NFL Player News

The Browns are expected to bench Flacco and turn to rookie Dillon Gabriel to serve as their starting quarterback, beginning with Sunday's game against the Vikings in London, Matt Zenitz of CBSSports.com reports.

Though head coach Kevin Stefanski evaded questions about a change at quarterback following Sunday's 34-10 loss to the Lions, the Browns appear set to turn the reins of the offense over to Gabriel after getting off to a 1-3 start to the season and failing to score more than 17 points in any game. Flacco ranks last in the NFL in passer rating (60.3), completion percentage (58.1) and yards per attempt (5.1), and the relatively immobile veteran has thrown at least one interception in all four contests while working behind an offensive line that's been missing both its starting tackles. The Browns have yet to provide confirmation that Flacco will be headed to the bench, but expect Stefanski to address the matter when he speaks to the media Wednesday.

Rush appears likely to start Sunday's game against the Texans with Lamar Jackson (hamstring) expected to be sidelined, Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Ravens haven't provided official word on Jackson's status for Week 5 after he exited midway through the third quarter of Sunday's 37-20 loss to Kansas City with a hamstring issue, but a source familiar with the quarterback's injury said that he could be out 2-3 weeks. Jackson plans to try and play this coming Sunday, but in the likely event that he can't, Rush would step in to make his 15th career NFL start and his first with Baltimore. While coming on in relief of Jackson in Week 4, the former Cowboy completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 52 yards. Rush has proven to be a competent game manager in the past, but since he lacks rushing ability and has averaged a middling 6.3 yards per pass attempt for his career, he doesn't profile as an especially enticing fantasy option.

Jackson (hamstring) is likely to miss Sunday's game against the Texans and could be out for 2-to-3 weeks, two sources tell Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun.

The Ravens have been mum regarding the severity of the hamstring concern that forced Jackson out in the third quarter of Sunday's 37-20 loss to Kansas City, but the quarterback appears in line to miss his first game for injury-related reasons since 2022. According to the report, Jackson still plans to try and play through the injury this Sunday, but if he doesn't show enough improvement during the week, Cooper Rush would direct the offense against Houston. The expected loss of Jackson would be a major hit to the 1-3 Ravens in their matchup with the Texans' top-ranked scoring defense, which has allowed just 12.8 points per game through the first four weeks.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Monday that the severity of the right hamstring injury Jackson sustained in Sunday's 37-20 loss to the Chiefs remains uncertain, Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun reports. "There's nothing that looks like it's season-ending by any stretch," Harbaugh said, though he acknowledged Jackson wouldn't have returned to the Week 4 contest even if the game had been more competitive.

Jackson took his final snap with 8:10 left in the third quarter, when he was sacked by George Karlaftis before the Ravens finished off the drive with a field goal to cut their deficit to 14 points. Harbaugh said that he was unsure which play resulted in Jackson tweaking his hamstring, adding that the quarterback may have suffered the injury on an accumulation of plays. Jackson is likely to be sent in for further medical testing before the Ravens have a better idea regarding the extent of his hamstring injury and a potential timeline for his return. Cooper Rush finished the Week 4 loss under center and would be in line to start this Sunday against the Texans in the event Jackson is unable to play. Jackson hasn't missed a game due to injury since 2022, when a knee issue kept him out for the final five contests of the regular season as well as the Ravens' wild-card round loss to the Bengals.

San Francisco general manager John Lynch said Tuesday that he expects Purdy (toe) to be listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Rams, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports. "We will take every precaution to make sure Brock's all right, Lynch said. "I think he is. Now it's just a matter of, can he turn it around on a short week?"

After missing Weeks 2 and 3 due to a turf toe variant as well as a left shoulder injury, Purdy started the 49ers' 26-21 loss to the Jaguars in Week 4. However, he dealt with a recurrence of the soreness in his toe coming out of Sunday's contest, with Lynch noting that the 25-year-old quarterback was sent for follow-up MRIs. Though Purdy doesn't appear to be dealing with a major setback, the 49ers may not feel comfortable having him play Thursday night. The quarterback was listed as a non-participant on Monday's estimated practice report, and it's unclear if the signal-caller will be ready to take reps during Tuesday's walk-through session, which will represent the team's only on-field workout in advance of Thursday's game. Backup Mac Jones would be in line to make his third start of the season if Purdy isn't cleared to play.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell suggested Tuesday that McCarthy (ankle) could be ready to resume practicing this week, Craig Peters of the Vikings' official site reports. "My hope is ... maybe not necessarily early on - we're going to handle Wednesday, probably in a unique way, from what could be kind of a hybrid day, but as we get into Thursday and Friday, I'm hoping we can at least get him out there and get him taking some drops and starting to get back in the normal rhythm of the practice week," O'Connell said of McCarthy. "It will all depend on kind of where he's at with the benchmarks of being able to go out there and start moving around a little bit."

O'Connell didn't comment on McCarthy's potential availability for Sunday's game against the Browns in London, but since the second-year signal-caller isn't expected to be ready to handle full reps with the first-team offense during the week, he'll likely be ticketed for a backup role if he's active in Week 5. Carson Wentz has started under center the last two games, leading the Vikings to a 1-1 record while completing 44 of 66 passes for 523 yards (7.9 YPA), four touchdowns and two interceptions. O'Connell hasn't ruled out the possibility of the veteran retaining the starting job even after McCarthy is back to full health, though it may be contingent on Wentz turning in a quality outing in Week 5 against a stout Browns defense.

Stroud's pre-snap reads were instrumental to the 24-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Higgins in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 26-0 win over the Titans in Week 4, Sam Warren of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Warren gets into the weeds, outlining the pre-snap reads, adjustments and execution of the play, but the main point is that Stroud may have found his groove in the new offense. That offense, put in place by new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, involves Stroud taking more control. It may have taken three-and-a-half games to click in, as the quarterback completed 11 of 13 attempts (eight different targets) for 144 yards while directing touchdown drives on successive possessions from late in the third quarter and into the fourth. Following an ugly 0-3 start and head coach DeMeco Ryans' defense of Caley, Stroud's intuition and execution of the offense may extend forward to Week 5 on the road against the Ravens.

Browning completed 14 of 25 passes for 125 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions while adding three rushes for four yards in the Bengals' 28-3 loss to the Broncos on Monday night.

About the only true positive for Browning in the lopsided loss was that he managed to avoid turning the ball over against a ferocious Broncos defense. Browning took three sacks and averaged only 5.0 yards per attempt, with no Bengals pass catcher managing to exceed 32 receiving yards. Browning has completed just 63.4 percent of his passes and posted a 1:2 TD:INT over his first two full games as a starter, so it remains to be seen if head coach Zac Taylor considers a change to fellow backup Brett Rypien for a Week 5 home matchup against the Lions.

Nix completed 29 of 42 pass attempts for 326 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while rushing six times for seven yards and a third score in Monday's 28-3 win over the Bengals.

Nix took full advantage of a cushy matchup and cracked the 300-yard mark in passing for the first time this season. The athletic signal-caller also punched in his first rushing touchdown of the year on a six-yard scamper in the first quarter that wound up being the game-winning score. While this was easily Nix's best performance to date in 2025, fantasy managers may want to keep expectations in check for a road tilt against a far-more talented Philadelphia defense in Week 5.

Fields (concussion) completed 20 of 27 pass attempts for 226 yards and a touchdown while taking seven carries for 81 yards and another score in Monday's 27-21 loss to the Dolphins.

Fields made a successful return from a one-game absence after suffering a concussion in a Week 2 loss to the Bills. The dual-threat quarterback was decisive in the pocket, getting the ball to his top play makers and taking off for big gains against good coverage. Fields' highlight-reel play came on a broken fourth-and-1 attempt that he was forced to reverse field on and outrun the entire defense for a 43-yard touchdown. While the Jets still can't buy a win, the team's signal-caller has looked like an elite fantasy asset in the two starts he has completed this season. Fields has a great opportunity to keep this momentum rolling in a plus matchup against Dallas in Week 5.