NFL Player News

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday that Prescott (thumb) will need at least 7-to-10 days of healing before he's cleared to resume football activities, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Prescott underwent surgery Monday to repair a fractured right thumb, and though the procedure was considered a success by all accounts, the Cowboys likely won't be able to pinpoint a target date for the quarterback's return to game action until he's ready to do some gripping and throwing of the football. For his part, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday that Prescott won't be placed on injured reserve, which would seem to imply that the team is optimistic the quarterback will miss three games rather than the minimum of four that an IR stint would entail. A potential 3-to-4-week recovery timeline would be a major boon for Prescott after initial reports suggested the star signal-caller would be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks when he fractured the thumb in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Cooper Rush is in line to start for the Cowboys in Sunday's game against the Bengals and will likely remain atop the depth chart for the duration of Prescott's absence.

Wilson won't be available for Sunday's game against the Browns, as Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed that Joe Flacco will continue to fill in as the team's starting quarterback, with Wilson still working his way back from an Aug. 16 arthroscopic knee procedure, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Saleh already said last week that he didn't expect Wilson to be ready to start until Week 4 while the second-year signal-caller works back from his Aug. 16 arthroscopic right knee procedure. During Wednesday's practice, Wilson was at least able to take part in what Cimini described as very light on-field work, which hints at progress on some level. While Flacco remains the team's starter Week 2, Mike White is in line to serve as his backup for another game.

Winston was a limited practice participant Wednesday due to a back issue.

Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports that Winston played through some pain in Sunday's 27-26 win over Atlanta, and head coach Dennis Allen said the quarterback "looked pretty good" during Wednesday's practice, per Erin Summers of the Saints' official website. Winston will likely be good to go for the Saints' Week 2 matchup with Tampa Bay, though a full practice Thursday or Friday would erase any concerns.

Jones (back) practiced fully Wednesday.

Jones experienced back spasms during Sunday's season-opening 20-7 loss to the Dolphins, but he's on track to start this weekend's game against Pittsburgh after he able to participate in practice fully. In Week 1, Jones completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he's now set to face a Steelers defense that racked up four picks and seven sacks in a 23-20 overtime win over Joe Burrow and the Bengals last week.

Jones (back) was present for Wednesday's practice, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Jones experienced back spasms following Sunday's season-opening loss to the Dolphins, but the quarterback's presence at practice Wednesday bodes well for his chances of starting this weekend's game against the Steelers. The Patriots will release their first Week 2 injury report later Wednesday, which will reveal whether Jones is a limited or full participant in practice.

Jones (back) continues to improve and is doing everything he needs to do in order to play Sunday against Pittsburgh, Michael Giardi of NFL Network reports.

Jones was plagued by back spasms late in the season-opening loss to Miami, but after X-rays came back negative following the game, he appears to have a good shot at suiting up Week 2. Wednesday's practice report will likely shed more light on the situation, but a final decision on Jones' status may not come until closer to Sunday. If he's unable to play, the Patriots have veteran Brian Hoyer and rookie Bailey Zappe as potential replacements.

Mahomes said Tuesday that his left wrist was a little sore following Sunday's 44-21 win over the Cardinals, but he feels better now and isn't in any jeopardy of missing Thursday's Week 2 matchup with the Chargers, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

Mahomes injured the wrist early in Sunday's contest and then had it taped up, but the extra bandaging didn't seem to hinder his play, as he completed 30 of 39 pass attempts for 360 yards and five touchdowns during the blowout win. Kansas City is listing Mahomes on its Week 2 injury report while he continues to receive treatment, but he was estimated as a full participant Monday, and head coach Andy Reid said the franchise quarterback will be a "full go" for Tuesday's practice session, per Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star. With that in mind, Mahomes isn't in line to carry a designation into Thursday's contest, and fantasy managers shouldn't have much hesitation about including him in lineups for what could be one of the higher-scoring matchups of Week 2.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday that Prescott (thumb) will not be placed on IR, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Jones said Prescott will avoid IR because he believes the franchise quarterback has a chance to play within the next four games, which goes against the 6-to-8-week recovery timetable reported by Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Prescott underwent successful surgery Monday to address his fractured right thumb, and the procedure included the insertion of a plate and a pin to stabilize a joint in his hand. Per Machota, the results of Monday's surgery have led the Cowboys to a more optimistic recovery timetable of 3-to-4 weeks, while Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News suggests the team is looking at a 4-to-6 week window. Further clarification on Prescott's expected return date could come soon, and whatever the case, Dallas will need to turn to Cooper Rush versus Cincinnati in Week 2.

Smith completed 23 of 28 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns in Monday's 17-16 win over the Broncos. He added 14 yards on five rushing attempts.

Smith sent the amped-up Seattle crowd into a frenzy when he found wide-open tight end Will Dissly for a 38-yard touchdown to cap the game's first drive, but he failed to get any push on a 4th-and-inches sneak attempt inside Denver's 10 to stall Seattle's second possession. The veteran QB completed his first 13 passes and was undeterred by his first incompletion, bouncing back with a 25-yard touchdown to Colby Parkinson to put the Seahawks up 17-10. The offense cooled off after halftime, but Seattle held on for the upset win. Smith looked comfortable and had complete command of the offense despite his modest final numbers, which should give him some job security heading into a Week 2 visit to San Francisco after he narrowly held off Drew Lock for the starting quarterback role this preseason.

Wilson completed 29 of 42 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown while rushing once for two yards in Monday's 17-16 loss to the Seahawks.

Wilson's first three passes of the game all went to fullback/tight end Andrew Beck, and he completed two of them for 52 yards to set up a field goal on Seattle's first drive. His first throw to a wide receiver didn't come until there were less than six minutes left in the second quarter, but he made up for a lack of quantity with quality, as that pass was a 67-yard touchdown to Jerry Jeudy. Denver had no trouble moving the ball but two fumbles by running backs inside the five-yard line and poor clock management down the stretch culminated in the game coming down to a 64-yard Brandon McManus field goal, which narrowly missed. Wilson will have a nice opportunity to bounce back from this loss to his former team when the Texans come to town for his Denver home debut in Week 2.