NFL Player News

Cousins wasn't feeling well Thursday and was sent home by the Vikings, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

At this stage, it's not clear how long the QB will be away from the team, with Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press relaying via coach Kevin O'Connell that it remains to be seen if Cousins will be available to play in Sunday's preseason game against the Raiders.

The Browns will consider acquiring Garoppolo if Deshaun Watson's six-game suspension is significantly increased upon appeal by the NFL, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The range of potential outcomes for Watson at this point still includes a full-year ban. If that were to happen, the Browns would explore avenues to upgrade on backup QB Jacoby Brissett, with Garoppolo being the obvious option. The 49ers haven't been using Garoppolo in practice, instead moving on to Trey Lance as their starting quarterback. The team still hopes to trade Garoppolo but might ultimately end up releasing him.

Coach Matt Eberflus indicated that we can expect to see the Bears' healthy starters play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Chiefs, Alyssa Barbieri of USA Today reports. At this stage, Fields doesn't have any reported injury concerns.

According to Eberflus, the Chicago starters will play 15 to 20 snaps, though some will play 10 to 15 snaps. In his first training camp as the starting quarterback, Fields will also be running the team's new offensive system.

Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site suggests that Tannehill and other key veteran starters on offense are unlikely to play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Ravens.

With that in mind, Wyatt expects rookie Malik Willis and fellow backup QB Logan Woodside to each play roughly a half. For now, Tannehill remains entrenched as the Titans' top QB, with the report noting that Woodside is looking to hold onto the No. 2 spot, though that's an assignment Willis could push for with a strong preseason effort.

Trubisky will start Saturday's preseason opener against the Seahawks.

Per Alan Saunders of PittsburghSportsNow.com, Trubisky -- the favorite to be the Steelers' Week 1 starting QB -- will be followed in the contest by Mason Rudolph and then Kenny Pickett. Meanwhile, Missi Matthews of the team's official site relays via coach Mike Tomlin that Pittsburgh's starters figure to play about a quarter Saturday, while the second unit is in line to play in the second and third quarters, followed by the third stringers in the fourth quarter.

Jones isn't expected to play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Giants, Mike Reiss and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com report.

The report suggests that most of New England's starters aren't expected to take the field Thursday, and if that's the case, look for Jones to get some action in versus Carolina on Friday, Aug. 19. For their preseason opener, the Patriots are expected to focus on evaluating rookies and backups vying for roster spots, which likely sets the stage for rookie fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe to see plenty of action behind veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Coach Mike McDaniel suggested Tuesday that Tagovailoa isn't likely to play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Bucs, though the Dolphins haven't made a final decision, Adam H. Beasley of Pro Football Network reports.

It's unclear if the final decision will be announced or something McDaniel keeps to himself. In the unlikely event Tagovailoa ends up playing, it would probably be for no more than a drive or two.

Allen will not play in Saturday's preseason game against Indianapolis.

Some teams will play their starters in the first week of the preseason, but it's the exception rather than the norm, especially for veteran clubs with a reasonable degree of continuity. The Bills have that even with former OC Brian Daboll departing for New York in the offseason, as new OC Ken Dorsey was an internal promotion and will still be working with Allen, Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Devin Singletary and Dawson Knox, among others. The big offseason additions were oft-injured slot receiver Jamison Crowder and rookie RB James Cook.

Mond and Sean Mannion are listed as co-backup quarterbacks behind starter Kirk Cousins in Minnesota's first depth chart of the preseason released Wednesday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Mond and Mannion are in a battle for the backup quarterback role and their play in preseason will likely go a long way toward determining the winner. After struggling with COVID-19 during training camp his rookie year and not impressing in the preseason, Mond fell into ex-head coach Mike Zimmer's doghouse and was often a healthy inactive. Despite the poor start to his career, Mond could still beat out Mannion for the No. 2 role on the back up his draft pedigree and physical tools.

The Browns are planning to have Watson start Friday's preseason opener against the Jaguars, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The report notes, however, that the Browns' plans could change in the event that NFL designee Peter C. Harvey -- who was appointed by commissioner Roger Goodell to hear the league's appeal of Watson's six-game suspension -- makes his determination before the contest and recommends a year-long suspension for the quarterback. At this stage, though, there isn't a timetable for the decision to be rendered.