NFL Player News

Hurst (calf) won't play Sunday against the Browns.

Hurst will miss his first game of the season after sustaining the right calf injury late in the Bengals' Week 13 win over the Chiefs. The 29-year-old recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection for the calf and said he expects to return to action in a couple weeks, which suggests he may not be a lock to play in the Bengals' Week 15 game against the Buccaneers either. At least for this Sunday's contest, the Bengals are expected to turn to Mitchell Wilcox to handle most of the reps at tight end.

Njoku (knee) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Bengals, Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official site reports.

Njoku will be back in action after sitting out the Browns' Week 13 win over the Texans with the injury. He'll be playing his first game alongside quarterback Deshaun Watson, who struggled to build chemistry with any of Cleveland's pass catchers in his team debut last week.

Hopkins caught his only target for eight yards during Thursday's 17-16 win against the Raiders.

Hopkins has seen his playing time steadily decrease since peaking during Week 12's game against the Chiefs, and he took the field for only four snaps Thursday compared to Tyler Higbee's 61, suggesting that Higbee has fully recovered from a mild knee issue that he suffered a few weeks ago. Hopkins will likely continue to be used sparingly barring another injury to Higbee.

Higbee secured two of three targets for 11 yards in Thursday's 17-16 victory against the Raiders.

Fantasy managers hoping for a Higbee renaissance with Baker Mayfield taking over for starting quarterback John Wolford early in Thursday's game had to be disappointed after a second straight two-catch game. The veteran tight end has been mired in a slump for three consecutive contests now, posting a 4-25-0 receiving line over that span. With added time ahead of the Rams' Week 15 game against Green Bay, Mayfield will get more acclimated with the Rams' playbook, a potential development that could translate into a slump-busting performance for Higbee.

Gilliam (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's matchup with the Jets, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

Gilliam will miss his first contest of the year Week 14 after he suffered an ankle injury at some point over the last week or so. The fullback doesn't typically see many looks in the Bills offense, so it's unlikely that his absence will carry much of an impact. Considering he's the only fullback on the team's roster, the Bills may need to elevate someone from the practice squad or operate with one of their current running backs in that role versus New York.

Dissly (calf) was a limited participant in the Seahawks' practice Thursday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Dissly popped up with a calf issue on Seattle's injury report Wednesday, thus failing to practice for the first time this season. It's encouraging to see the 26-year-old was able to increase his activity the following day. However, his status on Friday's final injury report will provide a better outlook for his availability heading into Sunday against Carolina. Dissly has seen slightly fewer targets (33) than fellow tight end Noah Fant (46) over 12 games this season, and these two should strike a similar balance when both are available moving forward.

Okwuegbunam (illness) was a limited paticipant in practice Thursday, Ellie Kinney of the Broncos' official site reports.

Okwuegbunam's limited participation is an encouraging sign that he'll be able to overcome this ailment before Denver's final injury report Friday. The third-year tight end caught seven of 11 targets for 50 yards over the first five weeks of the season, but he's been a healthy scratch since the emergence of rookie Greg Dulcich in Week 6. However, coach Nathaniel Hackett said Thursday that Okwuegbunam could be active again for Sunday's game against the Chiefs, as he could help supplement the team's depleted receiving corps with wideout Courtland Sutton considered doubtful to play with a hamstring injury.

Njoku (knee) was a limited practice participant Thursday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

After sitting out last Sunday's 27-14 win over the Texans with the knee issue, Njoku has opened Week 14 prep with a pair of limited sessions. The Browns won't decide on whether Njoku carries a designation into this weekend's game against the Bengals until after Friday's practice, but the tight end is expected to return to the lineup Sunday, per Brad Stainbrook of 247Sports.com. If Njoku puts an end to his one-game absence this weekend, he'll be playing in his first game with new starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, who returned from his 11-game suspension last week and made his season debut against Houston.

Brown did not participate during the Browns' practice Thursday due to an illness, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Brown appears to have come down with an illness since practicing in full Wednesday, as he appeared on Cleveland's Week 14 injury report for the first time Thursday. While the nature of this ailment is still unknown, the 28-year-old will still have one more practice to improve his activity before the team must assign him a game status on Friday's final injury report. Brown played a season-high 40 offensive snaps with top tight end David Njoku (knee) sidelined against the Texans in Week 13, and it's likely he could see similarly increased usage if Njoku remains out Sunday against Cincinnati.

Smith (ankle) was present for the Vikings' practice session Thursday and was spotted jogging off to the side under the supervision of the team's training staff, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

The Vikings haven't designated Smith for return from injured reserve and are unlikely to do so before the end of the week, but the fact that the tight end was at the team facility taking part of cardio work suggests that a return to practice could soon be in the offing. Smith was able to avoid surgery after suffering a significant high-ankle sprain in the Vikings' Oct. 30 win over the Cardinals, though head coach Kevin O'Connell said that he anticipated the 24-year-old would miss 4-to-8 weeks in total while recovering from the injury. Smith is just over five weeks removed from sustaining the high-ankle sprain and looks to be tracking toward the midpoint or longer end of that timeframe. Whenever he's cleared to play, Smith will likely have to settle for a bit role on offense, as trade-deadline pickup T.J. Hockenson is poised to dominate the snaps at tight end so long as he's available.