Miami Dolphins backup offensive lineman Andrew Meyer will be sidelined for “weeks,” coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday.

The nature of Meyer’s injury was not disclosed.

Meyer is listed as the backup center on the depth chart the team released Wednesday.

“He’s had a great camp, really stepped his game, and I’m very impressed with his play,” McDaniel told reporters. “He will be out weeks, but he’s built a strong foundation as one of the top performers if you want to talk about growth of game. One of the top guys from year one to year two that has made tremendous strides.”

The Dolphins signed Meyer as an undrafted free agent in 2024 after a standout college career at UTEP. He didn’t see any action for Miami last season.

The Dolphins also are currently without starting right tackle Austin Jackson (lower leg) and backup guard Liam Eichenberg (knee).

–Field Level Media

Aaron Rodgers rarely participates in preseason games, but the first-year Pittsburgh quarterback is willing to step up if Steelers coach Mike Tomlin asks.

Pittsburgh opens its preseason schedule at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, and Rodgers said he expects to have “an interesting conversation” with Tomlin regarding his reps in the matchup.

“I don’t think it’s in the plan for me to play this week,” Rodgers said, “but whatever Mike wants to do, I’m fully on board.”

The NFL’s oldest active player, Rodgers, 41, appeared in an exhibition game for the New York Jets two years ago. But you would have to go back to 2018 to find his previous performance in a game that did not count.

Pittsburgh has four quarterbacks on its depth chart, with Mason Rudolph backing up Rodgers, who ranks fifth and seventh in career passing touchdowns and yards, respectively, and signed a one-year deal in June.

Rookie Will Howard is listed as the third-string QB, although the national champion from Ohio State will not be available on Saturday with a hand injury after smacking it against a helmet in Tuesday’s practice. Skylar Thompson is QB4 on the depth chart.

While Rodgers said he’s “totally on board” with playing preseason reps if Tomlin requests him to, he told 93.7 The Fan that “preseason football is not necessarily real football, because defenses don’t really do a lot.”

For his part, Tomlin was non-committal about Rodgers’ participation in the exhibition opener.

“I can’t see past Wednesday at this juncture,” Tomlin told reporters. “At this stage of development, Saturday is a long way away. Seriously, we’re just trying to have good days.”

–Field Level Media

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel may be 15 years removed from his playing days, but that didn’t stop the former linebacker from getting involved in a scrum on Wednesday.

During a joint practice with the Washington Commanders in Foxborough, Mass., the first-year Patriots coach jumped into a pile of players and came away with a bloodied cheek.

The scrum occurred after New England rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson went to block a blitzing Commander, which quickly escalated into multiple players piling up on the field.

Vrabel, who turns 50 on Aug. 14, later needed a bag of ice on his right cheek, but his actions drew praise from Patriots players.

“That’s what we’re trying to build and it starts with the head coach — intensity, bringing it every day, taking no crap when we’re out there on the field,” New England quarterback Drake Maye said. “The mentality, I like it. That’s what you want.”

Maye added that the Patriots will review the film of Vrabel getting involved in the squabble, which was quickly de-escalated. Washington and New England are set to open their preseason schedules against each other on Friday.

–Field Level Media

ESPN will remain the home of the NFL draft through 2030, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday.

ESPN’s draft rights had expired after the 2025 event in Green Bay.

The extension came in the wake of this week’s news that ESPN is selling a 10 percent equity stake to the NFL.

The NFL confirmed a “multi-year extension” on Wednesday but did not provide a specific end date.

The year 2030 is significant as it will mark the 50th edition of the draft on ESPN, which launched in 1979 and began broadcasting the event the following year.

Starting with the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Disney+ and Hulu will also begin streaming draft coverage.

–Field Level Media

NFL players no longer need to raise a stink about the use of smelling salts.

After the league issued a memo Tuesday announcing that clubs could no longer provide ammonia to players, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and others decried the ruling.

The NFL clarified the policy on Wednesday, telling the NFL Players Association that players could still use smelling salts that they supply themselves, ESPN reported.

Per the report, the union reported to its membership, “We were not notified of this club policy change before the (Tuesday) memo was sent out. To clarify, this policy does not prohibit player use of these substances, but rather it restricts clubs from providing or supplying them in any form. The NFL has confirmed this to us.”

Kittle had interrupted an NFL Network interview at training camp on Tuesday to “air a grievance” about the policy.

“Our team had a memo today that smelling salts and ammonia packets were made illegal in the NFL, and I’ve been distraught all day,” said Kittle, who added that he uses the substances on “every drive.”

The NFL wrote in its memo to teams, per ESPN, “In 2024, the FDA issued a warning to companies that produce commercially available ammonia inhalants (AIs), as well as to consumers about the purchase and use of AIs, regarding the lack of evidence supporting the safety or efficacy of AIs marketed for improving mental alertness or boosting energy. The FDA noted potential negative effects from AI use. AIs also have the potential to mask certain neurological signs and symptoms, including some potential signs of concussion.”

Kittle, 31, is far from the only NFL player who regularly uses smelling salts, and athletes in other sports use it as well, including ice hockey.

The six-time Pro Bowler said he has always used them for a boost of energy, joking that the change made him consider hanging up his cleats.

“I considered retirement,” Kittle said. “We have got to figure out a middle ground here, guys. Somebody help me out. Somebody come up with a good idea. That’s all I had to get out there. Get that off my chest.”

–Field Level Media

Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders will start the preseason opener Friday when the Cleveland Browns meet the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.

Coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the move on Wednesday.

The Browns have five quarterbacks in camp, but only two — Sanders and newly signed Tyler Huntley — are expected to play against the Panthers.

Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel are nursing hamstring injuries, and Stefanski and staff already know what 40-year-old Joe Flacco can do.

Stefanski said a number of veterans are unlikely to take the field.

“It’s a great opportunity for all of our young players in that football game,” he said.

The Browns selected Gabriel, 24, in the third round of the draft from Oregon and Sanders, 23, in the fifth round from Colorado. Sanders, who played for his father, Deion Sanders, in college, had been considered a first-round talent.

Huntley, 27, started five games last season with the Miami Dolphins in place of an injured Tua Tagovailoa. He had a 2-3 record, completing 86 of 133 pass attempts for 829 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

–Field Level Media

Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn did not practice Wednesday after sustaining a slight injury in a car accident earlier in the morning.

He was on his way to training camp when the accident occurred at the corner of Mint and Morehead streets, just a mile from the team’s training facility and in the shadows of their home field, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Head coach Dave Canales said Horn required “a few stitches in his left thumb area.”

“I’m glad that Jaycee was OK,” Canales said. “He’s day to day right now. We’re just going to kind of evaluate it. It doesn’t seem like anything else happened.”

Horn watched from the field as the team took part in a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns and won’t play in the preseason opener between the two teams on Friday in Charlotte. He will be able to participate in some areas of practice, such as running, while the thumb heals, Canales said.

The Panthers said Horn was traveling alone and that no one involved in the accident was transported by emergency medical personnel due to injury. Team medical staff evaluated Horn’s condition instead.

Horn took to social media early Wednesday afternoon to say he was OK.

“I’m straight ! Nun major thank god,” he posted to X, followed by two emojis of praying hands.

Horn, 25, is entering his fifth season with the Panthers, who selected him with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He played a career-high 15 games (all starts) last season and was named to the Pro Bowl. He had one interception, 13 passes defensed, two sacks and 68 tackles.

He signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension with the Panthers in March.

–Field Level Media

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard broke the pinky finger on his throwing hand and will miss the team’s preseason opener on Saturday at Jacksonville, coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday.

Howard is listed as week-to-week, according to the coach.

“He’s looking at his options,” Tomlin said. “I’ll have more information when it’s definitive, but he’s certainly out this week. It appears to be non-surgical, and so we’ll see.”

The rookie left practice early Tuesday after sustaining the right hand injury, which is believed to have occurred as he took the ball from the center at training camp in Latrobe, Pa.

Howard had hoped to compete with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson for the backup job to Aaron Rodgers.

Now, his preseason learning is likely to come by watching veterans Rodgers and Rudolph and not through getting preseason reps. Howard, 23, was expected to get a long look against the Jaguars.

Pittsburgh selected Howard in the sixth round of the April draft out of Ohio State, where he led the Buckeyes to a national championship in his lone season at the school.

In four seasons at Kansas State and one at Ohio State, Howard threw for 9,796 yards, 83 touchdowns and 35 interceptions, including 4,010 yards, 35 TDs and 10 picks in 16 games last year.

–Field Level Media

ESPN and the National Football League on Tuesday formally announced an agreement in which ESPN will acquire NFL Network, the linear NFL RedZone Channel and NFL Fantasy in exchange for a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN.

The deal, pending final approval by NFL owners and other conditions, will bring major NFL media properties under the Disney-owned network and expand ESPN’s football offerings across both traditional and streaming platforms.

“Since its launch in 2003, NFL Network has provided millions of fans unprecedented access to the sport they love,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Whether it was debuting Thursday Night Football, televising the Combine, or telling incredible football stories through original shows and breaking news, NFL Network has delivered. The Network’s sale to ESPN will build on this remarkable legacy, providing more NFL football for more fans in new and innovative ways.”

Under the agreement, NFL Network and RedZone will be integrated into ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service while remaining available via cable and satellite. NFL Fantasy would merge with ESPN Fantasy, creating the official season-long fantasy platform of the league.

As part of a second agreement between the sides, ESPN will also gain rights to license three additional NFL games per season, while four games will shift from ESPN to NFL Network.

“This is an exciting day for sports fans,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “By combining these NFL media assets with ESPN’s reach and innovation, we’re creating a premier destination for football fans. Together, ESPN and the NFL are redefining how fans engage with the game–anytime, anywhere. This deal helps fuel ESPN’s digital future, laying the foundation for an even more robust offering as we prepare to launch our new direct-to-consumer service.”

The NFL will retain ownership of key properties including NFL Films, NFL+, NFL.com and the NFL Podcast Network, and will continue producing and distributing the digital version of RedZone independently.

–Field Level Media