Wednesday brought some clarity at quarterback in one building and plenty of uncertainty in others, as teams across the league finalized their injury reports ahead of Week 3. 

The Atlanta Falcons got good news heading into their Thursday night matchup against the Green Bay Packers, while two other franchises are still sorting out who’ll actually take the snaps this weekend.

Tua Tagovailoa is cleared to back up Michael Penix Jr. on Thursday, but the New York Giants are exploring every option at quarterback after losing Jaxson Dart for the season, and the Chicago Bears still don’t know whether Case Keenum, Tyson Bagent or Caleb Williams will start Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Here’s the latest from around the NFL on Wednesday.

With Jaxson Dart out for the season, John Harbaugh made clear the Giants aren’t ruling anything out at quarterback — including a trade for a starter. 

Jameis Winston will run the offense in Week 3 against the Titans, but Harbaugh confirmed the team plans to add another arm to the room, even if he wouldn’t name candidates.

Winston brings experience but hasn’t held a full-time starting job since 2019, and Jake Haener is the only other quarterback New York controls, sitting on the practice squad. 

Tests showed Dart avoided ACL damage, but tears to his MCL, PCL and meniscus will require surgery, with the meniscus the biggest concern — an injury similar to the one that cost Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy his entire 2024 season. 

McCarthy, now buried on Minnesota’s depth chart behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz, has reportedly drawn interest as a trade value given Giants GM Joe Schoen’s familiarity with him from the 2024 draft process. Harbaugh didn’t close the door on Dart returning for a potential postseason run.

Chicago’s quarterback picture remains murky ahead of Monday night’s game against Philadelphia, with Case Keenum, Tyson Bagent and Caleb Williams all in play depending on health. 

Keenum, 38, practiced Wednesday and hasn’t played in a regular-season game since December 2023, but he’s healthy — which is more than can currently be said for the other two. He said he is nervous about possibly starting, but he welcomes the emotions.

“I love the feeling of being nervous. I do get nervous. And it’s not a scared nervous, it’s an excited nervous, because I know I’m prepared. I’m confident in my preparation and what I’ve done. I’m confident in my teammates. I’m confident in their preparation. I’m confident in the game plan and what my coaches have put together.”

Williams is still working back from the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, and while he hasn’t been ruled out, caution is expected given how much his mobility factors into his game. 

Bagent, who went 5 of 9 for 54 yards in relief before getting sacked on the final play, was unexpectedly placed in concussion protocol Tuesday with no clear return timeline. 

Coach Ben Johnson said the team has no plans to bring in another quarterback this week, framing the uncertainty as an opportunity for whoever ends up under center.

Tua Tagovailoa is good to go for Atlanta’s trip to Green Bay, and he’ll be doing so as the backup. 

The quarterback was not on the Falcons’ final injury report of the week, and head coach Kevin Stefanski indicated earlier Wednesday that Tagovailoa was trending toward serving behind Michael Penix Jr. for Thursday Night Football.

Tua Tagovailoa was actually slated to start the season opener before an oblique injury suffered during practice week sidelined him (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Tagovailoa was actually slated to start the season opener before an oblique injury suffered during practice week sidelined him, with Cooper Rush filling in for the first two games while Penix worked back from reconstructive knee surgery. 

Now healthy, Tagovailoa slots in as QB2 behind Penix, who’s set to handle starting duties in Week 3.

Carolina is placing running back Jonathon Brooks on injured reserve after he’s set to undergo surgery Wednesday for a core muscle injury, though he’s expected to return later this season. 

The Panthers said Brooks is looking at a minimum six-week recovery after injuring his groin late in Sunday’s win over Atlanta.

“It was a pretty significant groin injury, and we got multiple opinions about what’s the best course of action,” head coach Dave Canales said. “Jonathon’s gonna have surgery to repair the injury, and the timeline of return with surgical or nonsurgical was gonna be similar.”

It’s the latest setback in an injury-plagued career for Brooks, who has played just five of a possible 36 games since being drafted in 2024 due to two ACL tears — one at Texas and one as a rookie. 

With Brooks used sparingly through two games, Chuba Hubbard remains the clear starter, and Carolina is reportedly bringing in veteran Austin Ekeler to fill out the backfield behind him and A.J. Dillon.

The Jacksonville Jaguars went all in to acquire the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in the 2025 NFL Draft. New general manager James Gladstone sent the Cleveland Browns a package of picks headlined by a future first-rounder for the right to select wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter. 

The Jaguars executed this trade with the goal of making Hunter a two-way player. Gladstone even said this playmaker was capable of pushing the boundaries of football. 

“He’s a rare person,” Gladstone said last year. “He’s a rare player. But he’s also a reminder that the boundaries of the game of football we built to be challenged. We want him to be nothing more than him – because when he is, he elevates the space around him – from the football field, to the city, to the game of football itself.

“Travis Hunter is who we’ve been hunting up.”

Through nine career games, the results have been disappointing to say the least. Hunter caught 28 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown, and made 15 tackles with three passes defensed in seven games played as a rookie before an LCL injury knocked him out for the rest of the year. Through two games this season, Hunter’s usage has come under more scrutiny. He’s caught one pass for eight yards, rushed once for three yards, and made five tackles with one pass defensed.

It was believed that Hunter was going to play more cornerback this year — although the Jaguars will never walk back their original plan of him being a two-way player. Hunter has played 58.4% of snaps on defense through two weeks, and just 8.6% of offensive snaps. This has led to more questions, because why is Hunter playing such few snaps? 

There’s plenty to criticize from the Jags’ 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The secondary struggled to contain Jaylen Waddle, and the offense fell flat in the final quarter. As head coach Liam Coen evaluated the first loss of the season, he came to the conclusion that Hunter needs to be more involved on offense. 

“Any time you struggle offensively, specifically, you look at the totality of it all, and Travis is a big part of that obviously that we’re looking at continuing to find different ways to get him involved,” Coen told reporters. “You’re also looking at the other side of the ball… I thought he did a nice job throughout the course of the week, and we’re going to look at giving him some more this week.”

One has to wonder how much of Hunter’s usage, or lack thereof, has to do with him ramping up from time missed last year. After all, Hunter played more snaps in Week 2 than he did in Week 1. 

“It is a balancing act, though, right?” Coen said. “You’re trying to get into a flow, whether it’s on offense or defense. But we have corners that we have a lot of confidence in.”

While no one player or position group decided the loss, Coen can’t help but notice how the offensive production fell off a cliff in the final stanza. 

Fourth quarter

Cam Little missed a 54-yard field goal on Jacksonville’s first possession of the fourth quarter, and the Jags received just one more possession — which ended with a punt when Trevor Lawrence couldn’t connect with Brian Thomas Jr. deep down the field on third-and-11. The Broncos then went 59 yards on 10 plays, and ran out the clock.

It appears Coen views Hunter as the seasoning that can spice up the offense when they need it most. Keep an eye on his usage when the Jags host Drake Maye and the New England Patriots this Sunday. 

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night, and starting pitcher Logan Henderson tied an MLB record.

Henderson made his debut last season, but only made five starts. His rookie status is intact through this season, and he is up to 23 career starts. He missed some time this year with a back injury, but he is the Brewers’ No. 2 starter behind Jacob Misiorowski.

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Misiorowski has gotten all of the headlines, but Henderson has been just as good. He has a 2.47 ERA through 18 starts this year. After going five innings and allowing just one earned run, Henderson ried Zac Gallen‘s MLB record of starts to start a career allowing three earned runs or fewer.

That’s right, Henderson has never made a start in which he allowed more than three earned run. He has allowed exactly three earned runs only three times in his career. He has allowed one or fewer run in 13 of his first 23 starts.

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Every time he takes the mound, he is giving the Brewers a chance to win, and he will be a big part of their postseason run.

Last season, the Brewers had Freddy Peralta, but after that there rotation had serious question marks. Now, they are set up much better with Henderson, Robert Gasser and Dustin May. If Kyle Harrison can figure things out, he, Henderson and Misiorowski have the potential to be the best trio of starters in the postseason.

More MLB: Red Sox Can Still Fall To Final Wild Card Spot

Chelsea star Morgan Rogers has revealed that he admires Lionel Messi, even though Cristiano Ronaldo is his favourite. The Englishman explained that the FIFA World Cup semifinal clash changed his view of the Argentine superstar.

Speaking on Chelsea Unlocked, Rogers said that Messi was unstoppable in the FIFA World Cup clash despite being 39 years old. He could not stop thinking about how the Argentine legend would have played in his prime and said:

“Ronaldo’s my personal favourite. But I played Messi in that World Cup semifinal. He’s 39. I couldn’t believe it. So, I can’t imagine what he was like in his prime. I can imagine him in his prime being absolutely nothing you can do. Like, absolutely nothing you can do. Like, it’s impossible. Because it was borderline nothing you could do in that game, and he’s 39 and he’s just retired from international football. That’s his second-to-last game ever. So, imagine what he was doing [in his prime].” (via The Chelsea Zone)

Lionel Messi assisted twice in the FIFA World Cup semifinal as Argentina came from behind to win. Cristiano Ronaldo fan Morgan Rogers assisted England’s lone goal, scored by Anthony Gordon.

Pundit explains why he respects Cristiano Ronaldo more than Lionel Messi

Louis Saha spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi earlier this year, saying that he respects the Portugal superstar more than the Argentine. He claimed that the Al-Nassr captain likes to do things on his own, while the Inter Miami forward does not hesitate to ask for help. He said:

“That’s the problem, I think at some point he has to stop because he’s clearly a human. But yes, he’s playing like a robot. He has this quality body and his brain is not like a normal person. I don’t think that even Messi has this kind of brain because Messi understands that he can’t run as much as Cristiano. He just really knows that he will need the help of pretty much eight to nine players dedicated to his game; otherwise Messi won’t be playing this way.”

“Cristiano doesn’t ask. He doesn’t ask for help. He’s saying, ‘I’m fit enough, I’m as good, I am like 35 years old, so I’m going to score with your support or not’. So this is really a big mentality that I respect. It’s a big, big, big difference between those two. Even if they are two monsters, definitely I respect more this guy because you look at his stats – run nine-and-a-half or 10 or 11km. This is crazy numbers. He may have run 1,000 marathons now! It’s crazy.”

Cristiano Ronaldo continues to play for the national team, while Lionel Messi has announced his retirement and has his farewell game next month.