Friday camp preview: Mariota gets his first game action and more
Buffalo Bills: The Bills will open their preseason Friday night against the Carolina Panthers. Expect Matt Cassel to start at quarterback and Tyrod Taylor to enter the game after Cassel. Defensive tackle Kyle Williams (quad), guard Richie Incognito (ankle) and running back Fred Jackson (hamstring) are among players who most likely won't play due to injuries. -- Mike Rodak
Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins have the day off following their preseason-opening loss in Chicago. Linebackers Chris McCain (ankle), Jordan Tripp (leg) and Koa Misi (calf) all need the extra time to nurse injuries. -- James Walker
New England Patriots: Following the preseason opener against the Packers, there will be plenty of analyzing the work of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in New England -- both internally and externally. Garoppolo completed 20 of 30 passes for 159 yards and an interception and was sacked seven times. With the possibility that Tom Brady is out for the first four games of the season, Thursday night provided a glimpse of sorts at what life might look like for the first quarter of the schedule. -- Mike Reiss
New York Jets: Coming off a sloppy loss in the preseason opener, the Jets have a day off to ponder roster decisions. The biggest: whether to pursue a veteran backup quarterback or give rookie Bryce Petty another chance to challenge for the No. 2 job. He struggled in three quarters of relief duty in Detroit, completing 10 of 18 passes for just 50 yards. -- Rich Cimini
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore returns to the field Friday for a light workout, a day after opening up its preseason against the Saints. Training camp is winding down for the Ravens. The team only has five more camp days at its Owings Mills headquarters. -- Jamison Hensley
Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals will be loading up backups with plenty of reps in Friday's preseason opener against the Giants. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther's eyes will be most drawn to the ends of plays. Since the Bengals don't tackle in practices, he wants to see how well his defenders flow to the football and execute proper technique while bringing down players for the first time. Offensive coaches, meanwhile, want to see quarterbacks execute a fluid rhythm all night. Injured this week, it's still unclear if AJ McCarron will get the opportunity to showcase that. -- Coley Harvey
Cleveland Browns: The Browns have a day off following their preseason opener against Washington on Thursday night. Coach Mike Pettine addresses what he learned from the game in a conference call, but players will not return to the practice field until Saturday, when they will have a light workout. -- Pat McManamon
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers say every healthy player will participate in Friday night's matchup with Jacksonville, so this is the first real glimpse of the first-team offense in live action since hitting is minimal in practices. Even if only for one series, fans will get a feel for the Steelers' passing-game tendencies and the creative ways they plan on using Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. This is a win-win for viewers and the team. -- Jeremy Fowler
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans: Texans center Ben Jones' big scene in "Hard Knocks" featured him telling Bill O'Brien and a teammate about the time he threw up on a ball before snapping it. Jones, though, is more than just a goofy presence for the Texans. He's transitioning into being the team's starting center, a position he played before he entered the NFL. "That's something he's comfortable doing," O'Brien said. "He likes being the captain of the ship up front as far as making the calls and things like that." -- Tania Ganguli
Indianapolis Colts: If recent history is any indication, you likely won't see much of Colts receiver Andre Johnson in Sunday's preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson said he usually gets his most extensive playing time in the second and third preseason games. "Of course I'm on a different team now, so now we just see what happens," Johnson said. "But I'm prepared either way." -- Mike Wells
Jacksonville Jaguars: Tonight will be the first game test of QB Blake Bortles' new mechanics. He shortened his windup and lengthened his follow-through, and those changes were done to help increase his accuracy (58.9 completion percentage). He has looked better in camp, but it'll be interesting to see how he fares against the Steelers' defense in a live situation. -- Mike DiRocco
Tennessee Titans: Is it real? Through two weeks of training camp, Marcus Mariota has been solid, playing with confidence and poise and making mostly smart decisions. Good or bad, we'll probably overreact to his preseason debut Friday night at the Georgia Dome. But a good showing can help validate the work he has done in practice, which has all been against a 3-4 defense. His first test comes against Atlanta's 4-3. -- Paul Kuharsky
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos: Friday night's preseason opener in Seattle will be a chance for backup quarterback Brock Osweiler to show his progress. Unless the Broncos have a surprising change of heart, Peyton Manning is not expected to play so Osweiler will get significant time with some of the regulars on offense. The Broncos want to see him show some pocket awareness and the ability to get the ball to the right people against coverages. -- Jeff Legwold
Kansas City Chiefs: Before traveling to Arizona for Saturday night's preseason opener against the Cardinals, the Chiefs will hold their usual day-before-game situational workout. The Chiefs will run through various game scenarios to make sure they have the proper personnel on the field. -- Adam Teicher
Oakland Raiders: The Raiders are playing their first preseason game at home against St. Louis. While starting quarterback Derek Carr will likely play just a drive or two, the focus will be on backups Christian Ponder and Matt McGloin, who have struggled in training camp. Their play will be closely watched Friday night. -- Bill Williamson
San Diego Chargers: The Bolts escaped Thursday's win over the Cowboys relatively unscathed. However, head coach Mike McCoy hopes for good news on projected starting right guard Johnnie Troutman, who left the first half with a right arm injury. The Chargers are preparing D.J. Fluker to play right guard if Troutman is unavailable. -- Eric D. Williams
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys: The players are off following Thursday's preseason opener against the San Diego Chargers, but when they get back to practice on Saturday, running back Darren McFadden is expected to make his debut. McFadden has been on the physically unable to perform list since camp started because of a hamstring strain. He quickly needs to show he can play a role for the Cowboys this year and avoid a future hamstring issue. -- Todd Archer
New York Giants: The Giants will open their preseason schedule Friday night in Cincinnati. Having recovered from the hip-flexor injury that cost him some practice time last week, rookie left tackle Ereck Flowers has been cleared to play in the game. He'll get his first real test as Eli Manning's blindside protector against a fearsome Bengals front that -- unlike the Giants' defense in practice -- is allowed to hit the quarterback. -- Dan Graziano
Philadelphia Eagles: With two days left before the Eagles open the preseason against Indianapolis, expect a shorter, lighter practice Friday. That might allow some of the players who have missed recent practices to get back on the field. The next full practice is set for Tuesday. -- Phil Sheridan
Washington Redskins: The Redskins have the day off after playing their preseason opener at Cleveland on Thursday night. One aspect that will be pivotal to the defense before the season opener will be communication, especially in the secondary. It has been an issue early in camp because of several injuries to starters; even though they're experienced, they haven't played a lot together and still must learn one another's games. -- John Keim
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears: Players have the day off, but head coach John Fox and his staff anticipate spending a good chunk of Friday grading film and finalizing their evaluations of the preseason opener against Miami. The plan is for the club to reconvene in Bourbonnais, Illinois, on Saturday and break camp on Sunday. The Bears return to Halas Hall early next week before holding a pair of joint practices with the Colts in Indianapolis. -- Jeff Dickerson
Detroit Lions: The Lions will have a late-afternoon practice Friday following Thursday night's preseason opener. If it follows Jim Caldwell's trend from last year, it could be a short walkthrough before a likely longer practice Saturday. -- Michael Rothstein
Green Bay Packers: Coach Mike McCarthy and his staff will spend Friday reviewing the film from Thursday's preseason opener in New England. Players will be off, except those needing medical treatment, before practice resumes on Saturday afternoon. -- Rob Demovsky
Minnesota Vikings: After breaking training camp on Thursday, the Vikings will have Friday off before their second preseason game on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at TCF Bank Stadium. -- Ben Goessling
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons have their exhibition opener on Friday against the Titans and then follow with a day off and a closed walkthrough before they get back to practice on Monday morning. We'll see by then if running back Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman have made any progress from their hamstring strains. Coach Dan Quinn said the next step with the duo would be individual drills. The goal, of course, is to have both ready for the Sept. 14 opener against Philadelphia. -- Vaughn McClure
Carolina Panthers: The Panthers play their preseason opener in Buffalo on Friday night. The focus will be on the offensive line, specifically how left tackle Michael Oher does against a very good Buffalo defensive front. Also keep an eye on the wide receivers: Carolina has a logjam of seven players fighting for the final five to six spots behind Kelvin Benjamin. -- David Newton
New Orleans Saints: The Saints will need Friday's off-day to heal up after an ugly start to the preseason in Baltimore on Thursday night. Cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Delvin Breaux and linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Ramon Humber were among those who left with injuries. Browner's is the most concerning since he's so important to the defense. He was carted from the sideline to the locker room after trying to shake off a hit to his knee/shin area from a teammate's helmet. -- Mike Triplett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs won't practice Friday because they'll be traveling to Minneapolis for Saturday night's preseason opener with the Vikings. Two players who will be under heavy scrutiny in that game will be rookie offensive linemen Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet. The Bucs want to start Smith at left tackle and Marpet at right guard this season, but the team needs to make sure they're ready for the challenge of protecting rookie quarterback Jameis Winston. -- Pat Yasinskas
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals will take a day off Friday before their preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. It will give quarterback Carson Palmer another day of rest; he had another scheduled day off on Thursday. Coach Bruce Arians has already ruled 11 players out of the game, so Friday will give the rest of the banged-up Cards more time to recover. -- Josh Weinfuss
St. Louis Rams: The Rams open the preseason Friday night in Oakland. Quarterback Nick Foles is only expected to play a series or two but will offer at least a sneak preview of what the Rams' revamped offense will look like in 2015. -- Nick Wagoner
San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers are off, traveling to Houston for their exhibition opener against the Texans on Saturday night. Friday will be spent nursing injuries, studying playbooks and divvying up snap counts for the fringe players. -- Paul Gutierrez
Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks will open the preseason at home against Denver, and they'll do so with a skeleton crew in their secondary. No Earl Thomas, no Kam Chancellor, no Jeremy Lane and likely no Richard Sherman. Good thing for the young backups who will be playing for Seattle, the Broncos are expected to sit Peyton Manning as well as top receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Marshawn Lynch usually doesn't do much in the preseason, and it should be a short night for Russell Wilson as there's no sense in exposing him behind an unsettled offensive line. -- Brady Henderson
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