NFL Player News

Howell completed nine of 12 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason win over the Browns. He also gained eight yards on his only carry.

The Commanders' first two possessions ended in a punt and a safety due to a holding penalty in the end zone, but Howell got the offense rolling on his third and final drive, capping it off with a 26-yard TD strike to Jahan Dotson. The second-year quarterback remains on track to take over the starting role this season, and Howell holds some deep-league fantasy appeal given his solid receiving corps and the possibility that new coordinator Eric Bieniemy can recreate even a fraction of the success he had in Kansas City.

Wilson completed seven of 13 pass attempts for 93 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason loss to the Cardinals.

Wilson and most of the starters wound up playing 22 snaps on offense (four drives) after head coach Sean Payton said that they would be limited to 15 prior to kickoff. Perhaps Denver's starters refused to end the day after their first drive resulted in a three-and-out, which was then followed by two missed field goals (12 and 40 yards) off the leg of new kicker Brett Maher. The decision to send the starters back out there a fourth time turned out to be a smart one when the 34-year-old Wilson drove the team down the field and threw a 21-yard strike to Jerry Jeudy for a touchdown, which completely shifted the narrative of how the starters looked under Payton for the first time. Wilson still has a long road ahead in terms of restoring his status as a superstar, or even as a starting option in fantasy, but this was a start.

Trask completed six of his 10 pass attempts for 99 yards, no touchdowns and an interception (four offensive drives) in Friday's exhibition loss to Pittsburgh.

Head coach Todd Bowles announced earlier in the week that he planned to start Baker Mayfield over Trask in the Bucs' first preseason game, and that their roles would be flipped for the team's next scheduled contest as they compete for the starting job. The veteran Mayfield clearly got the upper hand based on the box score results, but Trask's ability to push the ball further down the field could wind up being a better fit in an offense featuring a talented receiver duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Trask will get an opportunity to even the score when he starts against the Jets on Aug. 18.

Mayfield completed eight of nine pass attempts for 63 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason loss to the Steelers.

Mayfield got to start in his new club's first preseason game, but head coach Todd Bowles was clear that he hadn't won the starting job over Kyle Trask, as the two are scheduled to switch roles in Tampa Bay's next game against the Jets on Aug. 19. Both signal-callers got to run four offensive drives Friday, with Mayfield winning the first round by leading one of his into the end zone, while Trask threw the only interception of the night between the two. The younger Trask figures to provide more fantasy upside based on the unknown element, whereas we have already seen what kind of QB that Mayfield -- the first overall pick in 2018 -- has become at the journeyman stage of his career. Whichever quarterback wins the gig will also benefit from inheriting one of the better receiver duos in recent years.

Pickett started Friday's preseason opener and logged one offensive drive, completing six of seven pass attempts for 70 yards and a touchdown in a 27-17 exhibition win over Tampa Bay.

Pickett looked to prove the early camp reports of his improved ability to make quick reads from the pocket following a bumpy rookie season. The 2022 first-round pick appeared to be in control of the first unit, dialing up four different receivers before ending the drive with a 33-yard touchdown strike to starting wideout George Pickens. If Pickett can carry this momentum into the regular season, we could see him post some gaudy numbers with the Steelers' talented cast of targets.

Coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR 680 San Francisco on Friday that Darnold will take most of the second-half reps at quarterback for the 49ers in Sunday's preseason game in Las Vegas.

With Brock Purdy slated to sit out Sunday, Trey Lance will handle the majority of those snaps in the first half before handing over the offense to Darnold. Lance and Darnold are vying for the No. 2 QB role in San Francisco, and their respective snaps during exhibition season will be the determining factor in the job battle. Both players are No. 3 overall draft picks -- Darnold in 2018, Lance in 2021 -- so Shanahan is banking on pedigree for his backup signal-caller.

Coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR 680 San Francisco on Friday that Lance will play most of the first half of Sunday's preseason game at Las Vegas.

With Brock Purdy not expected to play in the 49ers' preseason opener, Lance and Sam Darnold will split quarterback reps almost evenly as they continue their battle for the No. 2 role in San Francisco. Lance has experience in the system on his side, but Darnold has started 55 of his 56 appearances split between the Jets and Panthers. Both players were No. 3 picks in their respective drafts -- 2018 for Darnold, 2021 for Lance -- so Shanahan is banking on pedigree for his backup signal-caller in San Francisco.

Coach Arthur Smith said after Friday's 19-3 win at Miami that Ridder and the rest of the Falcons' starters will play in next Friday's preseason game against the Bengals, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

Ridder was held out of Atlanta's exhibition opener, but he'll get his first chance to hand off to first-round rookie running back Bijan Robinson in preseason Week 2. It's unclear how many series Ridder can expect to get under center, but it also may serve as the team's dress rehearsal ahead of Week 1.

Siemian completed 15 of 28 passes for 121 yards and one interception in Friday's 36-19 preseason loss to the Packers.

Siemian played the entire second half, but Jake Browning played the first half, suggesting Browning is currently ahead of Siemian in the competition to be Joe Burrow's (calf) backup. This competition carries extra significance since Burrow could miss regular-season action due to his injury, though the starter was seen throwing deep passes and sprinting prior to Friday's game. Browning also finished with no touchdowns and one interception, so neither quarterback has done much to seize the backup role heading into Cincinnati's next preseason game against Atlanta.

Thompson completed 10 of 16 passes for 104 yards and two interceptions in Friday's preseason loss to the Falcons.

Mike White got the start for the Dolphins but failed to produce any points on three first-half drives, and he was picked off in the red zone on the team's opening possession. While Thompson did lead the club to a field goal in the second half for Miami's only points on the night, one of his two INTs was returned for an Atlanta score. The backup job behind Tua Tagovailoa remains unclaimed for now, but Thompson will likely have to clearly outperform White in camp and the preseason to move past him on the depth chart -- something he failed to do Friday.