MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Mike Tomlin: Mitch Trubisky improving in all areas



Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked if he was considering a quarterback change after last Thursday’s loss to the Browns and said that “the answer to that question is definitively no.”

Nothing’s changed Tomlin’s mind over the last few games. Trubisky remains the top quarterback on the team’s depth chart for this week’s game against the Jets and Tomlin said at his Tuesday press conference that he has seen improvement from the quarterback in “all areas” over the first three weeks of the season.


More generally, Tomlin said that the offense has been better with each outing and that “there’s reason to think that improvement will continue” in Week Four and beyond.

The Steelers have the Bills, Bucs, Dolphins, and Eagles on the schedule after the Jets, so that offensive improvement may need to come even faster if they’re going to remain in the playoff hunt come the second half of the season.

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Tua Tagovailoa: Back injury impacts all aspects of playing quarterback



Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s availability is a big question mark for Thursday night’s game against the Bengals and he told reporters on Tuesday that he’s doing everything he can to get “as close to 100 percent as possible” ahead of the game.

Tagovailoa is dealing with back and ankle injuries after Sunday’s win over the Bills, but he said at his press conference that the back is the major concern. He called the ankle “after the game soreness” while his back injury has a serious impact on his ability to run the offense.


“I would say everything. Having to twist to hand the ball off, having to toss the ball, having to throw the ball. Every aspect of it,” Tagovailoa said when asked how the injury affects him on the field.

Tagovailoa said that he had not thrown on Tuesday, but that he would do so before the team’s walkthrough later in the day. Head coach Mike McDaniel called Tagovailoa questionable earlier in the day and that sounds likely to be his injury designation on Wednesday if all goes well with his throwing session.

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Dak Prescott says he is unlikely to play this week, eyeing return in Week 5 vs. Rams



Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Tuesday that Dak Prescott still has swelling in his surgically repaired hand, and the quarterback has no timeline for when he will begin throwing. Prescott had his stitches removed from his thumb Monday night and lightly tossed a few passes before the team’s pregame warmups began.

The Cowboys didn’t place Prescott on injured reserve, expecting his return sooner than later.


While no one has ruled out Prescott playing against the Commanders on Sunday, Prescott said after Monday night’s victory over the Giants that Week 5 against the Rams probably is more realistic for his return.

“Nah, probably not,” Prescott told Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today Sports about playing against Washington. “But Week 5 against the Rams? That’s the one I’m looking at.”

Prescott was scheduled to meet with the team’s medical staff this week to devise a rehab plan. His return is predicated on his ability to grip the ball firmly.

“Some people are OK with [sitting out], but I’m not built that way,” Prescott told Reyes. “It’s f—ing killing me not being out there with my guys. It’s so hard, but I also know I’ve got to be patient.”

Prescott has worn a headset the past two games as backup Cooper Rush has led the Cowboys to victories over the Bengals and Giants. The veteran quarterback said the game has slowed down for him watching from the sideline.

“It’s not that I’m learning things new about the defenses we face or anything like that, but I’m seeing more and more just how simple this game can be,” Prescott said. “Hearing the calls in the headset and then seeing how defenses line up from the sideline reinforces that sometimes all you have to do is slow the game down and go through the design of the plays. It can be so (expletive) simple. That’s what I can’t wait to get back to.”

Prescott will return to the starting lineup once he’s ready, and it can’t come quickly enough for him. But the Cowboys’ two wins without him have eased the sting of being on the sideline in street clothes, Prescott said.

“Now that we’re winning, it’s all good. And I’ll be back soon,” he said.

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Tua Tagovailoa upgraded to limited in Tuesday’s practice



Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has ankle and back injuries, leaving his availability for Thursday uncertain. He said he is doing everything he can to get “as close to 100 percent as possible.”

Tagovailoa took a step in the right direction Tuesday, participating in the walkthrough on a limited basis. He was estimated as a non-participant Monday.


The Dolphins also upgraded cornerback Xavien Howard (groin/glute), offensive lineman Rob Hunt (shin), safety Brandon Jones (chest) and receiver Jaylen Waddle (groin) to limited after all were estimated as non-participants Monday.

Safety Jevon Holland (neck) and offensive tackle Greg Little (finger) were upgraded to full participants Tuesday.

Left tackle Terron Armstead (toe), tight end Cethan Carter (concussion) and tight end Hunter Long (ankle) remained out of practice.

Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis (knee), receiver Cedrick Wilson (ribs/toe), cornerback Kader Kohou (ankle) and defensive lineman Zach Sieler (hand) still were limited.

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Bill Belichick: Mac Jones is getting better day by day




“We’re on to Cincinnati” has some new competition when it comes to Bill Belichick’s press conference catchphrases.

Belichick repeatedly described quarterback Mac Jones‘ status as “day by day” when speaking to reporters on Wednesday.


“Saw Mac a little while ago,” Belichick said. “Definitely getting better. Probably won’t practice today, but made a lot of progress here in the last 48 hours. So, keep plugging away and take that day by day and see how it goes. That’s where we are for today.”

Jones reportedly has a “pretty severe” high ankle sprain and is evaluating his options as to how to treat it before establishing a timeline to get back on the field.

Belichick later said, “He’s getting better day by day. We’ll see how he is tomorrow. He’s a lot better than he was yesterday. We’ll see what it is.”

Belichick was asked if Jones was to have a procedure and simply repeated, “Day by day,” smiling at one point.

In response to another question about Jones’ ankle injury, Belichick said, “What do I look like? A doctor? An orthopedic surgeon? I don’t know. Talk to the medical experts.”

Team doctors, of course, are not readily available to media. So when Belichick was asked what the medical experts have told him, he replied, “Day by day. We’ll evaluate him day by day. I mean, what difference does it make to me? You think I’m going to read the MRI? That’s not my job.”

Belichick did confirm that if Jones is unable to play this week against the Packers, Brian Hoyer would start at quarterback.

“He knows [the offense] better than anybody. I mean, from an overall experience standpoint,” Belichick said. “This year is this year. But, yeah, Brian’s had a lot of experience. He’s been in a lot of different systems. Seen a lot of football. Taken a lot of snaps for us in various capacities. Thought he played well in the preseason. If we need him to go, he’ll be ready to go.”

While Hoyer has spent the majority of his career with the Patriots, he’s started just one game for the team — in 2020. He’s appeared in 75 games with 39 starts, 16 of which came for his hometown Browns between 2013-2014.

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Zach Wilson cleared, on track to start against Steelers



The Jets are set to get quarterback Zach Wilson in the lineup this weekend.

Head coach Robert Saleh announced on Wednesday that Wilson has been cleared by doctors to return from the surgery he had to repair the meniscus in his knee after getting hurt in the team’s preseason opener last month. This was the news that the team expected to hear and it puts Wilson in line to start against the Steelers in Week Four.


“It’s really just exciting for him to get back on the football field,” Saleh said. “It’s been six weeks. There’s a lot of different things that have to go around in terms of making sure we run an efficient offense. From us as coaches to O-line to receivers running routes, everybody’s involved. It is exciting to get him back out there, but, at the same time, it’s not all about Zach. It’s making sure we’re executing on all cylinders as we should every week.”

Wilson will be playing behind an injury-diminished offensive line, but he has a stronger set of targets than he had as a rookie and the Jets will be looking for him to make a big step forward from where he was last season. Sunday will be the first chance to see if that’s going to happen.

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Dak Prescott still isn’t practicing



Dak Prescott had stitches removed from his surgically repaired right hand Monday and threw a few soft tosses, but he is not ready to return to practice yet.

The Cowboys’ practice report shows Prescott remains out.


“He’s been conditioning,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “He’s been doing that after the first week. He’ll just continue on the path with the cardiovascular. But now that he has the stitches out, the next step is to get the swelling totally out of the joint and the thumb area and start to build his strength so he can grip the football. That’s the next step.”

Prescott said earlier this week he is unlikely to return for Sunday’s game against the Commanders and is pointing toward the Week 5 game against the Rams. That means Cooper Rush likely starts again this week.

Rush is 3-0 in his career as a starter, joining Roger Staubach, Steve Beuerlein and Jason Garrett as the only Cowboys’ quarterbacks to win all three of their first career starts.

Receiver Michael Gallup had a full practice as he works his way back from the ACL he tore in a Jan. 2 game against the Cardinals. He has yet to play this season.

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who had three sacks in Monday night’s game against the Giants, was limited with his foot injury.

Safety Jayron Kearse (knee), left guard Connor McGovern (ankle) and tight end Dalton Schultz (knee) were limited Wednesday. All three missed Monday night’s game with their injuries.

Receiver Simi Fehoko (shoulder) and linebacker Luke Gifford (hamstring) were full participants.

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Tua Tagovailoa at hospital being treated for head and neck injuries



The Bengals lead the Dolphins 14-12 at halftime of Thursday Night Football, but the game seems meaningless after Tua Tagovailoa‘s scary injury.

The Dolphins quarterback was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with head and neck injuries. The team reports that Tagovailoa was conscious as he left the field and has movement in all his extremities.


Tagovailoa was sacked for a 10-yard loss by Josh Tupou with 5:57 remaining in the first half. The back of his helmet bounced off the turf.

He was placed on a stabilizing board before being loaded onto a stretcher.

Tagovailoa appeared to have a concussion at the end of the first half last week, leaving briefly, but he was cleared to return. He was questionable to play Thursday night with back and ankle injuries.

The league, at the request of the NFL Players Association, is reviewing the decision to allow Tagovailoa to re-enter the game last week. An NFL official provided an update Wednesday, saying “every indication” thus far is that concussion protocol was followed.

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With plenty of questions still to be answered about why he was even playing tonight, one important question has been resolved. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is OK.

As announced late in the game broadcast, Tagovailoa has been discharged from a local hospital. He is expected to travel back to Miami with the team.


That’s a huge relief, given the troubling images from the aftermath of the head injury he suffered earlier this evening.

Again, given the events from Sunday, there are many questions to be answered. The fact that Tua apparently is and will be fine does not alleviate or diminish those questions. They must be answered. Objectively, dispassionately, and accurately.

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Tua will be on the field next weekend playing.

 

Brian Hoyer will be starting at quarterback for the Patriots this Sunday.

The Patriots have ruled quarterback Mac Jones out of Sunday’s game against the Packers. Jones injured his ankle on the team’s final offensive play of last Sunday’s loss to the Ravens and had to be carried back to the locker room with what reports indicated was a severe high-ankle sprain, but the Patriots did their best to suggest there was a chance of Jones playing until the release of Friday’s injury report.


The start will be the 40th of Hoyer’s NFL career and his first since the 2020 season.

Offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste (thumb) and defensive lineman Lawrence Guy (thumb) have also been ruled out. Safety Joshuah Bledsoe (groin), safety Kyle Dugger (knee), defensive lineman Davon Godchaux (back), linebacker Raekwon McMillan (thumb), wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (knee), cornerback Jalen Mills (hamstring), and safety Adrian Phillips (ribs) are listed as questionable.

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Like I said, injury rate goes WAY up if you're playing Green Bay next week...

 

Teddy Bridgewater will remain the starter, until Tua Tagovailoa is cleared



Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa won’t be available to play until he clears all appropriate concussion protocols. Given recent events, the protocols applied to Tua will likely be as rigid and exacting as they ever have been.

As Dolphins coach Mike McDaniels put it on Friday, “You’re in the protocol until you’re out of the protocol.”


McDaniel said that, in the interim, Teddy Bridgewater will start at quarterback.

“Teddy would start and guys have a lot of confidence in him and guys have confidence in our whole quarterback room, really,” McDaniel told reporters. “It’s one of the strengths of our football team and I think guys rely on that. Tua, Teddy and Skylar [Thompson] have performed in a great working group and our guys believe in all three of them.”

Thompson, a rookie who played very well in the preseason, is now one injury or extended ineffectiveness (in theory) away from playing.

“Skylar has been what you guys know Skylar to be,” McDaniel said. “He’s just working constantly and when he’s on the field, he’ll make some plays. He’s in a great spot, too. I feel very fortunate to have those two guys.”

Bridgewater played well last night, well enough to win the game, frankly. In the end, a defense that had been on the field for 90 plays four days earlier seemed to run out of steam.

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Saints quarterback Jameis Winston has officially been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Vikings.

Andy Dalton will get his first start for the Saints, with Taysom Hill backing him up.


Winston has been dealing with back and ankle injuries that kept him out of practice all week. The Saints initially indicated he’d be able to heal up and get back on the practice field, but the injuries haven’t healed as quickly as they were hoping.

The Saints have already ruled out wide receiver Michael Thomas, so their passing game will be missing two key players against Minnesota. The Vikings are three-point favorites in the early kickoff in London.

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The Giants are out of quarterbacks.

Daniel Jones exited the game with an injury and was replaced by Tyrod Taylor, but soon Taylor was also injured, and the Giants only have two quarterbacks on the active roster.

That meant the Giants were down to running back Saquon Barkley, who took some direct snaps in a wildcat formation.

Jones did take the field, first to line up at wide receiver as a decoy while Barkley took the snaps, and then to take one snap in the shotgun formation and hand off.

It’s unclear how serious the injuries to Jones and Taylor are, but running out of quarterbacks is not a good thing. Still, the Giants lead in the fourth quarter.

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Hoyer ruled out in the NE vs GB game... Zappe in at QB for the Patriots.

 

And Rogers is still having a horrible game

 

Zappe first touchdown pass by a rookie QB this season in the NFL anybody have that bet?

 

Patrick Mahomes has become fastest player to reach 20,000 passing yards



Patrick Mahomes entered Sunday Night Football with 19,848 yards. It didn’t take him long to reach 20,000.

Mahomes is 16-of-27 for 160 yards and two touchdowns after one possession in the second half.


The Chiefs quarterback passed the 20,000-yard mark in his 67th career regular-season game. That makes him the fastest ever to hit that mark.

Matthew Stafford hit 20,000 passing yards in his 71st career game.

The Chiefs lead the Bucs 31-17 after getting a field goal on the opening drive of the second half.

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