NFL Player News

Coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that Penix (knee) won't participate in 11-on-11 drills at the start of training camp, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

While Penix -- who is bouncing back from a left ACL injury -- isn't ready to work in team drills yet, the QB will continue doing individual and 7-on-7 work at practice. Once he's cleared to work fully, Penix will turn his focus to competing with free-agent addition Tua Tagovailoa (back) for the team's Week 1 starting job. With that in mind, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com relays that Stefanski noted that he doesn't know exactly when Penix will gain clearance to work fully. Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports, however, that the Falcons are optimistic Penix could be cleared in time to log preseason action.

Coach Klint Kubiak announced Tuesday that Kirk Cousins will begin training camp as the Raiders' starting quarterback ahead of Mendoza and Aidan O'Connell, Ryan McFadden of ESPN reports.

"When we go out to practice (on Wednesday), Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback," Kubiak said. "He's the guy, and he deserves it because he's played really good football. But I want Fernando and Aidan (O'Connell) to push him." The decision isn't surprising, given that Cousins logged the majority of the first-team reps during Las Vegas' offseason program and looked "excellent" in the process, per Kubiak. While Cousins currently has the upper hand, Mendoza -- the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft -- could still push for the Week 1 start if he performs well during training camp and the preseason.

Rodgers reiterated Tuesday that 2026 will be his final NFL season, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Rodgers said the exact same thing back in May after re-signing with the Steelers but again confirmed it when he reported to training camp Tuesday. "I thought last year might be it," Rodgers said. "And then Mike [McCarthy] got hired, and I talked to the wife and she said, 'You can do one more year.' I said, 'Well, we'll see if it works out.' And then it kind of all came together." Headed into his 22nd season, Rodgers is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw him complete 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns versus just seven interceptions over 16 regular-season games. His career 1.4 percent interception rate and 102.2 passer rating are the best in NFL history.

Levis is set to compete with Mitchell Trubisky for the backup quarterback role, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

Trubisky is set to begin the season as the backup, but Coach Robert Saleh stated Tuesday that Levis will have the opportunity to win the job. Levis' last opportunity as a starter was in 2024, when he played 12 regular-season games, producing 191 completions (63.1 percent completion rate) for 2,091 passing yards and 13 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.

Coach Klint Kubiak confirmed Tuesday that Cousins will open training camp as the Raiders' starting quarterback, Ryan McFadden of ESPN.com reports.

"When we go out to practice tomorrow, Kirk is the starting quarterback," Kubiak said. "He's the guy, and he deserves it because he's played really good football. But I want Fernando Mendoza and Aidan O'Connell to push him." This has been the Raiders' plan all along after Cousins opened spring practices as the QB1. While Cousins may get the Week 1 nod against the Dolphins on Sept. 13, Mendoza is fully expected to make rookie-year starts. Cousins made eight starts for the Falcons last season and completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions across 10 total regular-season appearances.

Coach Kevin O'Connell noted Tuesday that Murray and J.J. McCarthy are slated to split reps with the first-team offense during training camp, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

O'Connell has a timeline in place to announce the Vikings' starter at QB, but at this stage it's unclear how long he'll wait to make that call. For now, Murray profiles as the favorite to land the Week 1 start, but that's a narrative that could change if McCarthy looks sharp as training camp progresses.

McCarthy and Kyler Murray will split first-team reps during the early portion of training camp, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

McCarthy and Murray continue to engage in what seems like one of the league's few true quarterback competitions. Head coach Kevin O'Connell has stated that he has a timeline in place to announce a starter, but what that schedule is hasn't been revealed publicly. A 2024 first-round pick, McCarthy missed his entire rookie season due to injury and then logged an up-and-down Year 2, throwing for 1,632 yards with an 11:12 TD:INT across 10 regular-season starts in 2025.

Allar is set to work with the third-string offense in training camp, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Allar is set to compete with Will Howard, working with "the other groups" as Mason Rudolph takes snaps with the second-team offense. With Aaron Rodgers currently set to remain as the No. 1 quarterback, Allar and Howard will need to fight to take the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.

Though Richardson's trade request is still on the table, GM Chris Ballard's stance regarding the QB's status remains unchanged, Kevin Bowen of 1075thefan.com reports.

Ballard said the current intention is for the Colts to carry three quarterbacks into the regular season, and for now Richardson remains in the backup mix behind Daniel Jones, along with Riley Leonard and Easton Stick. Regarding Richardson, whom the team took fourth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, Ballard noted, "We are not just giving him away." It's still possible that another team looking for QB depth will explore dealing for Richardson in the coming weeks, but for now he's on track to compete for slotting behind Jones (Achilles), who indicated Monday that he'll be full go to start training camp.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers are not expected to engage in further contract talks prior to the start of the regular season, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

Mayfield previously set a self-imposed deadline to finalize any new extension by the start of training camp, and with Wednesday's camp kickoff right around the corner, it appears the 31-year-old quarterback will play out 2026 on the final year of his deal. That leaves Mayfield in position to potentially hit free agency in 2027, though Tampa Bay will always have the option to deploy the franchise tag or negotiate an extension prior to the onset of free agency. Mayfield is looking to bounce back from a 2025 campaign in which he was held back by injuries, but he surpassed 4,000 passing yards in both of his prior seasons, including his 4,500-yard, 41-TD showing in the 2024 regular season.