NFL Player News

Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said Monday that Jackson (ankle) could "potentially" practice in Week 7 and is still being considered day-to-day, Ryan Mink of the team's official site reports.

Since spraining his left ankle in an Oct. 4 win over the Titans, Jackson hasn't practiced in any fashion and has been inactive for both of the Ravens' ensuing games. Though Jackson hasn't taken any steps forward in terms of practice activity, Minter noted that the two-time NFL MVP is making progress in his recovery from the ankle injury. The Ravens will hold their first Week 7 practice Wednesday, and if Jackson is on the field in some capacity, it would be a good sign for his chances of returning to action Sunday versus the Bengals.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said that Mayfield (thumb) is "supposed to practice" Wednesday, Brianna Dix of the team's official site reports.

Mayfield hasn't logged any practice activity and has missed three consecutive games since dislocating his right thumb in a Sept. 27 loss to the Vikings, but he looks poised to take a meaningful step forward in his recovery process during the upcoming week. According to Greg Auman of Fox Sports, Bowles added that while he's still planning for undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels to make a fourth straight start this coming Sunday against the Panthers, the Buccaneers will evaluate how Mayfield looks with his throwing over the next few days before making any decisions. Shortly after Mayfield was diagnosed with the dislocated thumb, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the veteran signal-caller was facing a loose recovery timeline in the range of 3-to-6 weeks.

Head coach Jeff Hafley said that Willis should be ready to play Sunday against the Jets after tending to a minor undisclosed injury coming out of the Dolphins' Week 5 loss to the Bengals, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. "I foresee him being good to go," Hafley said.

In the 31-24 loss to Cincinnati, Willis played every snap and completed 15 of 27 passes for 137 yards and one touchdown to go with 74 yards on eight carries, but he committed three turnovers (two interceptions, one lost fumble). Though he didn't appear to be bothered by an injury during the game, Willis wasn't spotted throwing during the Dolphins' lone unofficial practice during their Week 6 bye, which raised questions about his health. With the extra time to recuperate, Willis seems to have bounced back fine from whatever physical concern he was dealing with, and the expectation is that he'll face no limitations in practice this week as the Dolphins prepare for a road matchup with the 2-4 Jets.

Hurts (calf) is expected to be held out of football activities for multiple months and miss the rest of the season after new imaging over the weekend revealed several blood clots in his lungs, Tom Pelissero of Netflix reports.

Initially diagnosed with a superficial blood clot after being cleated in the left calf in an Oct. 4 loss to the Rams, Hurts had been cleared by doctors to play Week 5 in the Eagles' loss to the Jaguars before more recent testing last week showed that the blood clot had moved. According to a statement released Monday by his agent, Nicole Lynn, Hurts has now been diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in the left calf, as well as bilateral pulmonary emboli. Hurts has gone on blood thinners to treat the blood clots, and while his prognosis is good and he's not expected to face any long-term health effects, he won't be able to participate in football activities until he's off blood thinners. With that in mind, Hurts isn't expected to make a push for a late-season return from injured reserve and will instead turn his focus toward returning to full health in 2027. The Eagles will move forward with Tanner McKee, Cole Payton and Joe Milton as their options at quarterback.

The Falcons are expected to release Rush on Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Rush will cede his spot on the 53-man roster to Andy Dalton, who will join starter Michael Penix and backups Tua Tagovailoa and Jack Strand as the Falcons keep a four-man quarterback room intact. While Penix and Tagovailoa were sidelined with injuries for the first two games of the season, Rush filled in as the team's starter and delivered a pair of poor performances in losses to the Steelers and Panthers. Rush finishes his time in Atlanta having completed 22 of 39 pass attempts for 229 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions while also losing a fumble.

Cousins completed 23 of 41 passes for 313 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Raiders' 33-30 loss to the Bills on Sunday.

Cousins completed a season-low 56.1 percent of his passes, but the veteran signal-caller went toe to toe with Josh Allen and nearly helped Las Vegas force overtime, at minimum, with a 17-point fourth quarter. Cousins first led a 15-play, 70-yard march that culminated in a Matt Gay field goal beginning in the latter portion of the third quarter, and he subsequently recorded 11- and 44-yard scoring strikes to Tre Tucker. While the Raiders came up just short, Cousins posted his second-highest passing yardage tally of the campaign and threw multiple TD passes for the fifth time in six contests. Cousins will face off with another marquee passer in Matthew Stafford when the Rams pay a visit for a Week 7 interconference showdown Sunday.

McKee completed 26 of 45 passes for 215 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions while adding one carry for no gain in the Eagles' 25-14 loss to the Panthers on Sunday. He also recovered a fumble.

McKee's completion total was impressive, but he averaged a modest 4.8 yards per attempt on the afternoon despite having DeVonta Smith back from a two-game absence due to a hamstring injury. McKee's longest completion of the day went for 19 yards to Smith on a fourth-quarter scoring strike, which brought Philadelphia to within five at the time. McKee ultimately wasn't able to complete the comeback in the first installment of what figures to be an extended starting assignment in place of Jalen Hurts (IR, calf), and he'll look to be more aggressive during a Week 7 home divisional clash with the Cowboys next Monday night.

Young completed 20 of 39 passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and added three rushes for six yards in the Panthers' 25-14 win over the Eagles on Sunday.

Young's pair of scoring tosses went to Tommy Tremble from 12 and 19 yards out in the second and fourth quarter, respectively. The 2023 first overall pick's multi-touchdown effort was his fourth of the season, and Young hasn't thrown for fewer than Sunday's total in any of his five games while also generating a stellar 11:2 TD:INT. Young and the Panthers next take aim at the Buccaneers defense when Tampa Bay pays a visit for a Week 7 divisional showdown on Sunday.

Penix completed 19 of 33 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions while rushing once for one yard in the Falcons' 31-23 loss to the Bears on Sunday. He also threw two two-point conversion passes.

Penix and the Falcons faced a 28-7 deficit going into the fourth quarter, but he helped bring Atlanta back with 10- and five-yard scoring tosses to Kyle Pitts and subsequent two-point conversion passes to Zachariah Branch and Drake London, respectively. Penix also connected with Jahan Dotson for 13-yard scoring strike in the latter portion of the second quarter, and Sunday's game served as Penix's first multi-TD-pass effort of the season. The third-year signal-caller had also visited the medical tent in the first quarter for an undisclosed issue, but Penix appears to be healthy heading into a Week 7 home showdown against the 49ers on Sunday.

Smith completed 20 of 30 passes for 252 yards with one touchdown and one interception while adding two rushes for minus-1 yard in the Jets' 26-19 loss to the Patriots on Sunday.

Smith took three sacks while trying to play catch-up all afternoon, and in that context, his final numbers were all the more impressive. The veteran signal-caller helped the Jets claw back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to get within four entering the fourth quarter, but his interception at the Patriots' 24-yard line early in the period snuffed out a potential scoring opportunity. Smith has certainly given New York some much-needed veteran stability at the quarterback position and displayed encouraging chemistry with returning rookie Omar Cooper (6-103-1) on Sunday, so there's reason for optimism heading into a favorable Week 7 home matchup against the Dolphins on Sunday.