NFL Player News

Love said Wednesday that he expects to play a few possessions in Friday's preseason game at Cincinnati, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

A 2020 first-round pick, Love didn't see any NFL action until the 2021 preseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, he logged mostly spot duty -- including one start -- in the last two regular seasons, en route to 606 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions on 60.3-percent passing. Now that Aaron Rodgers has moved on to the Jets, Love has taken over direction of the Packers offense behind a steady offensive line. Love will have a one-two punch in running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to lean on, but the receiving corps mostly boasts first- and second-year options, headlined by 2022 second-round pick Christian Watson.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said McCoy will see some snaps in Friday's preseason opener against the Broncos, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

Gannon wouldn't divulge exactly how he plans to split playing time among his quarterback group, which is still without Kyler Murray (knee), but McCoy will presumably get the start Friday and play limited snaps. The veteran underwent offseason surgery to address an elbow issue, but he's been a full participant in training camp and will likely head into Week 1 as the Cardinals' starting quarterback.

Howell will start the Commanders' preseason opener Friday versus the Browns, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Howell gets the start over Jacoby Brissett, but it's unclear how long either quarterback will play. A 2022 second-round pick, Howell is on track to open 2023 as a full-time starter, but he could still benefit from getting extended snaps in a competitive setting. In his lone start as a rookie, the North Carolina product completed 11 of 19 pass attempts for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding 35 yards and a score on the ground during a Week 18 win over Dallas.

Burrow (calf) returned to practice as an observer Wednesday but isn't participating, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Burrow was speaking with teammates at practice for the first time since suffering a calf strain late July and was spotted wearing a black sleeve on his injured right leg. The star quarterback will remain a passive observer of Cincinnati's upcoming joint practices with Green Bay, as Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Wednesday that Burrow's "timeline [for a return] is several weeks from when I said several weeks" as Adam Schefter of ESPN notes. The Bengals will continue to hold out hope for Burrow to make a full recovery in time for their Sept. 10 regular-season opener in Cleveland, but the quarterback snaps will fall to Trevor Siemian, Jake Browning and Reid Sinnett to command the offense during Friday's preseason contest against the Packers.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday that Fields will play during Saturday's preseason opener against the Titans, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.

Eberflus said "selected starters will play here and there" Saturday, so Fields and the first-team offense may not play too many reps. Still, many will be keen to take a look at the dynamic quarterback in his first real exhibition action entering Year 3. Now joined by top wideout DJ Moore alongside returning playmakers Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool (hamstring), Fields is set up well to potentially take another step forward as a passer.

Trask will start Tampa Bay's second preseason contest Aug. 19 versus the Jets, but Baker Mayfield will open Friday's game against the Steelers, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Head coach Todd Bowles said there was no real reason behind the decision for Trask to start after Mayfield, an indication that the Week 1 starting role is still up for grabs. A 2021 second-round pick, Trask never got a chance to start for the Buccaneers during Tom Brady's tenure, but he's split first-team reps with Mayfield throughout camp and could finally get his opportunity if he's able to win the preseason job battle. Trask has reportedly had more success than Mayfield pushing the ball downfield in practices, so it will be interesting to see whether that translates to game action.

Pickett will start Friday's preseason contest against the Buccaneers, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Pickett has reportedly showcased an improved ability to read the field early in training camp, and he'll look to carry over that success into preseason action Friday. The second-year quarterback is coming off a rookie season in which he threw for more than 200 passing yards in just four of 13 appearances while turning in a 7:9 TD:INT. He and the Steelers' first-team offense may only handle a series or two in Tampa Bay on Friday.

Watson is slated to start Friday's preseason game against the Commanders, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Watson isn't sure how much action he'll see Friday, but after not playing in last week's Hall of Fame Game against Jets, the Browns' top quarterback will see his first exhibition snaps of 2023. Given that Watson is set to take the field Friday, he'll presumably log some snaps alongside most of the team's other healthy starters.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that Mayfield will start Friday's preseason contest against the Steelers, but Kyle Trask will get the starting nod for the team's second preseason contest Aug. 19 versus the Jets, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mayfield and Trask are listed as co-starters for the top spot on the Buccaneers' first unofficial depth chart, and the team will indeed take a look at both options during the preseason. Mayfield will get the first shot to start, though Greg Auman of Fox Sports relays that it doesn't necessarily mean Mayfield is ahead in the quarterback competition. The ultimate factor in determining Tampa Bay's starter for Week 1 could come down to which of the two signal-callers performs better in preseason action.

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com suggested Tuesday that Jones probably won't play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Texans.

That's a notion echoed by both Mark Daniels of Masslive.com and Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site. In the event that Jones does sit out Thursday's contest, Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley and Malik Cunningham would be candidates to log QB snaps against Houston.