FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots could be looking for yet another quarterback -- or two -- after third-stringer Jacoby Brissett injured his right thumb in Thursday night's victory over the Houston Texans.
Brissett was shown on the sidelines with the training staff having the thumb examined after 325-pound Texans defensive lineman Vince Wilfork landed on him in the third quarter of New England's 27-0 win. Brissett finished the game, completing 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards, and he also ran in a 27-yard touchdown.
After the game, Brissett did not seem to be favoring his hand at all, shaking hands with his right when other players came up to congratulate him for the victory in his first NFL start. He spoke at his locker afterward without any bandage or ice on the hand.
New England improved to 3-0 while four-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is serving his "Deflategate" suspension. Jimmy Garoppolo started the first two games but left with a right shoulder injury after being slammed to the turf by Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso in Week 2.
With just four days between games, the Patriots did not have a backup for Brissett on the depth chart on Thursday night. Receiver Julian Edelman, who played quarterback at Kent State, was expected to be available if anything happened to the rookie third-round pick. The team now has 10 days before playing Buffalo on Oct. 2 to bring in a free agent if one is needed.
Brady is eligible to return on Oct. 9, against the Cleveland Browns.
Dolphins: Foster out against Browns with groin injury
MIAMI -- Miami Dolphins running back Arian Foster has been ruled out of Sunday's game against Cleveland because of a groin injury.
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Foster's absence means second-year pro Jay Ajayi will likely make his first NFL start. Rookie Kenyan Drake is also expected to see significant action.
Dolphins running backs have netted only 82 yards in the team's first two games, both losses.
Center Mike Pouncey was ruled out Friday for the third week in a row as he recovers from a hip injury.
Raiders: 1st-round pick Joseph to make debut Sunday
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- First-round draft pick Karl Joseph's debut on defense is coming three weeks later than he had hoped and maybe a few weeks earlier than the Raiders planned.
With Oakland's pass defense still stinging after back-to-back thumpings by Drew Brees and Matt Ryan, coach Jack Del Rio is open to seeing what Joseph can do.
"I'm excited to see him play," Del Rio said Friday. "I know he's excited to get a chance to play. We plan on playing him. He's had a really good week of practice. I feel like we've had a good solid week of preparation and we're excited to go play."
Joseph has not played at all on defense this season. His 16 plays of experience have come on special teams, a notable change from the preseason and in training camp when the 14th-overall pick in this year's draft lined up with the starters.
Keith McGill, a converted cornerback who was buried on the depth chart, was the surprising starter in Oakland's season-opening win over New Orleans and against last week in the home loss to Atlanta.
Although Del Rio declined to say who would start against the Titans, Joseph and McGill split reps at practice this week in anticipation of both playing.
Jaguars: Rookie Ramsey plans to block out Smith's trash talk
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey expects an earful Sunday, a steady stream of smack talk from Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith.
The rookie insists he's ready.
"Everybody knows he's a trash-talker," Ramsey said. "He's gotten into DB's heads in the past. But you can't get in my head. I'm going to play football."
Easier said than done against Smith, a 37-year-old veteran who's been running his mouth -- and backing it up -- for 16 NFL seasons. Smith has 969 receptions for 14,015 yards and 76 touchdowns, and is widely considered one of the league's all-time entertainers and a walking sound bite.
Asked whether he's toned down his act with age, Smith said he's as insulting now as ever before.
"I'm still a dirtbag, so, no, that has not changed one bit," he said.
