NFL Player News

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said that he's excited to have Tagovailoa back at practice Wednesday, but the quarterback won't be active for Sunday's game against the Vikings, Safid Deen of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, McDaniel said he's tentatively planning on having rookie Skylar Thompson make his first career start at quarterback this weekend, though McDaniel acknowledged that Teddy Bridgewater -- who filled in for Tagovailoa in the Week 5 loss to the Jets before exiting after playing just one snap and entering the concussion protocol -- may clear the five-step protocol before Sunday. At this point, however, McDaniel said that Bridgewater is in the second phase of the protocol, according to Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com, and Tagovailoa looks to be at a similar spot in his recovery from the concussion he sustained in the Sept. 29 loss to the Bengals. McDaniel told Louis-Jacques that Tagovailoa will throw and go through individual drills at Wednesday's practice, and if he continues to avoid setbacks in his recovery from the concussion, he could mix into team work later in the week or early next week. At least for the time being, Tagovailoa looks like he could realistically return to the lineup as soon as the Dolphins' Week 7 game against the Steelers on Oct. 23.

Tagovailoa (concussion) will return to the practice field Wednesday and will resume throwing, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Tagovailoa reportedly remains "highly unlikely" to play Sunday against the Vikings, even though his presence on the field Wednesday suggests that he's made at least some progression through the NFL's five-step concussion protocol. The third-year quarterback hasn't practiced in any capacity since Sept. 29, though Pelissero relays that Tagovailoa has done rehab work and consulted with four independent specialists. With Teddy Bridgewater entering the concussion protocol after exiting early in the Week 5 loss to the Jets and Tagovailoa seemingly still not a candidate to immediately return to the lineup, Miami could turn to third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson to make his first career start Week 6. In any case, though, it's a positive sign to see Tagovailoa progressing in his recovery.

Mayfield (ankle) is considered day-to-day going into the Panthers' Week 6 matchup with the Rams, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Mayfield suffered a high-ankle sprain in Carolina's Week 5 loss to the 49ers, which is typically a multi-week injury. However, given his pain tolerance, he has a day-to-day outlook as of now. P.J. Walker would be the prime candidate to replace him under center should he ultimately be unable to go, as Sam Darnold (ankle) is not ready to be activated from IR and rookie third-rounder Matt Corral (foot) is out for the season. If Mayfield does ultimately sit out, Jacob Eason would presumably be elevated from the team's practice squad to back up Walker.

Coach Nathaniel Hackett said Tuesday that Wilson (shoulder) "should be ready to play" Monday at the Chargers, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

In the wake of the Broncos' Week 5 loss to the Colts, Wilson received a PRP injection in his right throwing shoulder to relieve what has been termed a partially torn lat, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Wilson initially suffered the injury Week 4 against the Raiders, but he's yet to take off an offensive play through five games this season. With a Monday night AFC West matchup on tap, Denver isn't required to post a practice report until Thursday, at which point his activity level on the field will be one to watch as the weekend approaches.

The second opinion on Mayfield's high left-ankle sprain revealed that he doesn't have a major injury and won't require surgery, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Mayfield played through the issue in the second half of Sunday's loss to the 49ers, eventually finishing 20-for-36 passing for 215 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He also yielded the Panthers' final drive of the game to backup P.J. Walker. Now that the severity of Mayfield's injury is confirmed, he's trending toward an absence this Sunday at the Rams, but he isn't slated to go on injured reserve. Walker is expected to step in for Mayfield during his absence. With Sam Darnold (ankle) not ready to be activated from IR and rookie third-rounder Matt Corral (foot) out for the season, Jacob Eason may be elevated from the team's practice squad to be the No. 2 QB.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday that Prescott (thumb) will begin throwing at practice Wednesday, Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Prescott will likely need a full week of practice before Dallas provides him clearance to return to the starting lineup, so there still aren't any guarantees he'll be available for Week 6's divisional matchup against the Eagles. Wednesday's practice report will provide a better idea about Prescott's immediate status, as he continues to work his way back from surgery to address a fracture in the thumb on his throwing hand. The combination of a dominant defense and capable play from Cooper Rush has led Dallas to four straight wins, so the team isn't feeling much pressure to get Prescott back under center until he's truly 100 percent.

Carr completed 19 of his 30 passes for 241 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Monday's 30-29 loss to the Chiefs.

Carr accounted for the majority of his production on two plays, passing scores of 58 and 48 yards to Davante Adams. He was fairly quiet in his production otherwise, with Josh Jacobs instead leading the Raiders' offense for long stretches of the game. Carr now has at least two touchdowns and 240 passing yards in four of five games this season and is in the midst of another solid statistical season.

Mahomes completed 29 of 43 passes for 292 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in Monday's 30-29 win over the Raiders.

Mahomes started slowly, as he had only 98 yards and a touchdown across the first two quarters of the game. However, he led the Chiefs' comeback effort by connecting with Travis Kelce on each of his four touchdowns and also delivered long passes of 36 and 28 yards to Mecole Hardman. It was another impressive performance for Mahomes, who now has at least three touchdowns in three of five games this season.

Purdy played the final snap of Sunday's 37-15 win over the Panthers and was credited with minus-1 yards on a kneeldown.

With the 49ers holding a comfortable lead late in the fourth quarter, Purdy got the chance to make his NFL debut for the game's final 22 seconds. The seventh-round rookie out of Iowa State didn't dress for the 49ers to begin the campaign, but he'll be locked in as the No. 2 quarterback behind Jimmy Garoppolo moving forward after Trey Lance (ankle) suffered a season-ending injury Week 2.

Keenum completed two of his five pass attempts for eight yards in Sunday's 38-3 win over the Steelers.

Even though he played just eight snaps after starter Josh Allen was rested for the final 10 minutes of the blowout win, Keenum was still given the opportunity to air it out. Keenum showed a rapport with wideout Isaiah Hodgins -- who drew four of the targets -- but he wasn't able to generate a first down across his three drives. Thanks to a pair of resounding wins over the Titans and Bills, Keenum has already seen action in two games this season, but he's unlikely to receive extended playing time in 2022 unless Allen misses time with an injury, or if Buffalo has the luxury of resting starters Week 18 in advance of the playoffs.