NFL Player News

Brissett will start at quarterback Thursday against the Texans, Courtney Fallon of NFL Network reports.

Fellow quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (shoulder), despite being listed as doubtful, is expected to suit up Thursday night, but he is apparently not healthy enough to start, and will instead serve as the backup while Brissett makes his first career start. Brissett held his own while filling in for Garoppolo in Week 2, and the news report indicates the Patriots have full confidence in him and will stick to their regular offensive game plan.

The Bears promoted Barkley from their practice squad to the team's active roster Thursday.

Barkley will join the active roster to provide quarterback depth with Jay Cutler dealing with a thumb injury and seemingly trending toward unavailability for Sunday's game against the Cowboys. If Cutler is indeed ruled out for the Week 3 matchup, Barkley will serve as the backup quarterback behind Brian Hoyer.

With Jimmy Garoppolo (shoulder) listed as doubtful for Thursday night's game against the Texans, Brissett appears likely to make his first NFL start in place of Garoppolo in Week 3.

Garoppolo has not been ruled out by the Patriots, and the team has not signed another QB, so nothing is final here with regard to the team's Week 3 starting QB assignment. Still, at this stage, we'd expect Brissett to get the nod, with wideout Julian Edelman (a college signal-caller) a candidate to serve as the team's emergency quarterback Thursday.

The Patriots list Garoppolo (right shoulder) as doubtful for Thursday night's game against the Texans.

Per ESPN's Mike Reiss, Garoppolo was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday's walk-through practice. If Garoppolo -- who is dealing with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder -- can't start Thursday's game, rookie Jacoby Brissett would be in line to handle the assignment. While Garoppolo's Week 3 status may not be finalized until the release of the Patriots' inactives, the doubtful designation and shoulder injury in play here make counting on him in fantasy lineups this week a very risky roll.

Petty (shoulder) did not participate at Wednesday's practice.

Petty's bruised shoulder continues to give him trouble and he was inactive for the Jets' first two games of the regular season. Given the health of fellow quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith, it's unlikely Petty will suit up Week 3 against the Chiefs.

Garoppolo (shoulder) was listed as a limited participant at Tuesday's practice.

Though absent for the portion of practice open to the media, Garoppolo apparently did some kind of work. The Patriots haven't officially ruled him out for Thursday against Houston, but it's possible the team is just trying to be deceptive, as Garoppolo's AC joint sprain probably needs more than four days of rest. However, the team still hasn't signed another quarterback, perhaps hinting at optimism Garoppolo will at least be healthy enough to serve as Jacoby Brissett's backup.

Whitehurst signed with the Browns on Tuesday.

As expected, Whitehurst was signed to serve as Cody Kessler's backup, with Josh McCown (shoulder) out for at least one week. Kevin Hogan will likely stay on the practice squad, leaving Whitehurst one injury away from taking the reins.

Garoppolo (shoulder) was not present during the media portion of Tuesday's practice, Courtney Fallon of NFL Network reports.

Garoppolo was expected to take part in what is a walkthrough session for the Patriots on Tuesday, but signs point to him not being able to get on the field. It's possible Garoppolo could get some work in behind the scenes Tuesday, but it looks like he will be listed as "DNP" on the injury report for the second day in a row.

Keenum is expected to start Sunday's game at Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Times reports. "We need more production out of our offense, and all things point to the quarterback position," coach Jeff Fisher said Monday. "But I'm expecting Case to continue to get better in this offense and we're going to win games and score points."

No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff may be waiting in the wings, yet Keenum seems to have a longer leash than expected, in part due to Goff's hideous preseason performance. It will still be tough for the Rams to justify starting Keenum -- unless he turns things around in the next week or two -- after the offense produced just nine points in two games.

Garoppolo (shoulder) is expected to take part in Tuesday's walkthrough practice, ESPN.com reports.

The Patriots still hope Garoppolo can start Thursday's game against the Texans, or at least get healthy enough to serve as Jacoby Brissett's backup. The team still hadn't signed another quarterback as of Tuesday morning, and any new addition wouldn't have a chance to practice before Thursday's game. Garoppolo was diagnosed with a sprained AC joint, an injury that quarterbacks are sometimes able to play with, though typically not with just three days rest.