team cuts Wentz, Howell's only competition for reps this spring and summer will be Jake Fromm, barring further additions to the group.

Purdy is slated to meet with Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas on Feb. 21 before undergoing surgery to repair the complete tear of the UCL is his right throwing elbow on Feb. 22, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Purdy suffered the injury during the 49ers' loss in the NFC Championship Game at Philadelphia on Jan. 29. The Niners had some concern that he may require Tommy John surgery, but considering he's expected to be ready for training camp, per Rapoport, Purdy appears set to undergo the InternalBrace repair. San Francisco enters the offseason with just two quarterbacks under contract -- Purdy and Trey Lance (ankle) -- with the latter expected to be healthy for the offseason program. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has yet to name a starter or commit to a favorite in the competition for San Francisco's quarterback duties in 2023, but Purdy at least will be given a chance to reclaim the gig after his impressive run as the starter for the team as a seventh-round rookie this past season.

Smith has reportedly had positive contract negotiations with the Seahawks thus far, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Smith would likely be one of the top signal callers if he were to hit the open market this offseason, but it appears as if the Seahawks would like to avoid that possibility, as talks regarding an extension are seemingly moving in a positive direction. The 32-year-old quarterback put up career-best numbers across the board in his first season as a starter with Seattle, but given this was Smith's first year as a starter since 2014, any extension would likely be of the shorter variety as the team attempts to safeguard itself from any sort of regression.

Mahomes (ankle) doesn't have a designation after the first week of preparation ahead of Super Bowl LVII against the Eagles on Sunday, Feb. 12.

Super Bowl participants are required to file two full weeks of injury reports, and Mahomes remains in good standing to be the Chiefs' starting quarterback in the upcoming contest. Still, he continues to be listed on reports due to the high right-ankle sprain that he sustained in the divisional round against the Jaguars and played through in the AFC Championship Game versus the Bengals. Despite being somewhat hindered this past Sunday and also losing a good portion of Kansas City's receiving corps due to injury, Mahomes still put up a normal stat line (326 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on 67 percent passing). Assuming he gets through next week unscathed, he'll have a much tougher test on his hands against the Eagles' top-ranked pass defense from the regular season (179.8 yards per game).

Mahomes (ankle) was a full practice participant Thursday.

Mahomes continues to operate without on-field restrictions since suffering a high right-ankle sprain during the Chiefs' divisional-round win against the Jaguars. Playing through it during this past Sunday's AFC Championship Game versus the Bengals, he completed 29 of 43 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, despite wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), Kadarius Toney (ankle/hamstring) and Mecole Hardman (pelvis) all exiting with injuries of their own. Mahomes discussed his health Thursday, telling Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com that he dealt with some discomfort following the contest but nothing more. With Mahomes' availability not up in the air for Super Bowl LVII against the Eagles, the only question that remains is who among the aforementioned WR trio will be able to suit up Sunday, Feb. 12.

Allen completed all three of his pass attempts for 22 yards in his lone appearance of the 2022 season, which came Week 9 in a 42-21 win over the Panthers.

Allen's limited action reflected both Joe Burrow's relative health as well as the fact that the Bengals weren't often on the good or bad end of a blowout during the season. The 30-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent this spring, but Burrow has expressed hope that the Bengals will bring back Allen as his backup in 2023.

Mahomes (ankle) was listed as a full participant on Wednesday's estimated practice report.

Like he was last week in advance of this past Sunday's AFC Championship Game, Mahomes would have logged all on-field work if the Chiefs had held a session Wednesday to kick off prep for Super Bowl LVII. He played through what was termed a right high-ankle sprain in the 23-20 win over the Bengals, looking visibly hobbled at times but still gutting it out while Kansas City wide receivers departed with a variety of injuries. Overall, Mahomes completed 29 of 43 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, despite all of JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), Kadarius Toney (ankle/hamstring) and Mecole Hardman (pelvis) dealing with health concerns that resulted in their early exits. All three players were listed as non-participants Wednesday, so the team's skill-position talent will be monitored to see who may be at Mahomes' disposal Feb. 12 against the Eagles.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that he doesn't expect Garoppolo (foot) to be a member of the 49ers for the 2023 season, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

It's been a whirlwind year for Garoppolo, who was shopped last offseason with the 49ers set to move on to 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance under center. However, Garoppolo's health was in limbo due to his recovery from surgery on his right throwing shoulder, and he eventually remained with the team after interested organizations settled their respective quarterback situations. When Lance suffered a season-ending right ankle injury Week 2, Garoppolo was pressed into action and held on to the starting role until he suffered a broken left foot Week 13, which allowed for the emergence of seventh-round rookie Brock Purdy (elbow). While both Lance and Purdy enter this offseason with health concerns, San Francisco's brass is comfortable with the pair moving forward, meaning Garoppolo will be allowed to test free agency once March arrives.

San Francisco general manager John Lynch said Wednesday that Purdy continues to receive opinions on how to proceed with the complete tear of the UCL that he sustained in his right elbow during Sunday's NFC Championship Game loss in Philadelphia, but the most likely scenario is surgery followed by a six-month recovery, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Lynch specifically mentioned the InternalBrace repair, and head coach Kyle Shanahan added Purdy's right throwing arm should return to full strength in time for training camp, per David Lombardi of The Athletic. Shanahan also told Lombardi that the 49ers are comfortable with Trey Lance and Purdy as the team's top two quarterbacks for 2023. Considering Lance's right ankle and fibula are expected to be healed well in advance of the offseason program, he may be able to stave off Purdy once late July rolls around. Having said that, Purdy made a case to hold on to the starting gig next season after going 7-1 during his eight-game run with the job to wrap up the most recent campaign.

Tagovailoa cleared the NFL's five-step concussion protocol Wednesday, and the Dolphins are confident he'll be 100 percent for their upcoming offseason program and the 2023 season, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Tagovailoa was diagnosed with two confirmed concussions during the 2022 regular season, and the second one -- which occurred against Green Bay on Christmas Day -- ultimately sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign. In early January, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Miami had been told by doctors that Tagovailoa's recent head injuries won't leave him prone to more concussions in the future, so the team feels confident the Alabama product can still be its franchise quarterback moving forward.