NFL Player News

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Saturday he plans for Burrow and the starters to play a similar amount of snaps during Monday's preseason game against the Commanders as they did during last week's exhibition opener against Philadelphia, Jay Morrison of SI.com reports.

Burrow and company played two drives during Cincinnati's preseason opener against the Eagles, both of which the star quarterback punched in, completing nine of 10 pass attempts for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He'll get another chance to log exhibition reps alongside star wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on Monday, though with Mike Gesicki (hamstring) still not ready to go, per Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer, recent signee Noah Fant will be in line to start at tight end in his preseason debut. Taylor appears to be following through on his stated intention to allot the Bengals' starters more preseason snaps than ever before, so Burrow could see increased action during the team's preseason finale on Saturday, Aug. 23 against Indianapolis.

The Commanders activated McLaurin (ankle) from the active/PUP list Saturday.

McLaurin's activation from the PUP list doesn't seem to represent a step forward in his pursuit of a new long-term extension, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, but with Washington's regular-season opener against the Giants on Sunday, Sept. 7 now roughly three weeks away, the No. 1 wideout is ready to get back on the practice field and get into game shape. Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports that McLaurin isn't participating in on-field drills at practice Saturday, though he could simply be handling his ramp-up work inside team facilities. The soon-to-be 30-year-old wideout is currently heading into the final year of his deal with the Commanders, and his dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on extension negotiations has been severe enough that he made a trade request July 31.

Childress has made a big impression in training camp and could emerge as the starting slot corner for the Cowboys, Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News reports.

An undrafted free agent rookie out of Kentucky, Childress has worked with the first-team defense in training camp, and if he's able to handle the nickel corner spot, it would allow DaRon Bland to remain on the outside. Kemon Hall, who appeared in six regular-season games for Dallas last season purely as a special-teams player, and veteran Israel Mukuamu appear to be Childress' main competition for the job.

Arroyo brought in both of his targets for 19 yards in Friday's 33-16 preseason win over Kansas City.

AJ Barner lined up with Seattle's first-string offense Friday, hinting that he has the early lead over Arroyo in the competition for the No. 1 tight end job. The 22-year-old Arroyo hasn't done anything to hurt his stock this preseason, catching all four of his targets for 33 yards across two contests. The rookie would have to leapfrog Barner in the Seahawks' final preseason game against Green Bay on Saturday, Aug. 23 in order to avoid starting the regular season as the backup option.

Barner pulled in his only target for five yards in Friday's 33-16 preseason win over the Chiefs.

Barner -- who is competing with rookie Elijah Arroyo for the starting tight end job -- started Friday's exhibition with the first-team offense. The 2024 fourth-round pick nabbed new quarterback Sam Darnold's first target as a member of the Seahawks. Barner appears to have the early edge in the competition after posting decent totals (30-245-4) as a rookie backup in 2024.

Smith had three carries for 22 yards and two receptions for 16 yards on as many targets in Friday's 33-16 preseason loss to Seattle.

Smith was the first back to receive a carry after Isiah Pacheco and Carson Steele departed with the first-string offense. The 22-year-old Smith experienced improved results over his first preseason outing, as he appears to be completely over the finger injury sustained in practice last week. Smith will attempt to build off of this performance as he claws for a roster spot in the preseason finale against Chicago next Friday.

Minshew completed seven of nine pass attempts for 70 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 33-16 preseason loss to the Seahawks.

Minshew got the nod under center with Patrick Mahomes resting after playing briefly in Kansas City's preseason opener. The veteran backup looked sharp out of the gates, cashing in a short touchdown pass to Robert Tonyan on the team's second offensive drive. It was a great sign to see Minshew slinging the ball around after suffering a broken collarbone last season with the Raiders. Expect Minshew to serve as Mahomes' primary backup this upcoming season.

Kupp started Friday's preseason tilt against the Chiefs, but he did not receive a target during his brief appearance.

Kupp made his official debut with the Seahawks after switching allegiances within the NFC West this past offseason. The veteran superstar had little to do in his one drive of action after Zach Charbonnet (5-45-1) stole the show on the ground. The end of Kupp's tenure with the Rams saw his production dwarfed by injury, with his last 1,000-yard season coming during his MVP run in 2021. The 32-year-old will look for a fresh start while starting opposite Jaxon Smith-Njigba and catching passes from Sam Darnold in 2025.

Charbonnet took five carries for 45 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 33-16 preseason win over Kansas City.

Charbonnet made his preseason debut with the first-team offense as Kenneth Walker is eased back from a minor foot injury. The 24-year-old Charbonnet looked good in the starting role Friday, which was a common theme when he would take over for Walker at times last season. Charbonnet figures to continue operating in the "1B" role when Walker is healthy this upcoming season, although rumblings of a potential timeshare have been brewing in camp.

Darnold completed all four of his pass attempts for 34 yards in Friday's 33-16 preseason win over the Chiefs.

Darnold made his preseason debut with Seattle after signing a lucrative contract this past offseason. The 28-year-old was perfect while leading one offensive drive before giving way to the backups. Darnold is fresh off of a career year with Minnesota in which he posted 4,319 passing yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions across 17 regular-season games.