NFL Player News

Lynch made several wow-inducing plays during Friday's training camp practice, Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC reports.

Lynch has reportedly been impressive during the first two practices of camp, but it's also easy to get lost in the luster of the youngster's big-play potential. Lynch and his competitor, Trevor Siemian, are drastically different players with very different styles. Siemian's safer, more reserved style of play will garner applause when it's humming and criticism when Lynch puts on a show. Similarly, the deep bombs and sprint-outs that Lynch is hitting on now were also what led to turnovers in minicamp. Given what the organization has invested him, any tie in competition will likely go to Lynch, but we're still a ways away from calling this contest.

Watson had a few misplays and errant throws during Thursday's practice, Cody Stoots of CBS Houston reports.

Watson missed a handoff when he turned in the wrong direction, rolled the wrong way on a bootleg and had a deep ball sail on him. But it wasn't all bad. The rookie showed some poise when going mobile. It's still early, but Watson hasn't done anything to threaten Tom Savage's starting job.

Siemian missed his first three throws and took a few periods to settle down during opening Denver's training camp practice, the Broncos' official website reports.

The Broncos focused on red-zone drills to start training camp, with early reports indicating that Siemian struggled a bit while Paxton Lynch connected with running back C.J. Anderson for a score. Neither was intercepted. Neither quarterback, nor the Broncos' offense as a whole, performed well in the red zone last season and so it makes sense for the new coaching staff to emphasize finishing off drives to start camp. Siemian, for instance, piloted the Broncos to back-to-back losses in Weeks 14 and 15 of last season with the team scoring a combined 13 points despite Siemian throwing for an impressive 616 total yards.

Smith (knee-ACL) was cleared for the start of training camp on Thursday, Jordan Raanan of ESPN reports.

Smith said he was fully healthy a couple months ago but he has only just been cleared to practice fully. Smith is expected to be the top backup to starting QB Eli Manning now that he's back on the field.

Dolphins coach Adam Gase said Tannehill is running well, The Palm Beach Post's Joe Schad reports.

Tannehill was cleared from last year's knee injury in time to participate in most of the offseason program, yet his mobility is still somewhat of a concern in the aftermath of a partially torn ACL that ended his 2016 campaign. He wore a knee brace throughout the offseason and is expected to wear it during the regular season, but the Dolphins don't expect it to have much impact on his ability to avoid pressure or run the ball. Tannehill was already developing into more of a pocket passer the last couple years, falling shy of 40 carries and 200 rushing yards in both 2015 and 2016, after establishing career-high marks of 56 attempts and 311 yards in 2014.

The Vikings placed Bridgewater (knee) on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list Wednesday, Nick Shook of NFL.com reports.

No surprises here, as stashing Bridgewater on the preseason PUP list allows the Vikings to move him to the Reserve/PUP list when the regular season rolls around, which opens the door for him to potentially make a return in Week 7. However, it still isn't certain if the Louisville product will even be able to play at any point in this upcoming campaign.

The Bills traded Cardale Jones to the Chargers on Wednesday, leaving just Peterman and T.J. Yates as the quarterbacks in camp behind starter Tyrod Taylor.

Unless the Bills plan on bringing in another veteran, the rookie Peterman has won at least the No. 3 job before camp even got underway. Choosing Peterman over Jones doesn't surprise us, as both young quarterbacks are considered projects, while only the former was drafted by the new coaching staff.

Trevor Siemian will open training camp with the first team Thursday, with Lynch getting his first crack Friday, Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC reports

The move is consistent with how the Broncos operated during the offseason, with Siemian and Lynch rotating days with the first team. While Siemian consistently going first doesn't matter a whole lot given that the two will end up with equal opportunities, it does signal that Siemian's experience and leadership role on the team counts for something. Siemian, by most indications, was the more poised of the two early on in minicamp before Lynch started letting it rip toward the end. If Lynch is able to keep that pace and carry it over to training camp, the odds would seem to be in the 2016 first-round pick's favor.

Siemian will start with the first team when camp opens Thursday, Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC reports

While getting to start camp with the ones shows some reverence to Siemian's experience, it will likely matter little in terms of whether or not Siemian wins the starting job over 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch, who will line up with the first team to kick off Friday's practice. The two split reps in a similar fashion during the offseason, an effort made by head coach Vance Joseph to give his two young quarterbacks an equal shot. Most reports pegged Siemian the leader through the beginning of minicamp with Lynch coming on strong at the end. Reversing that course, not lining up with the first team a month and a half before the season begins, will be the difference between Siemian winning and losing his starting job.

The Bills have traded Jones to the Chargers in exchange for a conditional draft pick.

The pick is thought to be a seventh-rounder. The writing was on the wall here after the new coaching regime brought in veteran T.J. Yates and then drafted quarterback Nathan Peterman, as Jones was getting fourth-string reps in spring sessions. He had trouble with his accuracy and keeping up with the speed of an NFL offense after the Bills made him a fourth-rounder in 2016, but he'll get a new opportunity as a project QB for the Bolts. Jones does offer upside as a big body with a strong arm.