NFL Player News

Bradford was able to ski last week, but Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer suggested the quarterback's left knee is still considered degenerative, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports.

Bradford's ability to serve as the Vikings' backup quarterback during the playoffs doesn't seem to lessen the long-term concern regarding a left knee that required ACL repair surgery in both 2013 and 2014. While he did bounce back with a solid campaign in 2015 and the best year of his career in 2016, the 30-year-old quarterback aggravated his knee last season, eventually having arthroscopic surgery in early November. Now set to hit free agency, Bradford likely will field offers for a starting job, but his medical history will make it tough to land a contract with significant guaranteed money beyond 2018. The Vikings probably prefer to sign Kirk Cousins or Case Keenum, leaving Bradford to seek employment with one of the other QB-needy teams in the league. The Cardinals, Jets, Bills, Broncos and Browns come to mind as potential suitors.

Hackenberg could lose his roster spot this offseason, ESPN.com's Rich Cimini reports.

The Jets likely will re-sign Josh McCown or add another veteran, in addition to taking a close look at the top available quarterbacks in the upcoming draft. Given that he's yet to attempt a pass in the regular season and hasn't been able to pass Bryce Petty on the depth chart, Hackenberg is unlikely to enter OTAs any higher than third in the pecking order at quarterback. The 2016 second-round pick was awful in limited preseason action the past two years, completing 59 of 121 passes (48.8 percent) for 531 yards (4.4 yards per attempt) with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Petty may also find himself on the chopping block this offseason.

Cousins isn't expected to receive the franchise tag, Kimberley A. Martin of The Washington Post reports.

Redskins senior VP of Player Personnel Doug Williams said that Cousins is "a free agent for sure." There was some thought the team might use the franchise tag and then work out a trade, but such a move would severely restrict Washington's flexibility in the early stages of the free agency period. The Redskins and Chiefs have agreed on a trade for Alex Smith, who should take over as Washington's starting quarterback once the transaction becomes official at the start of the new league year March 14. Cousins will have a shot at the largest contract in NFL history, with the Vikings, Broncos and Jets likely at the front of the line for his services.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane reiterated Wednesday that the team has no plans to cut Taylor before he's due a $6 millioin roster bonus March 16, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports. "Tyrod is on our roster right now and that's the plan," Beane said. "We're just taking it day by day. We're trying to get better everywhere, so we're looking at every position including quarterback, but Tyrod did a lot of good things for us. So I'm not really worried about the [roster] bonus."

Earlier in the offseason, it seemed the veteran was as good as gone following an up-and-down 2017 campaign, highlighted by some surprise wins that featured some special plays by the mobile quarterback, with other games sprinkled in where his limitations as a passer were exposed. However, the front office's tune has started to change lately, with one rational line of thinking saying the Bills will keep Taylor and draft a young quarterback -- the team has two first-round picks -- to work behind him until that player is ready to take over the reins of the offense. This all said, the Buffalo brass has proven in short time that it likes to mess with the recipe, so trading Taylor to another team can't be ruled out. In any case, it's looking increasingly likely that the team isn't going to simply cast Taylor away.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said Wednesday that Watson remains ahead of schedule in his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee and believes the quarterback will be available in some capacity for Organized Team Activities, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

O'Brien's comments align with what he has said multiple times earlier in the offseason with regards to the franchise signal caller's recovery. While it remains to be seen if Watson will be a full participant in workouts by the time OTAs draw to a close, there seems to be little doubt about the 22-year-old gaining clearance for training camp, much less the start of the upcoming season. While the Houston staff could scale back Watson's involvement in the run game coming off a major surgery, his penchant for producing splash plays downfield make him one of the higher-upside fantasy options among quarterbacks.

Head coach Mike McCarthy relayed Wednesday that the Packers' team trainer said "everything looks good" with regard to Rodgers' recovery from Oct. 19 surgery to repair his right collarbone, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports. McCarthy said Rodgers would be ready to go for the Packers' offseason program, which begins in April.

Rodgers was able to recover from the procedure and return from injured reserve when first eligible to start Week 15 against the Panthers, even though his collarbone hadn't completely healed at that point. The signal caller avoided any reported setbacks in that game, but exhibited some rustiness while completing only 26-of-45 passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in a losing effort, which essentially ended the Packers' playoff hopes. The Packers returned Rodgers to IR for the final two games of the season in order to avoid any complications heading into 2018, and it appears that the 34-year-old is now 100 percent healthy. With Rodgers' health seemingly no longer a concern, the Packers' focus will shift to negotiating an extension with the quarterback, who has two seasons remaining on the five-year, $110 million pact he inked with Green Bay in April of 2013.

Bridgewater will become an unrestricted free agent March 14 after the NFL Management Council decided not to toll the quarterback's 2017 contract into the new league year, league sources informed Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Bridgewater spent the first six weeks of the 2017 season on the Vikings' Physically Unable to Perform list. Consequently, there was a chance the final year of his rookie contract might have been pushed forward to the 2018 campaign, meaning Bridgewater would remain under contract at the same $1.35 million he earned in 2017. The decision to toll Bridgewater's contract wasn't ultimately up to the Vikings, but rather the NFL. It sounds like the NFL has ruled he will be a free agent, but that won't necessarily prevent Bridgewater from returning to Minnesota. The team's plans at quarterback for the upcoming season remain unclear with both Case Keenum and Sam Bradford also set to become free agents in March.

The Vikings don't intend to use their franchise tag on Keenum before the March 6 deadline, allowing the quarterback to instead hit unrestricted free agency, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The franchise tag for quarterbacks is projected at around $23 million in 2018, so the Vikings weren't eager to pony up to keep Keenum at that price coming off just one season as a full-time starter, albeit an effective one. Minnesota's reluctance to use the tag on Keenum doesn't necessarily indicate the club isn't interested in retaining the 30-year-old, but he may rate as a fallback option at this point in the event the Vikings aren't able to ink the top quarterback available on the market in Kirk Cousins, who isn't expected to receive the franchise tag from Washington after the Redskins agreed earlier this offseason to acquire Alex Smith from the Chiefs.

Winston was involved in a car wreck recently and ultimately was cited for careless driving, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Despite Winston being partially at fault for the wreck, a punishment from the NFL is not expected and he escaped uninjured. The 24-year-old will head into the 2018 season on the last remaining year of his contract.

The Bills aren't planning on cutting Taylor (concussion) during the offseason, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Buffalo had considered getting rid of Taylor last offseason before he agreed to a restructured two-year contract, but that hardly gave the 28-year-old much job security heading into 2017. Another parting of ways seemed imminent after a healthy Taylor was benched in favor of rookie Nathan Peterman in the Week 11 game against the Chargers, though the veteran quickly recaptured the starting gig and helped lead the Bills to the postseason for the first time since 1999. Taylor's shortcomings as a passer were plainly visible in a wild-card round loss Jacksonville, wherein he completed 17 of 37 passes for 134 yards, no touchdowns and an interception before exiting on the final drive with a concussion, but there's something to be said about his mobility and ability to avoid turnovers, even though the latter often comes at the expense of big plays downfield. It's unknown if the Bills' current inclination to keep Taylor has more to do with the coaching staff coming around to recognize his strengths or a dissatisfaction with the quarterback options likely to be available via the draft or free agency, but for now, it sounds like Taylor's starting job could be safe, or at the very least he'll have a chance to fight for it. Taylor is owed a $10 million base salary for the coming season and is due a $6 million roster bonus March 16.