NFL Player News

This one comes as a bit of a surprise after Smith signed a one-year contract with the Eagles shortly before Week 1, and played in the team’s Week 6 loss to the Giants on Thursday night. The former fourth-round pick who first entered the league with the Ravens in 2015 walks away from the game with 70.5 career sacks on his resumé to go with 87 TFLs and 10 forced fumbles. Smith’s most productive seasons came with the Packers, who he signed a four-year contract with during the 2019 offseason. He earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods during his first two years in Green Bay, racking up 26 sacks over that span and also received Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2020. Smith’s decision to walk away leaves an already banged up Eagles defense another man short. They will likely look to bring on another veteran pass rusher in the coming days to make up for his absence.

LaFleur said Beck would have been well enough to throw if it were seven-on-seven drills, adding that the team “didn’t want to risk it” when it came to starting the rookie in Thursday’s preseason game. Beck already has some preseason experience under his belt. He threw for 188 yards and a touchdown in the Hall of Fame Game last week against the Panthers and will hopefully have a chance to suit up in next week’s preseason game against the Cowboys on Saturday.

Cousins played on just one drive in Thursday’s loss. He went 5-for-6 on his pass attempts and capped his lone drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Michael Mayer. Rookie Fernando Mendoza, who looked sharp at times in his debut, is still positioned to open the season as Cousins’ backup, as Kubiak reasserted his decision to open the year with Cousins as the starter as of right now. Cousins has worked primarily with the starters in training camp and has received mostly good reports. It seems highly unlikely he would lose the starting job before Week 1’s game against the Dolphins.

Richardson’s interception came on a play in which the ball bounced off his receiver’s hands and into a defender’s arms. The former No. 4 overall pick was mostly solid on Thursday, making quick and decisive throws to his receivers while going a perfect 6-for-6 on pass attempts of 10-plus air yards. Richardson also lost a fumble on a 10-yard scramble in the second quarter, but made up for it later on a one-yard touchdown run on a QB sneak. His days as a Colt are likely numbered. Richardson stringing together a nice preseason could draw the interest of several QB-needy teams before the start of the season and position him to eventually see the field sometime in 2026.

The rookie fourth-rounder wound up leading the Raiders in both rush attempts and rushing yards on Thursday, with his most notable run coming on a 53-yard burst that saw him evade multiple defenders on the play. Washington is competing for the Raiders’ RB2 spot behind Ashton Jeanty and should have the inside edge over third-year back Dylan Laube, who totaled 11 yards on five carries in Thursday’s loss.

Two of Bech’s three receptions came with Fernando Mendoza under center. Mendoza threaded the needle twice to get the ball to the second-year receiver, with his first target to Bech resulting in a nine-yard gain to convert a third-and-eight. Mendoza would later find Bech for a short six-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders their second touchdown of the night. Bech spent a significant amount of time playing with the backups, and his 20 snaps led all Raiders receivers on Thursday. Bech looked solid in this one and could be in line for a more meaningful role after a disappointing rookie year that saw him catch 20 passes for 224 scoreless yards.

The No. 34 overall pick and projected starter appeared to be in a heap of pain upon going down in the third quarter. It’s a potentially brutal break for this woebegone franchise, though Friday’s testing could come back less severe than expected. If Bisontis is looking at a multi-month or season-ending absence it will likely force the Cardinals to dip into the free agent or back-end trade market.

Cam Ward played three series, but Tate was most active on the opening drive, playing 10-of-11 snaps (via NFL Network’s Michael F. Florio). The goose egg looks disappointing, of course, but it is utterly inconsequential. Slightly more concerning has been a hype-free start to Titans camp for the No. 4 overall pick, though he has been lauded for a few highlight plays of late. Emphasis on “a few,” we guess. It’s hard to muster too much concern, but then again, this was always likely to be a bumpy road for the Titans’ revamped offense this season. Tate is a WR3/4 with plenty of upside but “slow start” risk to match.

Mendoza took over for Kirk Cousins on the Raiders’ second drive. New Raiders coach Klint Kubiak had Mendoza lining up under center and running play action, and the No. 1 overall pick responded by successfully threading the needle on tight window throws to both WR Malik Benson and Jack Bech. He also checked down to fellow rookie Mike Washington when needed. Mendoza’s score was a six-yard strike to Bech, with the second-year wideout turning the grab into a tumbling plunge into the end zone. It was a solid start for a rookie who is evidently going to begin the year on the bench.

The controversial third-round pick is battling veteran Mason Rudolph and sophomore Will Howard for backup duties behind Aaron Rodgers. All three signal callers had strong outings against the Packers’ reserves on Thursday. A former massive recruit whose Penn State career did not go as planned, Allar has youth (22) and raw physical talent on his side as he looks to develop under Mike McCarthy. There is very little chance he would be ready for prime time if forced into 2026 action.

Ward, who played three series, didn’t offer up many highlights, but he did help author a 95-yard touchdown drive on the Titans’ opening series vs. the 49ers’ backups. Learning a new offensive system as he breaks in a heavily revamped supporting cast, it’s not a surprise tonight was a “growing pains” effort even if it came against the second and third string. If Ward plays in the Titans’ second preseason game, it will be against the defending champion Seahawks.