NFL Player News

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Purdy is tending to a sore back after Sunday's 27-24 loss at the Rams and is considered day-to-day, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

The injuries keep coming for the 49ers, but at least in the case of Purdy, he doesn't appear to be dealing with a significant issue. Still, he may endure some practice limitations once the team reconvenes Wednesday in advance of Sunday's contest against the Patriots. Whether or not wideout Deebo Samuel (calf) or tight end George Kittle (hamstring) are able to put themselves in positions to return to action Week 4 has yet to be determined.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Monday that Love (knee) will be a limited practice in practice Wednesday to begin Week 4 prep, Bill Huber of SI.com reports.

LaFleur said Love managed to take some team reps last week and that Green Bay will take his injury "day by day" heading into a key divisional matchup against the Vikings on Sunday, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Backup Malik Willis has performed adequately with Love sidelined, allowing the Packers to rack up two wins in his two starts, but the team won't hesitate to turn back to its franchise quarterback as soon as he's healthy. Love managed a trio of limited practices prior to being ruled out Week 3, so he may have to log at least one full session in order to be cleared to face Minnesota.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said Monday he hasn't ruled out O'Connell, who entered late during Sunday's 36-22 loss to the Panthers, starting over Gardner Minshew versus the Browns in Week 4, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

O'Connell looked solid in garbage time Sunday, completing nine of 12 passes for 82 yards and one touchdown late in the fourth quarter with Carolina having already firmly secured a win and focused on running out the clock. Still, with Minshew compiling only 214 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception in roughly three and a half quarters of play, it sounds like the Raiders will evaluate things under center. Pierce said Las Vegas was "just trying to look for a spark" by having O'Connell enter Sunday's game, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic.

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said Monday he hasn't ruled out the possibility of benching Minshew in favor of Aidan O'Connell to face the Browns in Week 4, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Pierce said he pulled Minshew for O'Connell late in Sunday's 36-22 loss to the Panthers to "look for a spark," per Tashan Reed of The Athletic, but the team doesn't appear to have yet made a firm decision as to who will start Week 4. Minshew completed 18 of 28 passes for just 214 yards, one touchdown and one interception versus Carolina, though a substantial portion of his production (including his lone TD) came in garbage time. O'Connell, for his part, completed nine of 12 passes for 82 yards and one touchdown, as he also took advantage of more lenient defensive looks late in the fourth quarter. In three regular-season games thus far, Minshew has failed to reach 300 passing yards on any occasion and has thrown exactly one touchdown and one interception in each contest.

The Vikings announced Monday that Darnold sustained a bone bruise to his left knee during Sunday's 34-7 win over the Texans and is not expected to miss any time, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Darnold underwent an MRI on Monday after he missed one play in the third quarter of Sunday's win over Houston, with tests revealing that the veteran quarterback didn't sustain any structural damage to his knee. It's also encouraging for the Vikings offense that the team isn't expressing real concern about Darnold's health heading into a key road divisional matchup against the Packers. Across three games this season, Darnold has thrown for a league-leading eight touchdowns with just two interceptions, despite Jordan Addison (ankle) missing both of the past two games and star tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee) still residing on the reserve/PUP list.

Herbert (ankle) had X-ray results on his right ankle come up negative after Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Steelers in which he aggravated his high right ankle sprain, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports,

Herbert entered Sunday's matchup with Pittsburgh carrying a questionable designation and was forced out midway through the third quarter due to an aggravation of his injury. The franchise quarterback then was spotted in a walking boot after the game, but Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports Herbert described himself as "hopeful" to go through a similar process to the one that allowed him to be cleared to face Pittsburgh, with the Chargers now preparing for a Week 4 matchup against Kansas City. Taylor Heinicke took over for Herbert in Week 3, and Los Angeles also had Easton Stick active as a third quarterback Sunday.

Mills completed seven of 12 passes for 79 yards in Sunday's 34-7 loss to the Vikings in Week 3.

Mills replaced C.J. Stroud late in the fourth quarter of the blowout loss. It was his first action of the season.

Winston had two carries for one yard in Sunday's 21-15 loss to the Giants in Week 3.

For the second straight week, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski deployed Winston in short-yardage situations. He was successful on one of two quarterback sneaks Sunday.

Minshew completed 18 of 28 passes for 214 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 36-22 loss to the Panthers. He added three rushes for 14 yards.

Minshew struggled to move the Raiders offense for most of the day, leading the team to only one scoring drive before garbage time. That said, a significant portion of his production came from his final drive in the fourth quarter prior to being pulled, during which he completed six of seven passes for 70 yards and his lone touchdown. Though Aidan O'Connell finished the game, there is no indication that the Raiders are considering replacing Minshew as the starter.

Cousins completed 20 of 29 pass attempts for 230 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 22-17 loss to Kansas City.

Cousins performed adequately against the reigning Super Bowl champs on Sunday, completing over two-thirds of his pass attempts and throwing for a touchdown against a tough defense. That said, the final fantasy line left much to be desired from hopeful managers. Cousins has yet to surpass the 300-yard mark in any of his first three starts in Atlanta after accomplishing the same feat three times in three tries last season with Minnesota. The veteran starter remains a viable option against another tough defense (New Orleans) in Week 4.