NFL Player News

Tagovailoa (ankle), who is listed as out for Sunday's game against the Vikings but officially cleared the concussion protocol Saturday, will start Week 7 against the Steelers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The Dolphins may not formally appoint Tagovailoa to the starting role until after they conclude their three Week 7 practices, but in the absence of any setbacks, the quarterback's two-game absence will come to an end. Skylar Thompson is slated to make his first NFL start against the Vikings, while Teddy Bridgewater will serve as his backup after clearing the concussion protocol Saturday but having managed only one full practice this week.

Dalton is expected to be working without each of his top three receivers while he makes his third consecutive start Sunday against the Bengals, ESPN.com reports.

Though top signal-caller Jameis Winston (back/ankle) is listed as questionable for the contest, he's unlikely to be available as anything more than a backup option behind Dalton, who has managed the Saints to a 1-1 record over his previous two starts. In those games, Dalton hasn't been asked to do much, as he's attempted just 52 passes, completing 69.2 percent of those throws for 8.1 yards per attempt and a 2:1 TD:INT. Even if a negative game script forces Dalton to drop back more frequently Sunday, he won't have many established weapons to work with in the passing game aside from running back Alvin Kamara. Michael Thomas (foot) and Jarvis Landry (ankle) have already been ruled out for their third and second straight games, respectively, while standout rookie Chris Olave is listed as questionable but is still experiencing concussion symptoms and isn't likely to play. Additionally, depth wideout Deonte Harty (foot) was moved to injured reserve Saturday, leaving Tre'Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, Keith Kirkwood, Rashid Shaheed and Kevin White as the team's available options at the position. That quintet has combined for 13 receptions through the first five weeks of the season.

The Saints waived Luton on Saturday.

Due to the depleted state of its wide-receiving corps and secondary, the Saints couldn't afford to keep Luton on the 53-man roster as a No. 3 quarterback behind Jameis Winston (back/ankle) and Andy Dalton. Though Dalton will make his third straight start Sunday against the Bengals, Winston -- who is listed as questionable -- may be healthy enough to dress as his backup. Even if Winston ends up inactive, the Saints would still have the jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill on hand to step in at quarterback if something should happen to Dalton on Sunday.

Zappe is expected to start Sunday's game in Cleveland with top quarterback Mac Jones (ankle) listed as questionable but considered highly unlikely to play, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Clarification on the Patriots' plans at quarterback won't officially arrive until the team releases its inactive list 90 minutes prior to the 1 p.m. ET kickoff, but unless Jones checks out better than anticipated during pregame warmups, Zappe will pick up his second straight start. The Patriots' decision to elevate another quarterback in Garrett Gilbert from the practice squad Saturday already signaled that Jones is trending toward missing a third straight contest despite the fact that Jones practiced in a limited fashion this week. Gilbert should serve as the backup behind Zappe, who completed 17 of 21 attempts for 188 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his first NFL start last week in the Patriots' 29-0 win over the Lions.

Prescott (thumb) isn't expected to suit up for Sunday's game against the Eagles despite being officially listed as questionable for the contest, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Though the Cowboys elected to give Prescott an injury designation other than "out" for the first time since Week 2, another start for Cooper Rush is likely in the cards. That said, a final word on Prescott's status may not come until Dallas releases its inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff. The Cowboys already have a third quarterback on the roster in Will Grier, so he'll presumably continue to back up Rush while Prescott gets one more week to heal up from his surgically repaired thumb. Prescott missed practice to begin the week before upgrading to limited sessions Thursday and Friday, but Rapoport reports that the quarterback will still need to show more improvement in order to open the Cowboys' first Week 7 practice Wednesday as a full participant.

Jones (ankle), officially listed as questionable, is unlikely to play Sunday against the Browns, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Jones practiced in limited fashion throughout the week and is somewhat surprisingly considered questionable for Sunday's game. He'll test out his ankle in pregame warmups, but barring a significant surprise, he'll be set for another absence. Bailey Zappe will serve as the starting quarterback, assuming Jones is out.

McCoy (calf) was activated from injured reserve Saturday.

McCoy strained his calf immediately prior to the start of the regular season and has been sidelined since. He'll likely serve as Arizona's backup quarterback for Sunday's game at Seattle.

Bridgewater is no longer listed as questionable for Sunday's matchup against the Vikings, but the veteran quarterback still is expected to back up Skylar Thompson, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

This makes sense considering the Dolphins earlier Saturday announced Bridgewater and Tua Tagovailoa had both cleared their respective concussion protocols. Given neither were able to practice much this week, the former is expected to be the backup to the rookie Thompson, while the latter will be held out until next week's primetime matchup against the Steelers. Bridgewater also injured his pec in last week's contest, but the injury is not believed to be serious.

Jones (ankle) remains listed as questionable ahead of Sunday's game against the Browns, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

The Patriots ruled out cornerback Jonathan Jones (ankle) and wide receiver Nelson Agholor (hamstring) on Saturday, but Lazar indicates that Mac Jones is making the trip to Cleveland and thus could potentially suit up Sunday after missing his team's last two games. Added context regarding the QB's Week 6 status should arrive in the hours ahead of New England's 1:00 ET kickoff, but if Jones ends up being deemed out, Bailey Zappe would be in line to draw his second straight start.

Bridgewater (pectoral) cleared the concussion protocol Saturday, but the veteran remains listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Vikings and is still expected to back up rookie Skylar Thompson, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Bridgewater also reportedly injured his pec, but the injury is deemed to be minor. The veteran missed most of practice this week going through the various stages of concussion protocol, which appears to be the reason the Dolphins are opting to start Thompson, who was unimpressive while coming on in relief in the first quarter of last week's loss to the Jets. Expect the Dolphins to officially confirm Bridgewater's availability -- or lack thereof -- with the release of their inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff.