The San Francisco 49ers have their insurance policy at quarterback, having agreed a one-year deal with Sam Darnold.
San Francisco last season saw their Super Bowl hopes derailed by injuries at the game's most important position, literally running out of healthy players at quarterback in their NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.
That game saw Brock Purdy suffer a torn elbow ligament on the first offensive series for the 49ers. Josh Johnson was then concussed in the second half.
Purdy, the final pick in last year's draft, had previously improbably led the 49ers to the Conference Championship.
He won all five of his starts in the regular season after taking over from an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 to lift them to a 13-4 record and the second seed in the NFC, and he then helped San Francisco to playoff victories over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys.
Purdy last week had surgery to repair his torn ligament, giving 2021 third overall pick Trey Lance, whose season-ending ankle injury suffered in Week 2 forced the Niners to turn to Garoppolo, a chance to stake his claim for the starting job during the offseason programme.
Yet with Garoppolo departing in free agency for the Las Vegas Raiders, the 49ers needed an experienced third-stringer, and they have turned to 2018 third overall pick Darnold.
Darnold has failed to live up to his draft slot in spells with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, though he did go 4-2 as a starter for the latter in 2022.
That relative success came with Steve Wilks serving as interim head coach. Wilks has since replaced new Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans as San Francisco's defensive coordinator.
In 2022, Darnold delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 83.2 per cent of his pass attempts, 13th among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts, according to Stats Perform data.
Those are encouraging numbers, but the 49ers will hope Purdy and Lance can display the durability to ensure Darnold is not asked to replicate that level of accuracy in 2023.
Seattle’s defence dismantles the New York Giants as Seahawks win 24-3
Seattle claimed their third-straight victory in dominant fashion as the Seahawks’ defence monstered the New York Giants en route to a 24-3 win.
The Seahawks sacked Giants quarterback Daniel Jones 10 times and came away with two interceptions, including a 97-yard pick six to rookie Devon Witherspoon.
The visitors opened the scoring at the end of the first quarter, Geno Smith finding DK Metcalf in the end zone on a six-yard reception.
New York were able to cut the gap through a 55-yard field goal from Graham Gano.
But the Giants’ offence was no match for Seattle’s defence and did not look like scoring again from there.
Seattle found the end zone again just before half-time and Witherspoon’s third-quarter score ultimately sealed the 21-point victory.
Colts' Taylor to come off PUP list, could play in Week 5
The Indianapolis Colts could be getting a big part of their offence back for Sunday's game against the visiting Tennessee Titans.
The Colts will activate Jonathan Taylor from the physically unable to perform list this week, and depending how he looks in practise, he could be on the field for their next game.
Indianapolis' first practise of the week is Wednesday, and it will mark Taylor's first of the season after he was placed on the PUP list at the start of training camp while recovering from ankle surgery.
Colts coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Monday that Taylor is excited to rejoin the Colts and get back to work.
The ankle injury wasn't the only issue this offseason for Taylor, as the 2021 NFL rushing champion had been mired in a contract dispute and had requested a trade.
Taylor, the runner-up for the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, is entering the final season of his rookie deal and is scheduled to earn $4.3 million in 2023.
The fourth-year pro ran for a franchise-record 1,811 yards in 2021, but was slowed by injuries last year and was put on the PUP list earlier this summer as he recovered from ankle surgery that ended his 2022 campaign in December.
Ankle issues limited Taylor to 11 games last season, which he finished with 861 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per attempt.
Taylor averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his sensational 2021 season in which he also tied for the NFL lead with 20 total touchdowns while playing in all 17 games.
He'll be joining a 2-2 team that got No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson back in Sunday's 29-23 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams after the rookie quarterback suffered a concussion in Week 2.
Without Taylor in the fold, Zack Moss has emerged as the team's No. 1 running back, and has rushed for 280 yards with a touchdown through three games.
Damar Hamlin: NFL return after cardiac arrest ‘meant everything’
Damar Hamlin said his return to the NFL “meant everything” nine months after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
The Buffalo Bills safety collapsed during a game in Cincinnati on January 2 and had to be resuscitated before being rushed to hospital.
Hamlin was cleared to resume his career and made his first NFL appearance on Sunday in the Bills’ 48-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
He told a post-match press conference: “That moment meant everything to me.
“I think it was more about proving something to myself than anything else, showing myself that I have the courage, I have the strength, I’ve got the pride, all those words, in me.
“To go through something so dramatic and be able to come back from it and to be able to still do what I love at the highest level in the world is amazing.”
Hamlin was the last player to emerge from the tunnel prior to the match and ran the length of the field before removing his helmet and soaking up the acclaim of the crowd.
Hamlin could be in the Bills’ side next Sunday when they travel to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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