National Football League

The Latest: Shaun Hill starts for Minnesota over Bradford

Published Sep. 11, 2016 2:34 p.m. ET

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The Latest on Week 1 of the NFL season (all times Eastern):

1:30 p.m.

Shaun Hill is starting for the Minnesota Vikings with Sam Bradford, their pricy late addition at quarterback, backing him up in their opener against Tennessee.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer did his best to hide his decision on who would replace the injured Teddy Bridgewater as his starter, and Minnesota did not announce anything before the game.

Finally, the decision to go with the 36-year-old Hill became clear when the quarterback walked onto the field with 10:26 left in the first quarter of Minnesota's opener at Tennessee. Hill is in his 15th NFL season, and this is his first start since 2014 when he was with the Rams in St. Louis.

Hill has been with the Vikings and knows the offense very well. The Vikings traded away their 2017 first-round draft pick and another pick Sept. 3 to acquire Bradford from Philadelphia after Bridgewater's season was ended by a dislocated knee in practice last week.

- Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee.

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1:20 p.m.

The Carson Wentz era is underway in a big way in Philadelphia. The No. 2 overall draft pick threw a touchdown pass on the opening drive against the Cleveland Browns.

Eagles fans were pumped for Wentz's debut and it was easy to spot plenty of fans tailgating wearing the QB's No. 11 jersey.

Fans booed when Jordan Matthews dropped Wentz's first pass attempt on the opening drive. His second pass turned into a fantastic one-handed grab by tight end Zach Ertz for a 14-yard gain. Wentz capped the drive with a 19-yard TD pass to Matthews.

Wentz threw 24 passes in the preseason before he injured his ribs and missed the last three games. Still, he was elevated to No. 1 after the Eagles traded Sam Bradford to Minnesota.

- Dan Gelston in Philadelphia.

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1:15 p.m.

Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters held his black-gloved fist aloft in a salute reminiscent of Tommie Smith at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics during the national anthem before Sunday's season-opener against the San Diego Chargers.

Peters did stand with his left arm linked with the rest of his teammates as they lined up along the sideline during country music singer Trace Adkins's rendition of the anthem.

The Chiefs said in a statement that they had ''thoughtful discussions as a group'' about what to do for the anthem in light of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's protests. The ultimately decided to lock arms in a sign of solidarity, though the statement did not address Peters' actions.

- Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Missouri.

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1:10 p.m.

At MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey - just across the Hudson River from the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, several Jets players wore 9/11 memorial T-shirts with the twin towers printed on them during warmups.

Shortly before kickoff, the Jets played an emotional, 9-minute video in the stadium featuring members of the 2001 team and their memories of 9/11.

Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga lead the entire team out of tunnel carrying American flag. Moments later, Jets safety Rontez Miles did the same to huge cheers from the MetLife Stadium crowd. Each member of the Jets' starting offense was then introduced, with players such as Ryan Fitzpatrick and Nick Mangold running out holding small flags.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was an honorary captain, along with representatives from New York fire and police and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Tower Foundation. Former wide receivers Wayne Chrebet and Laveranues Coles and linebacker Marvin Jones, members of the Jets' 2001 team, were also at midfield for the pregame coin toss.

The team also held a pregame tribute to remember the victims. About 200 members of Tuesday's Children, an organization that supports youth, families and communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss held a full-field American flag.

Broadway actress Heather Headley sand the national anthem, with every member of both teams standing on the sidelines.

Players are wearing commemorative helmet stickers, and coaches have 9/11 lapel pins on their shirts.

- Dennis Waszak Jr. in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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1:10 p.m.

Vice President Joe Biden joined 120 9/11 first responders on the sidelines during the national anthem before the Philadelphia Eagles game.

Biden helped hold the flag that was the size of the field. Eagles coach Doug Pederson stood next to Biden while a trumpeter player the anthem.

There was a brief video message from President Barack Obama and the Eagles crowd chanted ''U-S-A!'' at the end of the anthem.

None of the Eagles or Cleveland Browns appeared to kneel during the anthem.

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1 p.m.

The ''thrill'' is gone? Saints coach Sean Payton seems to think so. He scratched running back C.J. Spiller for Sunday's regular season opener against the Oakland Raiders.

Until Payton addresses the move after the game, it's not clear whether Spiller's status is performance-related, but indications are that it very well could be. He was not listed on the injury report this week. He also could be seen in black Saints warm-ups on the field, holding a football and looking on while teammates went through pre-game routines in uniform about 45 minutes before kickoff.

Spiller, who has gone by the nickname ''Thriller'' since starring at Clemson, was one of the Saints' high-profile free agent acquisitions in 2015, when he left Buffalo for a four-year, $16 million contract with New Orleans.

The Saints hoped his versatility in the passing game and his open field speed would make him the type of target that quarterback Drew Brees often exploited when Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles were Saints.

But Spiller needed arthroscopic knee surgery last preseason and has yet to live up to expectations. In 2015, he appeared in 13 games and finished the season with 112 yards rushing and 239 yards receiving, his lone highlight being a late-game, 80-yard touchdown catch in a victory over Dallas.

Spiller's best NFL season was 2012, his third as a pro, when he had 1,244 yards rushing and 459 yards receiving.

- Brett Martel in New Orleans.

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12:40 p.m.

The NFL has already ruled at least one 9/11 tribute out of bounds on opening weekend.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Avery Williamson has been told to shelve a pair of cleats he planned to wear to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

According to The Tennessean , Williamson was informed by the league he would be fined for a uniform violation if he wore the shoes. New York Giants receivers Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz are expected to wear similar shoes. Other players, including Atlanta's Julio Jones, already wore similar cleats during warms-ups.

''I don't want to draw negative attention, so I'm just going to focus on playing the game,'' the newspaper quoted Williamson saying. ''Once I heard from them, I didn't even try to argue anything. I just left it alone.''

Williamson's cleats were to be painted red, white, and blue and emblazoned with ''9-11-01'' and ''Never Forget'' on each shoe. Williamson will auction them off to benefit Operation Warrior Wishes.

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12:30 p.m.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, is missing his first game in seven seasons.

Alualu was a healthy scratch in the team's season opener against Green Bay. The Jaguars went with rookie Sheldon Day instead of Alualu against the Packers, opting for a better pass rusher instead of a 300-pound run-stopper.

So it ended Alualu's streak of consecutive games played at 96, which was tied for the third-longest in franchise history. Long-snapper Joe Zelenka holds the team mark with 128 straight games played.

- Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida.

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12:25 p.m.

Left behind by the team bus, two members of the Buffalo Bills opted to take Uber to the stadium for the opener against the Ravens.

Linebacker Jerry Hughes posted a video on Instagram showing him and linebacker Zach Brown in a car, supposedly en route to M&T Bank Stadium.

A Bills official said the two players could have waited for a second team bus leaving from the hotel.

- David Ginsburg in Baltimore.

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12:20 p.m.

With Jimmy Garoppolo starting for the Patriots, Carson Wentz behind center for the Eagles and Shaun Hill or Sam Bradford - who really knows? - throwing passes for Minnesota, the first week of the NFL season will play out Sunday with plenty of uncertainty about what to expect.

Other players expected to be absent in Week 1 include Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, while some are returning from injury, including Green Bay wideout Jordy Nelson and Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

The early games include: Tampa Bay at Atlanta, Minnesota at Tennessee, Cleveland at Philadelphia, Cincinnati at New York Jets, Oakland at New Orleans, San Diego at Kansas City, Buffalo at Baltimore, Chicago at Houston and Green Bay at Jacksonville.

Games expected to start after 4 p.m. Eastern include: Miami at Seattle, New York Giants at Dallas and Detroit at Indianapolis, with New England playing Arizona on Sunday night.

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12:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay made three late additions to its roster count. Wide receiver Cecil Shorts, running back Peyton Barber and linebacker Josh Keyes, all added this week, are on the active roster for Sunday's opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Shorts, who also played for new Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter in Jacksonville, was signed following his release last week from the Texans. Shorts' experience was attractive to Tampa Bay, which lacked proven backups to starters Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans.

- Charles Odum in Atlanta.

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