The Bo Nix era in Denver will begin right away.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced Wednesday that the rookie has won the team's starting quarterback job and will be under center for the season opener at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 8.

Nix, the 12th overall pick in this year's draft, beat out veterans Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting job following a pair of impressive showings in Denver's first two preseason games. The former Oregon and Auburn standout will be the first rookie to start a Broncos season opener since Hall of Famer and franchise icon John Elway in 1983.

"He's been outstanding," Payton told reporters following Wednesday's practice.

Nix seized the starter's role with a strong preseason debut against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 11 and an even better performance against the Green Bay Packers one week later. The 24-year-old completed 15 of 21 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown against the Colts, then followed up with 80 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-9 passing against Green Bay. 

The Broncos scored points on six of seven drives led by Nix over those two games.

"The past few weeks I've felt really comfortable," Nix said. "Getting to a different defence, playing these preseason games have really helped me a lot. I think that's helped in the growth process.

"I feel really comfortable where I'm at now, and excited to get to the last week of preseason and then get to the full season."

Nix arrived in Denver as one of the most accurate and experienced quarterbacks in college football history. His 61 career starts are the most by any Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterback, and he set a new FBS record for completion percentage in a single season after connecting on 77.4 per cent of his throws with Oregon in 2023.

The 2023 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Nix also won the William Campbell trophy - considered the "Academic Heisman" - as the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service and on-field performance.

Nix was the last of six quarterbacks taken in the first 12 selections of this year's draft, and the third to be officially declared his his team's starter going into the season. Top overall choice Caleb Williams will start for the Chicago Bears in Week 1, as will No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels for the Washington Commanders.

"We feel like [this] offseason, at such an important position, we made some really good decisions," Payton said. "And we're going to have a chance to see them unfold at the season goes on."

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Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said there are "promising talks" happening with CeeDee Lamb regarding his contract extension.

Lamb is currently in the middle of a training camp holdout in a bid to earn a blockbuster new contract which has lasted nearly a month.

The wide receiver has so far skipped the Cowboys' mandatory minicamp in June, training camp, and preseason games against the Los Angeles Rams and the Las Vegas Raiders, totalling over $1million in fines.

On his current contract, Lamb is set to make just under $18million in 2024 but is seeking a deal that will put him among the NFL's highest-paid WRs.

According to reports, Dallas had made an offer to make him the second-highest paid behind Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson, but it has not closed the gap.

Asked if he was optimistic that the two parties could agree on a deal, Jones said: "Well, I think I am and when I say that it doesn't sound too promising.

"The facts are that I believe we'll come together. I don't want to speak for him. That's what I'm trying not to do. But we wouldn't have offered him what we've offered him if we didn't want him to be here."

Lamb had 135 receptions from 181 targets through the 2023 season, which ended with the Cowboys suffering a stunning wild-card defeat to the Green Bay Packers.

Both of those figures were league highs, while only the Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill (1,799 yards, 13 touchdowns) bettered his 1,749 regular season receiving yards and 12 TDs.

Although Dallas narrowly lost their first preseason game against the Rams, they beat the Raiders on Sunday, with Jones admitting he was not concerned about the amount of time Lamb had missed.

"I don't mean that to be insensitive to our fans or to CeeDee, but we're in good shape there, and we are having promising talks," Jones added.

"You say, 'Well, why do you keep talking? Why don't you do something?' Again, as in anything, it takes both of you there at the same time.

"But I believe it's got the proper amount of everything - emphasis, importance - for everybody involved here, and we'll see how it goes."

The Cowboys will begin their NFL season against the Cleveland Browns on September 8.

Brian Flores says he has grown as a coach and wished Tua Tagovailoa well one day after the Miami Dolphins quarterback called out his coaching style. 

Flores, who is now the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, expressed his regret about how he handled their relationship when he was the head coach of the Dolphins. 

In an interview with The Dan LeBatard Show on Monday, Tagovailoa described Flores as a "terrible person" during the time they spent together between 2019 and 2022. 

Tagovailoa posted career-best figures for passes attempted (560), completed (388), passing yards (4,624) and touchdown passes (29) in 2023 and was handed a franchise-record four-year, $212.4million extension off the back of an impressive fourth season with the team.

On Tuesday, Flores addressed the situation during a session with reporters, saying: "I'm genuinely, genuinely happy for the success that Tua has had and I really wish him nothing but the best. 

Flores said he's done a lot of reflecting since hearing the comments and admitted he had some faults in Miami, although he did not say anything said by Tagovailoa was untrue.

"I think part of coaching is correcting," Flores said. "I'm always going to correct. I'm always going to have a high standard.

"And I think, look, I've done a lot of reflecting on the situation, reflecting on the situation and communication."

"I think there's things that I could do better for sure, and I've grown in that way, and I've tried to apply the things that I could do better and the things that I've learned over the last two, three years.

"But I would say over the long haul, I've had a lot of great relationships over my 21-year career here in the league. Players, coaches, personnel, equipment, people in the kitchen.

"I mean really across the board, I've had a lot of great relationships. I'm going to continue to do that, but I'm also always looking to get better and involved."

Aaron Rodgers said he feels ready for the new NFL season with the New York Jets after enduring "one of the hardest training camps in the last eight years" of his career. 

Quarterback Rodgers, who is returning from an Achilles injury that forced him to miss much of 2023, was told by head coach Robert Saleh to expect a tough preseason. 

And speaking to reporters after practice on Tuesday, the 40-year-old insisted that Saleh had lived up to his word. 

"I would say the camp is much harder this year and maybe the hardest in the last seven or eight of my career," Rodgers said. 

According to Saleh, the Jets have completed 300 more practice reps than they had at this point last season as they look to end their longest ever playoff drought. 

The 45-year-old is under increasing pressure to deliver this time around after totalling a record of 18-33 in his first three seasons in charge. 

While Rodgers said there are different philosophies on the benefits and risks of a rigorous training camp, the four-time MVP said he personally enjoyed the experience.

"Some of the older players are enjoying the - to steal a coaching word - the 'callus' part of training camp, where you're grinding," Rodgers said.

"Some people believe that, although it puts more strain on you in training camp, it actually gets you more ready to play when the season starts.

"And some people believe the opposite. You know how it goes. Whatever teams are having success, people kind of look at their schedule and go, 'Let's do that.'"

The Jets conclude their preseason against the New York Giants, having won their previous such fixtures against the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers.

Rodgers has not featured during the preseason, and it is expected he will also miss out against the Giants, although Saleh has yet to confirm his plans for the 40-year-old. 

They open the new season against the San Francisco 49ers, and Rodgers said he feels ready for the new campaign after putting in extra work during the training camp. 

"I feel good about where I am with my body and what I've put together," he said.

"I feel like I've done different things throughout camp as far as the rollouts, roll out and pulling up, getting out of the pocket and making plays, going back across my body, pump-faking and extending plays and getting some yards. I feel like I've done a lot."

Justin Herbert returned to practice with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday after recovering from a foot injury, leaving head coach Jim Harbaugh delighted.

Herbert was diagnosed with a plantar fascia injury in his right foot on July 31 and has been wearing a protective boot for the last three weeks.

The Chargers remained hopeful of having Herbert available for their Week 1 clash with the Las Vegas Raiders on September 8, and the prospect of him starting Harbaugh's first game at the helm looks increasingly likely after he returned to the practice field.

Herbert did not participate in full team work on Monday but played plenty of snaps as Harbaugh put his players through seven-on-seven drills.

Asked by reporters how it felt to see Herbert return, Harbaugh – who left the University of Michigan to take the Chargers job in January – said: "It felt great.

"It felt like music should be playing, I thought I heard music, the voices of angels maybe. It felt great.

"He looked great with a capital G. No drop-off, pinpoint accuracy. He looked really good."

Herbert only missed two games through his first three seasons after being drafted sixth overall by the Chargers in 2020, but sat out the final four weeks of the 2023 season.

He broke the index finger on his throwing hand in Week 14 against the Denver Broncos, with the subsequent surgery ending his campaign.

Herbert completed 297 of 456 attempted passes (65.1%) and threw for 20 touchdowns in 2023. That latter figure was the lowest of his career, having thrown for 21 scores in 2020, 38 in 2021 and 25 in 2022.

The Washington Commanders have announced rookie Jayden Daniels will be their starting quarterback for the upcoming NFL season.

Daniels was the second-overall draft pick in April and has been training exclusively with the first team for the last three weeks.

The 23-year-old was expected to take over as the starter when he was drafted, but the Commanders wanted to give him the chance to settle into the squad during preseason.

"We knew we would get here," coach Dan Quinn said, "but we were just excited to see how we would.

"Seeing him hit all the spots, this is a rare competitor. He's just had a remarkable start to things."

Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, started the first two preseason games against the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins.

Though Washington lost both outings, Daniels completed 12-of-15 passes for 123 yards across both games. He did not throw a touchdown pass but did score a three-yard run against the Jets.

It will be the seventh consecutive year that the Commanders open the season with a different starting quarterback, but Daniels is ready to step into the role.

"They didn't want to go out there and [immediately say] hey, you're a starter," Daniels said. "I haven't earned anything.

"What I did in college was great. Now it's time for a new slate, clean slate. I have to prove it not only to myself, not only to the coaches, but to my teammates.

"If DQ [Quinn] is going to preach competition, and you've got to earn everything, man, they can't come in and just give me the job right away. So, I got to have to go earn it.

"It's just a blessing that DQ and AP [general manager Adam Peters] trust me to go out there and lead the team, lead the franchise to hopefully win some games.

"It's something I've dreamed about as a kid to experience this moment."

The Commanders will start their NFL season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 8.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has hit out at the "terrible" style of former coach Brian Flores, hailing Mike McDaniel for showing greater belief in him.

Last month, the Dolphins handed Tagovailoa a franchise-record four-year, $212.4million extension off the back of an impressive fourth season with the team.

Tagovailoa posted career-best figures for passes attempted (560), completed (388), passing yards (4,624) and touchdown passes (29) in 2023, though Miami fell at the first hurdle in the playoffs, losing 26-7 to the eventual Super Bowl LVIII champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Tagovailoa has improved season-on-season since being drafted fifth overall by Miami in 2020, with his two best campaigns coming since McDaniel replaced Flores as head coach in 2021.

The quarterback has now hit out at the way Flores – who is entering his second year as defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings – drained his confidence.

He said in an interview with The Dan LeBatard Show: "To put it in the simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don't belong, that you shouldn't be here, that you haven't earned this right... 

"Then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'dude, you are the best fit for this'... How would it make you feel, listening to one or the other?

"You hear it, no matter what it is, the good or the bad, you hear it more and more, you start to believe that. I don't care who you are. 

"You could be the president of the United States, you have a terrible person telling you things that you don't want to hear or probably shouldn't be hearing, you're going to start believing that about yourself. 

"That's what ended up happening. It was basically two years of training that out of not just me but a couple of other guys as well."

The Dolphins open their 2024 campaign at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 8 before facing the Buffalo Bills, their AFC East rivals, four days later.  

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has confirmed Gardner Minshew will open the season as the team's starting quarterback. 

Minshew, who joined the Raiders as a free agent during the offseason, has been given the nod over Aidan O'Connell for the starting spot. 

The 28-year-old nearly led the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs last year having taken over from rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson just four games into the season. 

He went 7-6 as a starter, completing 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

When asked about the decision, Pierce said that Minshew's experience and his handling of the offense ultimately gave him the edge over O'Connell. 

"A lot of things went into it," Pierce said. "It wasn't based off of [solely] last night. There are a lot of factors.

"So, we feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity to get off to a fast start, and that's what we're going with.

"We support him, our team's behind it, our staff's behind it, the organisation's behind it."

Minshew completed 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards against the Dallas Cowboys at the weekend, while O'Connell was 14 of 20 for 96 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

And while Minshew has the starting spot for now, Pierce said that he may not have it for the duration of the season. 

"I told them both just be ready," Pierce said.

"In the National Football League, you never know. Aidan is a young player that has tremendous upside and I think will be a starter at some point in this league, whether it's this year or next year.

"But he will play in games. I think Gardner's done a good job of being that older presence."

Louis Rees-Zammit is excited for the future after the former Wales wing made his home debut for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rees-Zammit, who left rugby union to try his hand in American football, had been expected to miss the Chiefs' preseason game against the Detroit Lions.

However, he overcame injury concerns to feature at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time, albeit Kansas City lost 23-24.

Rees-Zammit took a kick-off, returned a Lions kick-off for 27 yards, and spent time as a wide receiver during his home bow.

"I got to experience [the atmosphere] a little bit," he said.

"I'm excited for another game here next week and then we'll see what happens.

"I'm trying my hardest. I'm working hard in training every day to show what I can do.

"The more reps I get, the better I'll get so I'm excited to see what's going to happen next week and obviously in the future."

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo says the competition to be starting quarterback "isn't over" after Drake Maye's impressive performance against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Maye impressed in their 14-13 preseason loss on Thursday, playing four series as he finished 6-of-11 for 47 yards with a four-yard rushing touchdown.

So far, he has mainly been used as the backup option behind Jacoby Brissett during the Patriots' training camp.

The coach praised Maye's performance, though admitted the offense are yet to find their rhythm ahead of the new season.

"Stepping up into pressure, I thought he did a better job overall with using his legs and really extending plays," Mayo said on Friday.

"[The quarterbacks] have to maintain their composure and get the call to the huddle and get those guys out the huddle and be ready to go. [Maye]'s always been like that in my mind.

"I think the entire offense definitely needs to play and continue to jell, and that's what we're going to do."

The Patriots signed Brissett to a one-year contract in March, and immediately named him as a starter, with his experience proving invaluable.

He has struggled to hit his stride in preseason so far though, finishing 3-of-7 for 17 yards in three series on Thursday, including a costly end zone interception.

With only one preseason game still to play, against the Washington Commanders on August 25, Mayo plans to use both quarterbacks, giving them a chance to stake their claim on the position.

"We have three more days of training camp practices, and it's our job as coaches to evaluate, and the competition isn't over," Mayo added.

"They have to show not only themselves and the coaches [but] also their teammates.

"For me, we always talk about competition, and that's at all spots. Even if Drake beats out Jacoby, he earned that role.

"We don't really take that into consideration when he's ready to go. If he's better than Jacoby, then he'll play, and he'll start."

Dak Prescott has revealed talks over a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys are "going well", though he is in no rush to get a deal sorted before the new season.

Prescott is set to enter the final season of the four-year, $160m contract he penned in 2021 and will make $29m in 2024.

With no agreement reached on a new deal for the 31-year-old quarterback, rumours about his future have abounded this offseason. If no agreement is struck, he will hit free agency in 2025 and cost Dallas $40m against the salary cap.

The Cowboys are also yet to tie down star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who has held out on returning to practice for three weeks, totalling over $1m in fines as he seeks a new deal.

Prescott, though, is confident his own future will be resolved, though he has not put a timeframe on negotiations.

"I'm not putting that much thought into hoping it gets done now, hoping it gets done in a couple of weeks, during the season or whenever it happens," Prescott said on Thursday. 

"I just know conversations are on the right way. I enjoy being a Cowboy 1,000%, I enjoy living in Dallas, I enjoy everything about it.

"But this is a business. Conversations are going well, but I'm thankful to be where I am right now and that's here."

Prescott's 410 completions and passer rating of 105.9 in 2023 were career-best figures, while he also played all 17 regular-season games for the first time since being drafted in the fourth round in 2016.

Prescott has managed to stay largely injury-free since an ankle issue limited him to just five outings in 2020, and he puts his availability down to thorough work away from the field. 

"It's something that I do each and every day, making sure I'm staying focused on it. Not trying to miss anything," Prescott said of his fitness regimen.  

"If anything, it's just going to be maybe a rest here and there. No long-term [issues], especially with the schedule we're on. 

"When I put the cleats down and I'm done. I want it to be on my terms and not because my body said that's not enough."

Baltimore Ravens have confirmed that tight end Mark Andrews avoided injury after being involved in a car accident on Wednesday.

Andrews, who is heading into his seventh season in the NFL, was driving to the Ravens' team facility for training camp when the incident occurred. 

The 28-year-old was evaluated by the team's medical staff and did not “sustain any apparent injuries,” the team added.

After practice on Wednesday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh provided an update on Andrews while reiterating the importance of wearing seatbelts.

“Mark (Andrews) wore seatbelts,” Harbaugh said. “That was an accident that happened and it was pretty significant, I believe.

"He came out of it with nothing. Nothing at all, not a scrape.”

“I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and well wishes,” Andrews said in a statement.

“This is a great reminder about the importance of wearing seatbelts and remaining alert while driving a car.”

Andrews was already scheduled for a rest day on Wednesday and is expected back at practice in the coming days, according to the Ravens. 

The three-time Pro Bowler finished last season with 544 yards and six touchdowns in the 10 games he featured in. 

The Ravens are scheduled to host the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday in the team’s second pre-season game.

Matthew Judon has a new team to negotiate a new contract with.

The New England Patriots traded Judon to the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday for a 2025 third-round draft pick, according to multiple reports.

As one of the NFL's top edge rushers, Judon had been seeking a new contract with the Patriots.

He is due to make $6.5million this season in the final year of his current deal, and the Falcons have yet to offer him a new contract, according to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero.

Since signing that contract prior to the 2021 season, he has registered 32 sacks in 38 games for New England.

Judon, who turns 32 years old on Thursday, had a career-high 15 1/2 sacks in 17 games in 2022 to earn his fourth Pro Bowl selection, but was limited to just four games last season because of a biceps injury. Before his season ended in Week 4, however, he notched four sacks.

A fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2016, Judon has 66 1/2 sacks and 87 tackles for loss in 114 career games.

The eight-year veteran now joins an Atlanta team that went 7-10 in 2023 and is looking to contend for the NFC South crown after acquiring quarterback Kirk Cousins earlier this off-season.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss his entire rookie season after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters prior to Wednesday's joint practice with the Cleveland Browns that McCarthy, the 10th overall pick of this year's draft, required a full repair of his meniscus that will sideline him for the duration of the 2024 campaign.

McCarthy reported soreness in his knee and was held out of practice Monday, two days after the former University of Michigan star completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against the Las Vegas Raiders in his preseason debut.

"As crushed as I am for our team and the excitement we had in our building - and our fanbase felt the same way, especially after seeing him perform really well the other day at U.S. Bank Stadium - I'm the most crushed for J.J.," O'Connell said. "But, as our fans either have already come to find out or will in the future, this guy is so motivated and so dialed in.

"Everyone should just be excited about the fact that we've got our young franchise quarterback, I believe, in the building."

McCarthy's surgery all but assures, barring injury, that Sam Darnold will be the Vikings' starting quarterback for Week 1 and beyond. Minnesota signed the seventh-year veteran to a one-year, $10 million contract in March after star signal-caller Kirk Cousins' decision to sign with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.

Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft, has compiled 12,064 passing yards with 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions over 66 career games (56 starts) with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.

The 27-year-old made just one start in 2023, a 21-20 loss by the 49ers to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18 in which he completed 16 of 26 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown.

O'Connell said he expects McCarthy to be fully recovered in time for the 2025 season, when the 21-year-old will be the favourite to take over as Minnesota's starter.

"This is going to be a small bump in the road," O'Connell said. "Other quarterbacks in our league have gone through similar things early on in their journey and came back stronger and better than ever. That is not only not my expectation, I know that it's going to happen for J.J."

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is confident CeeDee Lamb will be back for the opening game of the NFL season.

Lamb is currently in the middle of a contract dispute and, as such, a three-week holdout as he waits to negotiate an extension to his current deal.

The wide receiver missed their opening pre-season game against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday, and after skipping the Cowboys' mandatory minicamp in June along with training camp, he has totalled more than $1million in fines.

And despite negotiations over a new deal still going on, Parsons is confident Lamb will be back on the field for their opener against the Cleveland Browns on September 8.

"We have our talks, but at the end of the day, me and CeeDee and all of us, we kind of know what it is," Parsons said.

"CeeDee is a part of the brotherhood whether he likes it or not. He knows he's not going nowhere.

"The business side, they going to take care of him. But obviously, we miss him. I mean, he's one of the best people you can have in a locker room, and I'm pretty sure he'll be here soon, because no doubt about it, Week 1, he will be suited up for the Dallas Cowboys."

Last week, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said there was no urgency to get Lamb's deal done, though he backtracked slightly on Sunday, saying "CeeDee is missed".

The 25-year-old was unlikely to play in the pre-season games anyway, but he has missed valuable practice time as the team gears up for the start of the new season.

However, coach Mike McCarthy says he will be smart about reintegrating Lamb into the side whenever he returns.

"You just make time to get done what you need to get done, that's how I look at CeeDee when he gets here," McCarthy said.

"We know CeeDee is always going to be in great shape and so forth. Yeah, we'll make the time, and we'll be smart about it, too, because we got to make sure we have a sound plan and once he does get back here."