NFL Player News

Stafford is not expected to play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Chargers, Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Coach Sean McVay isn't breaking from his tradition of not playing key starters in the preseason. Stafford barely threw last summer due to an elbow issue and then battled a concussion and neck injury during the regular season, seeing his 2022 come to a close in Week 11. This summer, Stafford has been throwing regularly and has shown no ill effects from the neck issue. Joining Stafford on the sideline Saturday will be Cooper Kupp (hamstring) and Aaron Donald (coach's decison).

Cunningham completed three of four passes for 19 yards and ran five times for 34 yards (including a nine-yard TD) in Thursday's 20-9 preseason loss to the Texans.

Per Mike Dussault of the Patriots' official site, Cunningham entered the game in the fourth quarter and ended up running some read-option plays like he has in practice of late. While the Louisville product, who joined the team as a UDFA, is no threat to climb to the top of the team's QB depth chart at this point, Cunningham has been seeing wideout reps in training camp and his positional versatility is something that could keep him around in some capacity following roster cuts.

Coach Andy Reid noted Friday that each of the Chiefs' QBs (including Mahomes) is in line to play a quarter in Sunday's preseason opener against the Saints, Matt McMullen of the team's official site reports.

Also in line to see action Sunday are fellow signal-callers Blaine Gabbert, Shane Buechele and Chris Oladokun, with Sam Hartle of kshb.com relaying that the team's first-stringers are slated to play in the first quarter. For his part, Mahomes told reporters Friday "I like to have at least one or two drives under my belt to say that we're ready to go." Beyond getting Mahomes some snaps in the team's preseason opener, we'd expect the Chiefs to focus on keeping their franchise QB healthy ahead of Week 1 action.

Mullens was 14-of-20 passing for 139 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions in Thursday's preseason loss at Seattle.

Mullens had a solid performance while getting the preseason start while rookie Jaren Hall was underwhelming (2.6 YPA). Mullens looks to have a solid lead on the backup role to Kirk Cousins at this point.

Hall was 6-of-13 passing for 37 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Thursday's preseason loss at Seattle.

Hall entered the game in the second half and looked lost at times, though his offensive line gave him little time to operate. Hall, a 2023 fifth-round draft pick, has rushing ability (700 rushing yards in 22 college starts) and athleticism that may allow him to press Nick Mullens for the Vikings' No. 2 QB slot behind Kirk Cousins. However, after one preseason game he looked like a distant third on the depth chart.

Lock completed 17 of 24 passes for 191 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Thursday's 24-13 preseason win over the Vikings. He added three rushing attempts for 14 yards.

After a quiet first quarter, Lock heated up in the second, leading a six-play, 59-yard touchdown drive that he capped with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Easop Winston. He stayed in the game for the third quarter, during which Lock threw an interception and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jake Bobo. Undrafted rookie Holton Ahlers replaced Lock for the fourth quarter. Lock's the prohibitive favorite to beat out Ahlers for the backup spot behind Geno Smith, and the former Denver quarterback is likely to play the majority of snaps again in Seattle's second preseason game, Aug. 19 against the Cowboys.

Mills completed nine of 12 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown but lost a fumble in Thursday night's 20-9 win over the Patriots in the Texans' preseason opener.

Mills entered the game after rookie first-rounder C.J. Stroud played Houston's first two drives. The latter finished with just two completions for 13 yards and an interception. Although Mills moved the ball better in his four series under center, including a six-yard touchdown toss to end the first half, he too committed a turnover during his time on the field. While Stroud is undoubtedly Houston's long-term plan at quarterback, Mills could still vie for playing time this season and will nonetheless look to eliminate similar miscues in next Saturday's exhibition outing versus Miami.

Zappe completed 12 of 14 passes for 79 yards in Thursday night's 20-9 preseason-opening loss to the Texans.

Zappe played the entire first half as well as New England's opening drive of the third quarter, leading the team to just three points. Although he didn't average much yardage, Zappe completed a high percentage of his passes, which should help his case to remain Mac Jones' backup this season.

Stroud completed two of four passes for 13 yards and an interception in Thursday night's 20-9 preseason-opening win over the Patriots.

Stroud started in his first NFL action and was sacked and picked off on the opening drive. The second pick in this year's draft played only two series before giving way to Davis Mills, who completed nine of 12 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown and lost a fumble. Stroud should get more playing time next Saturday against Miami.

Smith isn't slated to play in Thursday's preseason game against the Vikings, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Smith handled the initial throws with the first-team offense during pregame warmups before leaving most of the QB reps to Drew Lock. As a result, Smith's next chance for some exhibition action will arrive Saturday, Aug. 19 against the Cowboys. It's unclear if the Seahawks will give him any snaps during the preseason, but he likely doesn't need them after turning a comeback 2022 campaign into a three-year, $105 million extension with the team back in March.