NFL Player News

Smith won't start Thursday's preseason contest against the Bears, but he remains the No. 1 quarterback on the Seahawks' depth chart, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

For the first time since training camp kicked off, Smith yielded all the reps with the first-team offense to Drew Lock at Tuesday's practice as Lock prepares to get the start in the team's second exhibition game. In the preseason opener, Smith worked the first half while Lock handled every snap after halftime, so the duo could reverse roles Thursday.

Lock will start Thursday's preseason game against the Bears, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

According to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, Lock handled all the first-team reps at practice Tuesday for the first time since training camp opened. Afterward, coach Pete Carroll told Condotta the development was part of the plan for the Seahawks' quarterback competition, but Carroll reiterated that Geno Smith remains the team's No. 1 QB. It's unclear how much run Lock will get with the starters Thursday, but if the breakdown is similar to Seattle's preseason opener, he may play one half before handing the offense over to Smith.

Wilson (knee) could return in four-to-six weeks after successful surgery Tuesday on his meniscus, Jeff Howe of The Athletic reports.

While everything went according to plan with the surgery, prior estimates of 2-4 weeks may not have accounted for a bone bruise Wilson is also dealing with, or the Jets' reported desire to take a cautious approach with their second-year quarterback. Howe says it's not entirely out of the question that Wilson could be ready to play by Week 1, but it doesn't sound especially likely, with Adam Schefter of ESPN reporting that Joe Flacco is set to start the regular-season opener against Baltimore.

Stafford (elbow) put together another full practice during Tuesday's scrimmage, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Stafford also logged a full session Monday in what was termed a shortened practice. At the time, coach Sean McVay said Stafford would handle every rep Tuesday, which is what came to pass. McVay added that Stafford displayed "great energy, great command. Threw the ball incredibly accurately. Really activated all parts of our pass game." Stafford tended to discomfort in his right elbow this offseason, which followed him into training camp. The Rams and McVay don't seem to be particularly worried about the issue, but Stafford has rested at times and has also had limitations on the field, so him handling full activity in back-to-back practices is an encouraging sign.

Wilson's knee surgery was successful, with no surprises from the original diagnosis, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

It sounds liked doctors were able to address his meniscus by trimming it rather than repairing it. That was the Jets' expectation, but there was some chance he'd need a repair, which might've put his 2022 season in jeopardy. Instead, Wilson could be looking at a timetable as short as 2-4 weeks, though Cimini notes that the Jets won't put him on the field until he's back to 100 percent. Connor Hughes of The Athletic supports the notion that Wilson is likely to return closer to the one-month mark than two weeks, while Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Joe Flacco is expected to start Week 1 against the Ravens.

Allen (concussion) returned to practice Monday after suffering a concussion in Friday's loss to the Cardinals, Richard Skinner of WKRC-TV reports.

Allen has cleared concussion protocol, putting him on track to start again when the Bengals visit the Giants on Sunday for their second preseason game. The veteran played just one series in Friday's first preseason action before being ruled out with a concussion. The expectation was that Allen would've played the entire first half in the contest. This very well could be the case Sunday, especially with starter Joe Burrow still recovering from an offseason appendix surgery.

Fields is likely to see 6-10 plays in Thursday's game against the Seahawks Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

Fishbain also stated that some of the Bears' starters will see up to 20 plays, so that kind of workload can't be ruled out for Fields. Coach Matt Eberflus said the low number of plays is due to the short week the team is on.

Allen (COVID-19 protocols) returned to practice Tuesday, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports.

Allen was sidelined for Saturday's preseason game after testing positive for COVID-19, but he's since cleared protocols and returned to practice Tuesday. He's currently competing with Jeff Driskel for the backup job behind Davis Mills, so Allen will likely get plenty of action in Friday's preseason game against the Rams.

Rudolph worked primarily with the Steelers' third-team offense during Monday's practice, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports.

Rudolph appeared to be the No. 2 option at quarterback over the first few weeks of training camp and was the second quarterback to take the field during Saturday's preseason opener against Seattle. All three of Pittsburgh's signal-callers played well Saturday, including Rudolph, who completed nine of 15 pass attempts for 93 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. However, rookie Kenny Pickett drew most of the snaps with the second-team offense at practice Monday. The team's coaching staff said that Pickett's advancement Monday was pre-planned rather than resulting from his play Saturday. Mitch Trubisky seems to be the frontrunner for the starting job under center, and it's safe to wonder whether Rudolph will be able to keep pace for the No. 2 job -- or a spot on the 53-man roster -- if Pickett and Trubisky continue to perform.

Pickett worked mainly with the Steelers' second-team offense during Monday's practice session, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports.

Pickett impressed during his preseason debut Saturday against Seattle, completing 13 of 15 pass attempts for 95 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing three times for 16 yards. He primarily worked with the third-stringers ahead of the preseason opener and was the third quarterback on the field behind Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph on Saturday. However, the team's coaching staff said that the rookie's progression to working with the second-team offense was planned ahead of time rather than being based on his performance. "Yeah, we've got a system in place," offensive coordinator Matt Canada said Monday. "Coach, we've had this thing mapped out since I don't know when. We'll continue to stay right on our plan and see where it goes." The Steelers haven't revealed much about their plans at quarterback early in camp, but Trubisky appears to be the frontrunner for the starting job. However, Monday's usage signaled that the team could have a plan in place to at least slot Pickett in as the No. 2 option to begin the year if he continues to progress well.