NFL Player News

Mills completed six of 10 passes for 58 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Thursday's 17-0 preseason win over the 49ers.

You wouldn't know it from his modest stat line, but Mills actually played the entire first half and the first drive of the second half for Houston, capping his final possession of the game with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Chris Moore. The Texans did most of their damage on the ground, which is something the team failed to find success at during Mills' rookie season. If rookie running back Dameon Pierce -- who capped Houston's opening drive with a one-yard touchdown -- can breathe life into the Texans' rushing attack in 2022, that could free up more space for the Mills-led Houston passing game.

Cousins doesn't expect to play in Saturday's preseason finale against the Broncos, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Supporting the notion that Cousins will be held out of the contest is that coach Kevin O'Connell doesn't expect many, if any, of Minnesota's starters to play versus Denver. In that context, Sean Mannion, Kellen Mond and Nick Mullens would be the team's QB options Saturday.

Coach Robert Saleh said he's comfortable waiting until the week of New York's season opener against the Ravens to name a starter between Wilson (knee) and Joe Flacco, Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports.

The Jets believe Wilson knows the offense well enough to jump into game action with just a week of preparation, but it's unclear if he'll have even that much before Week 1 as the second-year quarterback recovers from a meniscus tear and bone bruise in his knee. Flacco is handling first-team QB reps while Wilson recovers, but Wilson will be reinserted as the starter as soon as he's deemed healthy enough to play.

Wolford (hand) missed practice on Thursday after having a fingernail on his throwing hand ripped off Wednesday, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Wolford's status for Saturday's preseason finale against the Bengals will come down to pain tolerance, as the loss of a fingernail on a quarterback's throwing hand makes it difficult to grip the football without pain. If Wolford is unable to play, Bryce Perkins will get a solid opportunity to stake his claim for the role of primary backup to Matthew Stafford.

Jackson won't play in Saturday's exhibition against Washington, with the Ravens holding him out all preseason ahead of a Week 1 matchup with the Jets, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Ravens played it safe with Jackson, who put on muscle in the offseason and figures to lead a run-first offense after last year's squad shifted more toward the pass. The team is counting on TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman to pull a lot of weight in the passing game, with Jackson's ancillary weapons mostly being young, unproven mid-round picks. He'll do much of his damage on the ground this year, but his Week 1 matchup may be more favorable from a passing standpoint, as the Jets' D-line is the relative strength of a mostly shaky defense.

The Lions announced Thursday that Boyle will be the starting quarterback for the team's preseason finale against the Steelers, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.

Detroit coach Dan Campbell added Thursday that fellow backup David Blough will also see plenty of playing time against Pittsburgh. Campbell also maintained that the competition for the team's No. 2 quarterback job remains open heading into the Aug. 30 deadline for final cuts. Boyle had an up-and-down performance last time out this preseason against the Falcons (9-of-16 passing, 1:1 TD:INT), so Sunday's matchup will likely serve as his final opportunity to lock up a spot on the Lions' 53-man roster.

Brissett will start Saturday's preseason finale against the Bears, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Coach Kevin Stefanski declined to outline how long Brissett will play Saturday, but once the QB gets his snaps in, his focus will shift toward preparing for a Week 1 start against the Panthers. Meanwhile, Joshua Dobbs and Josh Rosen are competing for the Browns' No. 2 QB role behind Brissett, with Deshaun Watson in line to serve an 11-game suspension to begin the 2022 season. As Stefanski told Cabot, Dobbs is slated to follow Brissett versus Chicago, while Rosen also should subsequently log some snaps in the contest.

With coach Lovie Smith planning to use Thursday's preseason finale against the 49ers as something of a dress rehearsal, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com, Mills could see extensive action in the contest.

Once the Texans' starting QB gets his work in Thursday, Kyle Allen and Jeff Driskel will be available to close out the game for the team. Mills then will pivot to preparing for Houston's season opener against the Colts, with Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins in line to serve as his top two WR options and the squad's backfield in line to feature the trio of Dameon Pierce, Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead.

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said Wednesday that Trask has been "improving drastically" this summer, Andrew Crane of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The second-year signal-caller appeared to take a step back in the second preseason game against the Titans after he was impressive in the exhibition opener versus the Dolphins, throwing for 258 yards and completing 25 of his 33 attempts in that contest. However, Leftwich confirmed Wednesday that Trask is improving on various aspects of his game that aren't necessarily evident from a spectator's perspective, and he added that the 24-year-old's progress is especially relevant when measured against the amount of reps he's received. Tom Brady's recent 11-day personal leave from the team opened up plenty of short-term opportunity, however, and despite the future Hall of Famer's recent return, Trask should still see ample playing time in Saturday's preseason finale against the Colts.

Winston (knee/foot) said Wednesday that he's "feeling better every day" and will be ready to play if the Saints want him on the field for Friday's preseason finale against the Chargers, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Head coach Dennis Allen hasn't specified which of the team's projected starters, if any, will play Friday, but either way, Winston appears on track to be ready for Week 1 against Atlanta. He's been practicing since OTAs after suffering an ACL tear and MCL damage to his left knee last season, with his recent absences in the preseason being the result of a relatively minor foot injury. Winston returned to practice Sunday and has avoided any setbacks so far.