Brian Flores addressed recent reports tying the Miami Dolphins to a potential trade for Deshaun Watson, telling his players and staff that Tua Tagovailoa is "our quarterback" in a brief but poignant message.

Steve Ross has not shown any interest in trading for Watson, contrary to other reports Tuesday.

The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft.

The NFLPA will open an investigation after Urban Meyer admitted that vaccination status played a role in roster cuts made by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Meyer said Tuesday that it was considered because of the more stringent COVID-19 protocols imposed on unvaccinated players who test positive or are identified as high-risk close contacts compared with the protocols for vaccinated players.

Rosters were cut to 53 players Tuesday.

"Everyone was considered," Meyer said. "That was part of the [considerations such as] production, let's start talking about this, and also is he vaccinated or not? Can I say that that was a decision maker? It was certainly in consideration."

Unvaccinated players are tested daily, and those who test positive must miss 10 days, and there is then a three-day return-to-play protocol.

The New Orleans Saints have placed Michael Thomas on the physically unable to perform list and he'll miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

Thomas has been sidelined since he underwent ankle surgery in June.

The late timing of Thomas' surgery was a point of consternation with the team. Sean Payton said at the beginning of training camp, "Obviously we would've liked that to happen earlier than later. And quite honestly, it should've."

Thomas finished with 40 catches for 438 yards in seven regular-season games last season and didn't catch his first touchdown pass until the playoffs.

The Green Bay Packers have placed David Bakhtiari on the physically unable to perform list and will miss the first six weeks of the season.

Bakhtiari, who tore the ACL in his left knee in practice on Dec. 31, would be first eligible to play on Oct. 24 against the Washington Football Team.

Bakhtiari signed a four-year, $103.5 million contract extension last November that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history at the time.

Stephon Gilmore has been placed by the New England Patriots on the Physically Unable to Perform List, which means he will miss at least the first six games of the season.

Gilmore is recovering from quad surgery at the end of last season.

The New England Patriots have released Cam Newton.

Mac Jones will begin the season as the starting quarterback for the Patriots.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded cornerback Sidney Jones to the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle sent Jacksonville a 2022 sixth-round pick in the deal.

The Seahawks also traded for cornerback John Reid from the Houston Texans recently. In that deal, they sent out a conditional seventh-rounder.

San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance has a small "chip" in a finger. Kyle Shanahan wouldn't specify which hand the injury is on.

Shanahan expects Lance to miss about seven days while the injury heals.

The 49ers open the season on Sept. 12 against the Detroit Lions.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are working to restructure the contract of Mike Evans, according to sources.

Tampa Bay wants to create more cap space.

Evans has the highest cap hit on the team at $16.637 million. The 28-year-old has three years left on a five-year, $82.5 million extension.

The latest NFL Players Association salary-cap report lists the Buccaneers with $270,339 in cap space.

The NFL Players Association has accepted the NFL's proposal to increase COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated players amid the ongoing Delta variant surge.

Increased testing was one of several tweaks the sides made Monday to their joint protocols as the regular season approaches.

Fully vaccinated players will now be tested at least once every seven days, up from once every 14 days. They will be offered the option of testing twice a week.

The NFLPA has been pushing for daily testing for all players since the start of training camp.

As of late last week, 93% of players on training camp rosters were at least partially vaccinated.