NFL Player News

Dalton (back) completed six of his 11 pass attempts for 61 yards and an interception in Friday's 26-17 preseason loss to the Lions.

Dalton had missed over a week of practice due to a back injury, but it never seemed particularly serious. The veteran is expected to to be the backup to 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after the Panthers announced the rookie would operate as the team's starter all the way back in July. The team's 2022 third-round pick, Matt Corral, will likely operate as the team's No. 3 quarterback in the event he's on the 53-man roster to start the season.

Smith isn't dressed to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Packers, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Smith went through pregame warmups but doesn't have cleats or a helmet for the actual game. The Seahawks aren't expected to play many starters and can soon shift their focus to a Week 1 home game against the Rams. Rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (wrist) is unlikely to be ready for that game following his recent surgery, but Smith still has a strong group of players around him between WRs DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and a backfield duo of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.

Mahomes isn't in line to see action in Saturday's preseason finale against the Browns, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Per Palmer, the same applies to star TE Travis Kelce as well as WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Once the preseason concludes, Mahomes, who remains an elite fantasy option at the QB position, will shift his focus to preparing for his team's Week 1 matchup against the Lions on Sept. 7.

Luton was waived by the Panthers on Saturday, Darin Gantt of the team's official website reports.

Luton was the No. 4 quarterback on the Panthers' roster during training camp behind Bryce Young, Andy Dalton (back) and Matt Corral. Thus, he was considered a long shot to land on the team's final 53-man roster. It remains to be seen if he will need to look for a new opportunity elsewhere or if he will get a chance to join Carolina's practice squad.

Grier will play the entire game Saturday against the Raiders in the Cowboys' preseason finale, but he's been told he won't make the team in the wake of the Trey Lance trade, David Moore of The Dallas Morning News reports.

A third-round pick by the Panthers in 2019, Grier saw action in two games as a rookie but hasn't seen regular-season action since, either in Carolina or Dallas, and he appears to be running out of chances in the NFL. The 28-year-old will likely have to settle for a spot on a practice squad, either for the Cowboys or another team, if he gets lets go this late in the preseason.

Zappe completed eight of 15 passes for 57 yards in Friday's preseason loss to Tennessee, re-entering the game in the second half after initially leaving in the second quarter.

Zappe lost a fumble on the second drive of the game and generally struggled to get anything done, though he did oversee a short TD drive after an interception by the Patriots defense. It was a poor finish to a poor preseason, though neither Trace McSorley nor Malik Cunningham seems to have stepped up to give Zappe a serious challenge for the backup QB role this summer. The Patriots might consider looking at veteran options to provide depth behind Mac Jones, who was held out of Friday's game after a solid showing in his lone preseason appearance the week before.

Willis completed 15 of 20 passes for 211 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions in Friday's 23-7 preseason win over New England.

Ryan Tannehill played three snaps without throwing a pass attempt, while Will Levis (thigh) was held out entirely despite saying Wednesday that he expected to be ready. Willis surprisingly ran for only 17 yards despite playing the entire night after the first drive, instead providing an entertaining mix of good and bad plays with his right arm. He and Levis have been competing for the No. 2 QB job this summer, and the winner heading into Week 1 won't necessarily retain the spot throughout the season.

Purdy completed five of nine passes for 73 yards and ran for a five-yard touchdown in Friday's preseason game against the Chargers.

Purdy led the 49ers to the Chargers' goal line on both of his drives, steamrolling a second-string offense with the help of Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. The first series ended on a goal-line fumble by RB Jordan Mason, while Purdy capped off the second drive by scrambling in himself. Purdy will get the start Week 1 in Pittsburgh, and he won't have to look over his shoulder now that the 49ers have agreed to trade fellow quarterback Trey Lance (to Dallas).

Sudfeld exited Friday's preseason game after his knee buckled while rolling out of the pocket, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old was then carted off the field after suffering this injury, per Steve Reed of the Associated Press. Sudfeld is currently fighting for a spot on the Lions' active roster behind quarterbacks Jared Goff and Teddy Bridgewater, and this doesn't help his case. The extent of the veteran's injury is unknown at the moment.

Bridgewater completed 13 of 22 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason game against Carolina.

Bridgewater's second preseason appearance went much better than his first, including a TD drive on the second series of the game when Carolina still had some starters in. The Lions rested all their starters and some key backups, but that didn't stop Bridgewater from producing 20 points on six drives while playing the entire first half. The highlight was a 70-yard TD pass to Antoine Green, threaded between three defenders, with the Lions seemingly seeing what they needed to confirm Bridgewater as their No. 2 QB for the season opener in Kansas City on Sept. 7.