Some will treat this week as a “dress rehearsal” for the regular season, while others will err on the side of caution and try to get to the second weekend of September as healthy as possible. It’ll be a race to the news all week long and we’ll be keeping tabs on it.
Compiled from various beat writer accounts on social media and the outlets that they write for, here are some quick notes on the quarterback situations for the Week 3 preseason games. This will be updated as the week goes along and you can follow this NFL Beat Writers list I put together on X. In some cases, I gave my opinions based on my read of the team’s situation or what happened last preseason.
Keep an eye on the NFL Preseason Betting Splits, as some action and line movement will be good indicators of news that has broken.
Update as of 11:50 a.m. PT on 8/24.
Thursday, August 27
Steelers vs. Bills – 7 p.m. ET
Prior to last week’s game, Mike McCarthy told reporters that he “wanted to max out the opportunities with both Will and Drew”. Well, those two collectively were 21-of-38 for 144 yards with two interceptions (both Will Howard) and four sacks (three for Drew Allar). I would assume that we see those two almost exclusively again. It’ll probably be Allar’s, the 2026 third-round pick, show more than anything because Howard is a long shot to be kept around, even on the practice squad. Mason Rudolph may get in for a bit, but I can’t imagine Aaron Rodgers out there.
On the Bills front, Joe Brady felt that Josh Allen did enough in last week’s joint practices with the Browns to not play in the preseason game. He was 6-of-8 in Week 1 at home against the Panthers and it wouldn’t shock me to see him get a series or two. But, it will definitely be a lot of Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele.
Patriots vs. Browns – 8 p.m. ET
The Browns officially named Deshaun Watson the starting QB on Monday and Todd Monken also came out and said that neither Watson nor Shedeur Sanders would play in the final preseason game. It is in Cleveland, so it’s probably for the best. The fans have vociferously professed their dislike for Watson and it’s not like Sanders has done much to stand out either. It will be Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green, likely fighting for a spot on the practice squad and as the emergency QB3.
Mike Vrabel lamented his team’s lack of depth this past weekend and on Monday, so that’s probably a pretty good indicator of how Thursday’s game in Cleveland is shaping up. Tommy DeVito needs the reps to be a trusted backup QB. TreVeyon Henderson left practice on Monday with some subpar field conditions causing guys to slip and slide around, so presume that we’ll see a lot of the backup skill guys as well.
49ers vs. Raiders – 8 p.m. ET
For whatever reason, Klint Kubiak keeps stringing us all along on the QB “battle” with the Raiders. Kirk Cousins has only played one series so far in the preseason. Maybe he’ll get a look here, but he’s the starter. Fernando Mendoza is 8-of-15 for 86 yards with a pick thus far, so expect him to get a good amount of work this week along with Aidan O’Connell. Missouri State product Jacob Clark hasn’t played at all. Perhaps he gets a chance here.
On the 49ers side, it remains to be seen whether or not Brock Purdy will play, as he suited up last week and played the first series, going 4-of-6. With a bunch of skill position injuries for San Fran, including George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, De’Zhaun Stribling, and others, I would think Kyle Shanahan is very cautious this week, since the depth guys are currently carrying more important roles than they otherwise would.
Rams vs. Chargers – 10 p.m. ET
Sean McVay doesn’t play his starters in the preseason and that won’t change here in a battle of roommates. It does seem like Stetson Bennett IV has the inside track on Ty Simpson to be QB2 behind Matthew Stafford, as Bennett threw 31 times last week to Simpson’s 12 pass attempts. Simpson got an extended look in Week 1 with 25 tosses to six for Bennett. I wouldn’t be shocked if we see each guy play a half here.
Justin Herbert played one drive for the Chargers last week, as Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei handled the bulk of the work. If we see Herbert this week, it’ll be for a very short period of time, especially with the offensive line injuries for the Chargers, including the loss of C Tyler Biadasz.
Friday, August 28
Commanders vs. Ravens – 6 p.m. ET
Jayden Daniels was 0-for-1 and took a sack in his only game action last week against the Lions. Athan Kaliakmanis and Sam Hartman are battling for the backup spot, at least in the interim while Marcus Mariota heals up. Both guys have been pretty efficient thus far with just five incompletions between the two of them, but the Washington offensive gameplan has been pretty vanilla to this point. My guess as of Monday morning is that Daniels doesn’t play, as Dan Quinn told reporters that joint practices will be “skewed” so that Daniels and the starters get more reps, so that’ll be the work he needs to be ready for the season.
Things seem pretty set for the Ravens. Tyler Huntley will be QB2 behind Lamar Jackson, but Joe Fagnano has gotten a ton of opportunities in the preseason and maybe that role becomes his during the regular season. Jackson hasn’t played a preseason game since 2021. I don’t know if that changes this week with Jesse Minter and Declan Doyle in charge, but I’ll assume no until proven otherwise.
Falcons vs. Dolphins – 7:00 p.m. ET
As of Monday, Kevin Stefanski said that the Falcons starters would see some time in what the team is considering a “dress rehearsal”, not only as a game, but they’re also preparing as though this is a for-real game. That said, there is no decision as to whether or not Michael Penix Jr., who has been injured most of camp, will play. I would guess no. Jack Strand and Cooper Rush were excellent last week (22-of-28, 297, 1 TD, 1 sack) and they will probably see ample workloads again.
The Dolphins have scored 10 points in two preseason games and have displayed virtually no depth in either one of those contests, so the long season is afoot for first-year head coach Jeff Hafley. Miami had 102 total yards against the Giants last week. Quinn Ewers is still trying to work his way back into practice with a groin injury. I do think Malik Willis starts and gets a series or two, but it’ll be a lot of Cam Miller and Mark Gronowski again, even if Ewers can give it a go. Neither guy has shown enough to unseat him as QB2.
Texans vs. Panthers – 7 p.m. ET
Unfortunately we won’t see Haynes King this week, but he is trending towards being available for Week 1, so we’ll see if Carolina uses this game as a chance for Kyle Trask to go out there and catch somebody’s attention, since it seems like he won’t be sticking around. Kenny Pickett was 15-of-25 last week against the Jaguars. Bryce Young did not play the Hall of Fame game, but has 11 pass attempts over the other two games. I’d expect he’s out there for a series or two before Pickett and Trask mop up in relief. I think we see less Pickett this week, so make of that what you will.
The play chart will probably look the same for the Texans here, with a series or two for CJ Stroud and then a timeshare of Davis Mills and Brett Rypien with Graham Mertz out. The Texans scored 20 points and led 20-3 in the first half against the Raiders before losing 22-20. I would guess we see Stroud lead an early scoring drive and then head to the sideline.
Giants vs. Jets – 7:30 p.m. ET
I would be surprised if Jaxson Dart plays here, since the QB position is in pretty good hands with Jameis Winston and Brandon Allen. It’s not worth getting Dart hurt and John Harbaugh really asks a lot of his players in practice, so he should have gotten the necessary work in there. I also don’t think we’ll see as much of Jameis as we saw last week, as he was 15-of-21 for 150 yards. More Allen and more Haener are what I expect to see.
Geno Smith looked good on his lone drive last week after missing a bunch of practice early in training camp. Nobody after him looked particularly great, so the QB2 battle rages on between Cade Klubnik, Bailey Zappe, and Brady Cook. It was Klubnik who came in after Smith and I’d expect that same rotation here, as he looks to be the leader for the backup gig as of now.
Buccaneers vs. Jaguars – 7:30 p.m. ET
Baker Mayfield got a little bit of work in last week against the Chiefs, but Jake Browning and Jalon Daniels combined for 25 of the team’s 29 pass attempts. Daniels looked good again, leading a fourth-quarter comeback, while Browning absorbed three sacks during his reps. My best guess is that we see a similar rotation this week, as Baker should play for a couple series and then Browning will get more live game reps after battling an injury earlier in camp.
Liam Coen spent a lot of time with Sean McVay, so it isn’t surprising that Trevor Lawrence hasn’t played yet in the preseason. My sneaking suspicion is that he gets a series or two. Nick Mullens, who has been hurt, did play last week, but went just 3-of-7, as Carter Bradley had the majority of the snaps. Joey Aguilar threw one pass and it was the biggest play of the day for Jacksonville. Aguilar and Bradley are battling for the QB3 role and I think that’ll be the focal point here for the Jags.
Saints vs. Cowboys – 8 p.m. ET
Tyler Shough hasn’t seen any preseason action yet. Based on how Zach Wilson and Spencer Rattler have looked, it probably makes sense not to put him at risk. One of them will be QB2. This week will probably lead to that decision. If Shough plays, it won’t be for long.
Dak Prescott hasn’t played a preseason game since 2019. I can’t imagine that starts now. Joe Milton does seem to have a pretty big edge over Sam Howell for the QB2 role. That’ll be decided this week, as I’d assume each guy plays a half or so.
Cardinals vs. Packers – 8 p.m. ET
Mike LaFleur faces brother Matt LaFleur here, as we aren’t likely to see many players of consequence on the Green Bay side. The teams are having joint practices this week, so that should be the time for Jacoby Brissett and Jordan Love to get all their work in. I’d expect a steady diet of Kyle McCord here for Green Bay, as it wouldn’t totally surprise me if neither Love nor Tyrod Taylor see the field.
Brissett didn’t play last week against the Cowboys, as Gardner Minshew had 23 pass attempts and Kedon Slovis had just seven. Minshew has actually thrown the ball quite a bit in the preseason with Carson Beck out. It would not surprise me if it was just Beck and Slovis this week, assuming Beck is healthy enough to go.
Seahawks vs. Chiefs – 8 p.m. ET
Every preseason game pass has been thrown by either Drew Lock or Jalen Milroe to this point and that probably won’t change this week. I do think we could see the Seahawks scoop up a released player to be the QB3, since Milroe really hasn’t looked good thus far, but that wouldn’t happen until final cuts are made.
On the KC front, Patrick Mahomes told reporters on Sunday that he wants to play on Friday night. Andy Reid may not let that happen, especially with some injuries on the offensive line. Plus, Mahomes is, of course, recovering from last year’s season-ending injury. I think Reid will let his QB get what he wants and get a series or two to get back into rhythm. But, it’ll be at most that. Justin Fields, Garrett Nussmeier, and Chris Oladokun, who didn’t play in Week 1, but played in Week 2, probably split the rest of the time.
Bengals vs. Eagles – 8 p.m. ET
I don’t think Nick Sirianni will take any chances with Jalen Hurts, but he might need the reps in new OC Sean Mannion’s scheme. Hurts was involved in last week’s joint practices with the Patriots and could maybe use the work. If not, Tanner McKee looks like QB2 here and maybe the Eagles will give Andy Dalton some extended time against his old team to try and catch somebody’s eye in need of a backup QB.
Joe Burrow got on the field in Week 1 and that’ll probably be enough for Zac Taylor. Last week, backup Joe Flacco didn’t even play, as Josh Johnson and Sean Clifford took all the snaps. My guess is that we get the exact same outcome this week.
Vikings vs. Broncos – 9 p.m. ET
Kyler Murray did not play in Week 2 after playing in Week 1 and I don’t think he’ll get trotted out there at elevation this week either. Carson Wentz has probably surpassed J.J. McCarthy as QB2, so I can’t help but wonder if McCarthy gets some extended run this week. Max Brosmer is likely to be a numbers casualty – somebody might scoop him up – but I really think this week will be about McCarthy for Kevin O’Connell.
On the Denver side, Bo Nix played a little over a quarter last week in his return to the field and was 6-of-9 with a TD pass. He might get a few snaps here, but this one likely comes down to Sam Ehlinger vs. Jarrett Stidham for the QB2 role. It’s actually a pretty big deal. Ehlinger probably has the edge right now, but Stidham has definitely been around the league a while himself.
Saturday, August 29
Lions vs. Colts – 1 p.m. ET
As usual, we won’t see the starters for the Lions. We won’t see Daniel Jones for the Colts either. Anthony Richardson Sr. probably gets the start since he started Week 1 and assumed the backup role in Week 2 behind Riley Leonard. Both guys were terrible last week, so I would anticipate a pass-heavy playbook this week so somebody can separate themselves, if possible.
Josh Dobbs didn’t do much last week through the air, but did have a 50-yard TD run on the ground. He and Luke Altmyer split time. I would expect both to play again here and Altmyer to be ticketed for the practice squad.
Bears vs. Titans – 6 p.m. ET
The NFL Preseason wraps up with this game between the Bears and Titans. Caleb Williams has mostly accomplished what he has needed to in practice, though he did get a little time last week against the Bengals and went 2-of-5 for 28 yards. If he plays this week, it’ll be in a similar capacity, with Case Keenum and Miller Moss battling for the QB3 job behind Tyson Bagent, who did not play last week and likely won’t again.
Robert Saleh takes the preseason pretty seriously, so I’d expect Cam Ward out there again. All four QB have played in both games thus far, with Will Levis seemingly given the most chances to do something and impress the coaches. He really hasn’t yet. Given that Mitchell Trubisky will be the backup, it seems like the goal is to showcase Levis in hopes that somebody will roll the dice and give up a late-round pick for him.
