Week 2 of the preseason games are now in the books and with there being only three this year instead of the normal four, each one is that much more important for chances of making the roster and figuring out roles for players. With the never-ending news cycle that is the NFL, let’s pare down the news to the most important stories to come from this weekend and give you a jump start on your week.
Wentz Is Back, Back Again...Well Sort Of
When Carson Wentz went down with the foot injury that apparently stemmed from High School, the timeline was 5-12 weeks to get back on the field for the Colts. However, it was announced that he will be practicing in a limited fashion this week. While limited practice is just that, limited, and doesn’t usually involve much of team drills and it’s more one-on-one side work, it’s still a good sign that Wentz is getting back to some football activities in just a few weeks. If he can progress well now that he’s back on the field, he should be a lot closer to the five week part of the timeframe than the 12 weeks.
Big Ben Meets O’ Canada
A little bit of international flavor to this headline for a Steelers team getting used to a new offense. This was Ben Roethlisberger’s first time on the field in a game with Matt Canada as the Steelers’ Offensive Coordinator and vintage Big Ben made an appearance. He hit a deep pass to Diontae Johnson for a 43-yard gain and then had two nice red zone passes to rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth. When he was healthy last year, Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense was nearly unstoppable but about halfway through the season that came to a screeching halt when he went down injured. In what is likely his last season, the aging veteran looks to be refreshed and ready for another solid year under center.
A Bridge Over Troubled Water
There’s been trouble finding a consistent starting quarterback in Denver for a couple of seasons now and heading into this season it looked like that might be the case again in 2021. However, in Week 2 against Seattle, Teddy Bridgewater got the start and for his time in the game he looked like he was trying to land the kill shot in the quarterback battle. He showed good rapport with all of his weapons and was accurate and decisive with his attempts. The lack of a deep ball as one of his tools isn’t necessarily a downside for the Broncos with the precise route running of Jeudy and the slant ability of K.J. Hamler as long as Bridgewater is productive in moving the offense.
All Quiet On The Western Front
By now we should know that Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers can keep tight lips as well as anyone in the league as we saw with who they were taking at number three in the first round back in April. Now the quiet is coming about who is going to be their starting QB for Week 1 of the regular season between Jimmy Garappolo or Trey Lance. So far they’ve given the former just two possessions combined in the preseason games and the latter has gotten far more run, but let’s face it a rookie clearly needs more time on the field than a vet who’s as good in this offense as Jimmy G is. It’s hard to imagine them going with Lance right away but Lance’s time on the sideline might not be all that long either as San Fran could use the first few games as a showcase for trade talks to ship Jimmy G out of town and get something in return for him.