NFL Player News

Morton (coach's decision) is inactive but will serve as the Patriots' emergency third quarterback for Wednesday's game against the Seahawks.

As the emergency third quarterback, Morton is prohibited from seeing the field Wednesday unless Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito are both removed from the contest due to injury, illness or ejection. Morton was a seventh-round selection of the Patriots in the 2026 NFL Draft and played in all three preseason games, completing 38 of 58 passes (65.5 percent) for 318 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while turning four carries into 18 yards.

Trubisky (biceps) was not listed on the Titans' injury report Wednesday.

Trubisky was dealing with a biceps injury over the last couple of weeks of training camp, but his absence from Wednesday's injury report indicates he'll suit up for Sunday's regular-season opener against the Jets. With Will Levis no longer on the roster, Trubisky will serve as Cam Ward's backup, with Hendon Hooker on the Titans' practice squad.

King (hamstring) was not listed on Wednesday's injury report.

King missed the Panthers' final three preseason games due to a hamstring injury he sustained during the Hall of Fame Game against the Cardinals on Aug. 6. King's absence from the injury report indicates that he'll be available for Sunday's regular-season opener against the Bears, though he figures to be the Panthers' emergency third quarterback behind Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell announced Wednesday that McCarthy will serve as the Vikings' third-string quarterback for Sunday's season opener versus the Packers.

After losing out in the battle with newcomer Kyler Murray for the starting job prior to the preseason opener, McCarthy will plummet all the way to third on the depth chart heading into Week 1, with Carson Wentz settling in as Murray's top backup. O'Connell said that he considers the No. 2 quarterback "a week-to-week thing," so McCarthy could leapfrog Wentz on the depth chart in future games depending on how he performs during practice. In any case, the fact that the 23-year-old McCarthy has to battle for the No. 2 job less than three years after being selected with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is an indiction Minnesota doesn't view him as its long-term solution under center.

Coach Kevin O'Connell announced Wednesday that Wentz will serve as Kyler Murray's backup for Sunday's game against the Packers.

Wentz gets the QB2 nod over J.J. McCarthy, who will likely be inactive as the emergency third quarterback. O'Connell said this will be a week-to-week thing. Murray is expected to have a long leash as the Vikings' starter this season.

Rourke (ribs) did not appear on the 49ers' injury report Tuesday, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Rourke has fully recovered from the ribs injury that he suffered during the preseason. He will now be good to go for Thursday night's regular-season opener against the Rams in Australia.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers agreed Tuesday on a three-year, $165 million contract extension, Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport of ESPN report.

Though Mayfield's self-imposed deadline of the start of training camp for signing a new contract came and went without a new deal in place, the two sides revisited extension talks in the last few days and were able to find common ground. With the extension in place, the Buccaneers will avoid the risk of losing Mayfield in free agency next offseason and keep him on their books through 2029. Mayfield's first three seasons in Tampa Bay have been a resounding success, with the quarterback averaging 31.6 touchdown passes per season and having led the team to two playoff appearances.

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said Tuesday that Mahomes (knee) has a "pretty good chance" to start next Monday's season opener versus the Broncos, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Mahomes didn't play in any preseason games, but he was cleared for 11-on-11 work early in camp and steered clear of any setbacks in his recovery from Dec. 15 surgery to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. Kansas City will release its first injury report Thursday, and assuming the star QB is listed as a full participant, it would confirm that he's on track to start against Denver. Mahomes will likely be playing without one of his top protectors, however, as Reid said that starting left tackle Josh Simmons (back) has a "good chance" of sitting out Week 1, per Matt McMullen of the team's official site.

Houston is signing Gronowski to its practice squad, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Gronowski initially signed with Miami as an undrafted free agent in May. He was cut in mid-August, then re-signed, then cut again all within the same month. Gronowski ultimately signed with the Dolphins' practice squad, but he was cut once more last Tuesday. He'll now get a chance to impress as part of the Texans' practice squad, though the organization is relatively set at QB on the active roster with C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills.

Coach Todd Monken said Monday that Green could be active and have a package of plays in Sunday's game against the Jaguars, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

It's unclear if Green would be active as the QB2 over Shedeur Sanders, or if Cleveland would make three quarterbacks active, but the idea is out there to get Green some plays after he showed off his elite athleticism with 66 yards on eight carries in the preseason finale. Green is big and athletic and set positional records at the combine back in February when he ran a 4.36 40-yard dash with a 43.5-inch vertical and 11-foot-2 broad jump. There's an outside chance Green sees playing time as a rookie for a Browns team that is likely looking at another rebuild at the quarterback position.