NFL Player News

Bridgewater was 6-of-7 passing for 92 yards and threw a 49-yard touchdown pass in Friday's preseason game.

It was an encouraging game for Bridgewater as he backed up talk of his improvement on deep passes during training camp. Bridgewater stepped up in the pocket to hit Chris Johnson about 45 yards down field for a touchdown. He also threw a 22-yard pass to Adam Thielen where he put the ball high where the receiver could make a play in traffic. While Bridgewater operates in perhaps the most run-heavy offense in the league, he could take a big leap in this season if he can improve his deep balls (He had just a 51.4 QB rating last season on passes longer than 15 yards).

Gradkowski left Friday's preseason game against the Lions with a left hamstring injury, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Gradkowski suffered the injury on a scramble, but the severity of the injury is not yet known. This could mean even more injury trouble for the quarterback who missed all of last season after having surgery on his finger. He was re-signed this offseason to compete with Landry Jones for the backup quarterback spot behind Ben Roethlisberger.

Gabbert has emerged as a clear favorite to win the starting quarterback job, according to Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group.

Gabbert has reportedly been impressive in joint practices with the Texans, while Kaepernick has been limited by soreness in his throwing shoulder. It seems a bit early to make any assumptions, but Gabbert does look like the obvious choice to start Sunday's preseason game against Houston. To be clear, head coach Chip Kelly hasn't yet named a starter for the game.

Taylor has signed a contract extension with the Bills, the team announced Friday.

Taylor joined the Bills just last year, but won the team's starting quarterback job during the preseason and went on to impress in his 14 games played. The 27-year-old finished with 3,035 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns and just six interceptions, and racked up a further 568 yards and four scores on the ground. Despite that being his lone season as a starter, the Bills have now invested in Taylor going forward, eliminating a potential distraction for him this season. According to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, Taylor's extension is for a whopping six years, with cap flexibility for the Bills after the first couple seasons of the deal.

Hoyer completed 7-of-10 passes for 81 yards and an interception Thursday against the Broncos.

Hoyer entered the game in the second quarter after the starters exited, but he endured the same fate as Jay Cutler, as he was constantly on the run from defenders. Despite the pressure, he did well to complete 70 percent of his passes, but he was also sacked three times while having the one pass picked off. The sacks were clearly not his fault, as the pressure was immediately upon him, and he had little chance to get out of the pocket to throw the ball away. Should Cutler miss regular-season games, he'd be one of the better backup options in the NFL.

Garoppolo completed 11 of 18 passes for 168 yards in Thursday's preseason opener against New Orleans

Garoppolo played the entire first half to prepare for his upcoming stint as the starter while Tom Brady serves a four-game suspension. The third-year quarterback put up impressive numbers without the help of Dion Lewis (knee), Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman (foot) and Danny Amendola (knee), but Garoppolo did spend much of his time facing the Saints' second-team defense. He should have more of his supporting cast available for the second and third preseason games.

Lynch completed six of seven passes for 74 yards in Thursday's preseason opener against the Bears, adding three carries for five yards.

As planned, Lynch played the entire second half in his first NFL appearance, but he spent most of his time handing the ball off to RB Kapri Bibbs. Although the stat line doesn't look bad at first glance, Lynch took a trio of sacks and didn't lead his team to any points. While technically considered to be a part of the QB competition, the rookie is still a long shot to beat out both Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian before Week 1.

Siemian completed seven of 12 passes for 88 yards in Thursday's preseason opener against the Bears.

Siemian played the second quarter, with his four drives leading to two field goals, a blocked field goal and a punt. Granted, the scoring opportunities were largely provided by Denver's defense and special teams, as none of Siemian's drives spanned more than 31 yards. Mark Sanchez, who played the first quarter, turned in a more up-and-down performance, completing 10 of 13 passes for 99 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. The two essentially played to a draw, which would seem to work in favor of the more-experienced Sanchez.

Cousins completed all five of his pass attempts for 39 yards in Thursday's preseason opener against the Falcons.

Cousins failed to produce any points on his lone drive, but he avoided negative plays and escaped without any injuries. He should see more playing time in the second and third preseason games, though he probably hopes not to see too much of the field, as he'll play out this season under the franchise tag.

Bradford completed his only pass attempt for a three-yard gain in Thursday's preseason opener against the Buccaneers.

Bradford should get more playing time in the second and third preseason games, but his performance may be irrelevant. The Eagles' pecking order for 2016 seems to already be determined, with Bradford as the starter, Chase Daniel as the backup and rookie Carson Wentz serving as the No. 3. Daniel and Wentz both struggled in Thursday's game.