NFL Player News

Head coach John Harbaugh reaffirmed that Winston is the Giants' starting quarterback after the team acquired J.J. McCarthy from the Vikings on Monday, Evan Barnes of Newsday reports.

While stepping in for the injured Jaxson Dart (knee) in Week 3, Winston threw for just 118 yards on 22 pass attempts in adverse weather conditions during the Giants' 12-7 win over the Titans. Despite his pedestrian numbers, Winston played turnover-free football, and that performance looks as though it will give him some job security even after the Giants added McCarthy, a 2024 first-round draft pick, to their quarterback room. Even though Dart is likely out for the season, Winston will still likely need to limit mistakes and keep the Giants competitive in his future starts in order to ward off McCarthy from supplanting him on the depth chart. Next up for Winston and the Giants is a home date versus the 1-2 Cardinals this Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Head coach Dan Quinn said that Daniels (elbow) will join the team in London and practice in some form this week ahead of Sunday's game against the Colts, Zach Selby of the Commanders' official site reports.

According to JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, Daniels remains far from certain to play Sunday, but his ability to practice in any capacity indicates that he's displayed some progress in his recovery from the dislocated left elbow he sustained Sept. 20. In this past Sunday's game against the Seahawks, Marcus Mariota stepped in as the Commanders' starting quarterback and performed admirably in Daniels' stead, throwing for three touchdowns in a 33-31 upset win. Unless Daniels is fully cleared to take most of the first-team reps in practice this week, Mariota still looks like the favorite to start against the Colts.

Head coach Todd Bowles said Monday that Daniels will step in as the Buccaneers' new starting quarterback while Baker Mayfield is out for a "minimum of three weeks" due to a dislocated right thumb, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

The undrafted rookie made his NFL debut in relief of an injured Mayfield late in Sunday's 23-16 loss to the Vikings, rushing once for nine yards while failing to complete his first two pass attempts of the day before being intercepted on a Hail Mary as time expired. Since an MRI ruled out any damage to his thumb beyond the dislocation, Mayfield is expected to avoid a stint on injured reserve, but he doesn't appear in line to return to the lineup any sooner than Week 8 at Carolina. As a result, Daniels is now set to get his first extended NFL action beginning this Sunday, when the Buccaneers will host the Packers. During his six-year college career at Kansas, Daniels displayed some decent arm talent and scrambling ability, but concerns about his accuracy and ability to dissect defenses played a large part in him going undrafted.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Monday that Mayfield (thumb) is expected to miss three weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Earlier Monday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported than an MRI on Mayfield's dislocated right thumb ruled out a fracture as well as any tendon or ligament damage. While Mayfield appears set to avoid surgery, he'll still need some time off to regain strength in his thumb so that he can properly grip the football and throw accurately and at full velocity. Per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network, Bowles said that Mayfield won't be placed on injured reserve, so the Buccaneers could be targeting a Week 10 game in Carolina for his return to the lineup. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels will step in as the Buccaneers' new starting quarterback beginning with Sunday's game versus Green Bay.

Mayfield underwent an MRI on his dislocated right thumb Monday that revealed no fracture, tendon or ligament damage, but the quarterback is still expected to miss time, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Mayfield is scheduled to get a second opinion on his thumb, so the Buccaneers may not provide a formal timeline for his recovery until he meets with another specialist. That being said, the dislocated thumb on his throwing hand will inhibit Mayfield's ability to grip the football, so the Buccaneers are expected to hold him out for at least their Week 4 game. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels came on in relief of Mayfield late in Sunday's 23-16 loss to the Vikings and looks on track to make his first NFL start this weekend at home against the Packers.

The Giants acquired McCarthy from the Vikings on Monday in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick, Tom Pelissero of Netflix reports.

The No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, McCarthy had fallen out of favor in Minnesota and had dropped behind both Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz on the depth chart. The 23-year-old will get a fresh opportunity in New York, where he should at least settle in as the No. 2 quarterback behind Jameis Winston while Jaxson Dart (knee) is likely out for the season. Though Winston led the Giants to a 12-7 win over the Titans in his first start this past Sunday, he's completed just 25 of 49 pass attempts for 229 yards (4.7 YPA) while playing nearly two full games. Another underwhelming performance or two from Winston could compel the Giants to give McCarthy a look in the starting role once he has time to get up to speed with the new playbook.

Head coach Dan Quinn said that Daniels (elbow) is likely to travel with the Commanders to London on Tuesday, though the quarterback remains uncertain to play Sunday against the Colts, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports.

Daniels dislocated his left elbow in the Commanders' Sept. 20 loss to the Cowboys and didn't practice in any fashion during Week 3 before being ruled out ahead of an eventual 33-31 win over the Seahawks on Sunday. Marcus Mariota stepped in as the Commanders' starting quarterback and performed admirably in place of Daniels, whom Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported is expected to be ready to return to action in "three weeks or sooner." While traveling to London theoretically leaves the door open for Daniels to return to action against the Colts, Mariota would still appear to be the better bet to start Week 4. The Commanders will see what, if anything, Daniels is able to do in practice this week before deciding on his status for the London game.

Bagent (concussion) is expected to remain the Bears' backup quarterback for Monday's game against the Eagles, while Case Keenum starts in place of the injured Caleb Williams (hamstring), Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The Bears' No. 2 quarterback for the first two games of the season, Bagent was initially lined up to start against the Eagles after Williams sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain in the Week 2 loss to the Vikings. However, after emerging from the Vikings game with a concussion, Bagent missed the first two practices of Week 3, resulting in Keenum taking all the reps with the first-team offense. Bagent returned to practice Saturday as a limited participant and had his questionable designation removed Sunday upon clearing the five-step concussion protocol, but because of his lack of prep time this week, the Bears will keep him in the backup role. Keenum will thus pick up his first start since the 2023 season, but barring a strong performance against a stout Eagles defense, the Bears would likely go with Bagent as their starter Week 4 versus the Jets in the likely event that Williams remains out.

Nix completed 17 of 34 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 30-26 win over the Rams. He also rushed four times for seven yards and a touchdown, in addition to throwing two successful two-point conversions.

Nix threw for just 53 yards in the first half as the Broncos took a 16-0 deficit into the locker room. Denver turned things around in the third quarter, tying things up at 16-16 heading into the fourth quarter thanks to touchdown passes of five yards to Pat Bryant and eight yards to Nate Adkins, which were followed up by two-point conversions for Jaylen Waddle and Bryant, respectively, all thrown by Nix. The dual-threat QB made his biggest play down the stretch on the ground, powering in the go-ahead one-yard touchdown with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter after being ruled out just short of the goal line on the preceding play. Denver's defense picked off Matthew Stafford on the game's final play to seal the victory and improve to 2-1. Nix has come up short of 200 passing yards twice in three games heading into a Week 4 road game against the 49ers, and he hasn't been running much since returning from ankle surgery, with just 15 rushing yards this season.

Stafford completed 30 of 55 passes for 390 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday's 30-26 loss to the Broncos. He also rushed twice for 13 yards.

Stafford guided the Rams to a 16-0 halftime lead courtesy of a five-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee followed by three Harrison Mevis field goals. LA's lead was erased in the third quarter, and after retaking the lead in the fourth, Stafford threw a disastrous pick-six that Talanoa Hufanga took 66 yards to the house to give the Broncos their first lead with 4:49 remaining. That pick-six was the 33rd Stafford has thrown in his regular-season career, surpassing Brett Favre for sole possession of first place in that dubious stat. Stafford was unfazed by that mistake and responded with a four-play, 77-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 48-yard touchdown pass to Konata Mumpfield, but Hufanga got the last laugh by picking off Stafford in the end zone on the game's final play to seal Denver's 30-26 victory. Stafford has posted gaudy numbers over the last two games despite playing without top wide receiver Puka Nacua (hip), whom the Rams are hoping to get back in Week 4 at Philadelphia.