NFL Player News

Mayfield (shoulder) remained limited at practice Thursday, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Per ESPN's Jake Trotter, Mayfield indicated that his left (non-throwing) shoulder is feeling better after he sat out last Thursday's game against the Broncos. With back-to-back limited practices now in the books, the QB is trending in the right direction as Sunday's game against the Steelers approaches, though it still seems likely Mayfield will carry a Week 8 injury designation into the contest.

Lance (knee) was limited at Thursday's practice, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Lance has opened Week 8 preparations with back-to-back capped practices, which marks his first consistent on-field work since he sprained the MCL in his left knee back in Week 5. It's unclear yet whether he's trending toward a return to action or inactive status for Sunday's game in Chicago. If it's the former, Lance will back up Jimmy Garoppolo and likely would have situation-specific plays drawn up for him on the 49ers' offensive game plan, as was the case for the first three and a half games of the season when both quarterbacks were available.

Mahomes is not listed on Kansas City's Week 8 injury report.

Mahomes was shook up during his team's Week 7 loss to the Titans, but the QB -- who was replaced by Chad Henne in the fourth quarter of the contest -- subsequently cleared the NFL's concussion protocol and approaches Monday night's game against the Giants free of any injury concerns, per coach Andy Reid, via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. Seven weeks into the 2021 season, Mahomes ranks fourth in the NFL with 2,093 passing yards and has thrown 18 TDs versus nine picks in that span while rushing 32 times for 219 yards and a score.

Prescott (calf) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Coach Mike McCarthy laid out the plan for Prescott earlier Thursday, stating he would take part in rehab first before moving on to individual drills, at which point the Cowboys would assess to see if he was fit for some team work, according to Rob Phillips of the Cowboys' official site. Prescott proceeded to do just that, including change of direction and holding a ball after dropping back from center, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Afterward, Prescott acknowledged to Watkins that it isn't his decision whether he'll be able to play through a strained right calf Sunday in Minnesota. Such a call will be a collaboration between the coaching, training and medical staffs, but if Prescott isn't able to suit up Cooper Rush will be prepared to start under center for Dallas.

Watson (not injury-related) didn't practice Wednesday, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Watson's status with the Texans remains unchanged for now, though with the NFL trade deadline approaching Nov. 2, the quarterback could be dealt in the coming days. Either way, Houston won't make Watson active for Sunday's game against the Rams.

Prescott (calf) was officially a limited participant at Wednesday's practice, David Helman of the Cowboys' official site reports.

As expected, Prescott's practice reps were capped coming off the Cowboys' Week 7 bye, which was well-timed after he strained his right calf on his game-winning touchdown toss to CeeDee Lamb in the Week 6 win at New England. During the portion of Wednesday's session open to the media, Prescott focused on rehab work before joining individual drills, where his activity included handoffs and passes during routes on air, per Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News. Meanwhile, backup quarterback Cooper Rush handled most of the first-team reps. Lamb told Gehlken that Prescott was "the same Dak" and looked "great" during the workout. Wednesday was the first test in Prescott's quest to miss no time as a result of the calf injury, and he'll have two more practices to log a full session before Dallas gives him a designation or outright clears him to play Sunday in Minnesota.

Mayfield (shoulder) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Ulrich adds that Mayfield looked comfortable during the portion of practice open to the media, though the quarterback was mostly limited to throwing short passes while sporting a new harness over his injured left shoulder. Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram agrees that Mayfield looked fine, while Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer suggests he's on track to start Sunday's game against the Steelers if he makes it through the next few days of practice without any setbacks. For his part, Mayfield said Wednesday that he's "completely confident" he'll rejoin the lineup soon and then finish out the season, though he didn't necessarily commit to being available Week 8, per Petrak.

Lance (knee) will practice in a limited capacity Wednesday, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Lance is set to take part in his first practice since picking up the injury in his Week 5 start at Arizona, where he completed 15 of 29 passes and one interception and had 16 carries for 89 yards. Of course, if he does enough this week to suit up Sunday in Chicago, Lance will be backing up Jimmy Garoppolo, who returned to action this past Sunday against the Colts after missing a game and a half due to a bruised calf. Lance has two more sessions this week to put himself into a position to be available.

Boyle (thumb) recently attempted a few "very light throws" without a brace on his injured hand, Chris Burke of The Athletic reports.

Kory Woods of WoodwardSports.com relays that Boyle ditched a hard cast for a soft one by late September, suggesting the reserve quarterback is progressing well from late-August thumb surgery. Boyle could be cleared to rejoin the Lions for practice soon.

Houston designated Taylor (hamstring) for a return from injured reserve Wednesday, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Per Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com, head coach David Culley said the Texans' plan is to ease the veteran signal-caller back into the mix starting with Wednesday's practice. However, once he's deemed ready for game action, Culley previously stated that Taylor will reclaim the Texans' starting quarterback job, which has been held by Davis Mills for the past five games. The Texans should have a better sense of whether Taylor will be ready to go for Sunday's game against the Rams after their final practice of the week Friday.