NFL Player News

McBride played one snap in Thursday's 27-14 preseason win over the Raiders.

QB Jacoby Brissett, WR Marvin Harrison and the five starting offensive linemen played all 11 snaps on Arizona's opening drive. It was only McBride who got superstar treatment, as WR Michael Wilson and RB Jeremiyah Love also took most of the snaps on the lone series for Arizona's first-team offense. McBride has far more competition for the ball this year, but he'll still be prioritized in the passing game and remains a clear favorite to lead the team in targets.

Smack made three field goals in Thursday's 28-9 preseason loss to the Steelers.

Smack -- per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- was a bit wayward early in training camp, but the rookie was true on all three of his attempts, including one from 58 yards away, in his first exhibition appearance. Smack was already the clear favorite to open the season as Green Bay's kicker, and Thursday's showing all but locks him in.

Gibbs was held out of Thursday's preseason opener against the Bengals.

The star running back was among a number of key skill players rested by the Lions on Thursday, a group that also included QB Jared Goff, WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, as well as TE Sam LaPorta. Since he signed a lucrative three-year contract extension with the team last week, Gibbs -- who had previously reportedly been dealing with a minor back issue -- has been practicing, and is thus slated to reprise his role as the clear-cut top option in Detroit's backfield, and in turn maintain his standing as an elite fantasy option ahead of the 2026 regular season.

The Texans believe that Mertz tore his ACL during Thursday's preseason opener against the Chargers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Per Schefter, there is expected to be additional testing to confirm Mertz's injury, but at this stage it doesn't look good for the 2025 sixth-rounder. As a result, look for Houston to bring in added QB depth behind C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills in short order.

Miller carried the ball 14 times for 55 yards and failed to catch his only target in Thursday's 13-13 preseason tie with the Colts.

Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson both sat out the Patriots' preseason opener, allowing Miller to get the start and handle the bulk of the work on the ground -- the rest of the RBs in the lineup combined for 27 yards on 17 carries. The 2026 seventh-round is battling Lan Larison, Hassan Haskins and JaMycal Hasty for the RB3 role to open the season, and Miller may have improved his chances of claiming it with Thursday's effort.

Larison gained just one yard on seven carries in Thursday's 13-13 preseason tie with the Colts, but he caught six of eight targets for 38 yards.

The undrafted running back out of UC Davis couldn't get anything going on the ground, but Larison's pass-catching chops stood out -- no other Patriot had more than three receptions on the night. His opportunities came with both TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson getting the night off, but the performance may have boosted Larison's chances of beginning the season in the RB3 role. He has yet to make his NFL debut after spending his rookie season in 2025 on the IR due to foot surgery.

Hollins caught two of four targets for 24 yards in Thursday's 13-13 preseason tie with the Colts.

The Patriots held their offensive starters out of the contest, including QB Drake Maye, allowing Hollins to get the start and play most of the first quarter. The veteran wideout will have a tough time carving out a significant role in 2026 as long as New England's receiving corps stays healthy, with A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs and DeMario Douglas all ahead of him on the team's unofficial depth chart and Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism also competing for WR slotting.

Maye did not play in the Patriots' 13-13 preseason tie with the Colts on Thursday.

As expected, the star quarterback got the night off for the exhibition opener while Tommy DeVito and Behren Morton split snaps under center. Maye's next chance to build chemistry with new wideouts A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs will come next Saturday against Brown's former team, the Eagles.

McGowan carried the ball five times for 17 yards in Thursday's 13-13 preseason tie with the Patriots. He also lost a fumble.

The rookie seventh-round pick got the start in the Colts' backfield with Jonathan Taylor held out and DJ Giddens (hamstring) sidelined, but McGowan didn't exactly impress in his opportunity. Taylor's the unquestioned RB1 for Indy, if not the centerpiece of the offense, but if he were to suffer an injury, McGowan could find himself handling the bulk of the early-down and goal-line work in the backfield with Giddens having done little to establish himself as a rookie last year.

Richardson got the start in Thursday's 13-13 preseason tie with the Patriots, completing 11 of 14 passes for 145 yards and an interception while adding 53 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries. He also lost a fumble.

The 2023 first-round pick barely saw action in 2025 due to injuries, but Richardson has been healthy in training camp and played the entire first half, producing the Colts' only TD of the night on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter. His two turnovers could be attributed to rust, but ball security was an issue for Richardson even before he got hurt, as he threw 12 INTs while losing three of nine fumbles over 11 regular-season contests in 2024. He'll begin the current campaign backing up Daniel Jones, and hoping to show enough to increase his trade value.