NFL Player News

Asiasi (quadriceps) has been ruled out for Sunday's season opener against the Steelers, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Asiasi didn't practice all week, so it's not surprising to see him ruled out. The 2020 third-round pick was slated to be the Bengals' fourth tight end, so his absence shouldn't impact Cincinnati's offense.

Tonyan (knee) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game in Minnesota, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

Tonyan suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Week 8 last season, missing the rest of what had been a disappointing campaign to that point (18-204-2 on 29 targets). He has a 52-586-11 receiving line on his resume from 2020, and with Davante Adams out of town and Allen Lazard (ankle) doubtful for Week 1, Tonyan is set up to be among Aaron Rodgers' favored pass catchers to begin this year.

Ricci practiced at full capacity Friday and carries no injury designation ahead of Carolina's Week 1 matchup versus Cleveland, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

Ricci has been dealing with a hip injury he suffered during the Panthers' preseason finale, but he appears to have put that behind him. The NFL sophomore from Western Michigan will likely operate primarily on special teams, but he should see some snaps as a lead blocker for Christian McCaffrey or Chuba Hubbard as well.

Okwuegbunam (lower body) wasn't listed on Thursday's injury report.

Okwuegbunam dealt with some tightness last week, but that evidently has cleared up. With Noah Fant now in Seattle and rookie third-round pick Greg Dulcich starting the season on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury, Okwuegbunam will open the season Monday against Seattle as the top tight end in Denver's new-look, Russell Wilson-led offense.

Turner (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday's season opener against the Jaguars, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Turner was limited at practice all week and is listed as questionable for Week 1. Fellow tight end Logan Thomas (knee) is also questionable, so John Bates and Armani Rogers could be in store for major roles against Jacksonville.

Thomas (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Jacksonville, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Thomas missed all of training camp while finishing up his rehab from ACL surgery in December, but he seems to have progressed quickly since being activated from the PUP list Aug. 22. It nonetheless seems wise to treat him as truly questionable ahead of a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday, especially given that he managed only limited practices Wednesday and Thursday. If he does play, the 31-year-old tight end likely will share snaps with John Bates rather than handling his three-down role of years past. Thomas might be able to regain that type of role eventually, but the short-term fantasy outlook carries far more downside risk than upside.

Ertz (calf) is participating in the open portion of Friday's practice, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

It's a good sign for Ertz after he was a limited participant Wednesday and didn't practice Thursday. He's likely a limited participant again, and we'll know for sure Friday afternoon when the final injury report comes out.

Knox caught one of two targets for five yards in Buffalo's season-opening win over the Rams on Thursday.

This is a disappointing performance given the Bills scored four offensive touchdowns and Josh Allen completed 26 passes, but Allen was hot Thursday and was able to find his wideouts all night long, reducing the necessity for a big target like Knox to move the chains. There will be better days than this for sure, as the newly extended tight end ($53.6 million) will be plenty involved when opposing defenses choose to show a different look than the Rams did Thursday.

Higbee secured five of 11 targets for 39 yards in the Rams' 31-10 loss to the Bills on Thursday night.

Higbee ended up second in targets behind Cooper Kupp on a night when Matthew Stafford was forced to often get rid of the ball quickly due to constant pressure. The veteran tight end could potentially play an even bigger role than he did during a 2021 season where he accrued the second-highest reception (61) and receiving yardage (560) totals of his career, as the departures of Robert Woods (knee) and Odell Beckham (knee) should open up some additional targets in the air attack despite the offseason acquisition of Allen Robinson. Higbee will aim to build on the solid Week 1 tally when the Rams take on the Falcons in a Week 2 clash a week from Sunday.

Morris (hamstring) was ruled inactive for Thursday's game against the Rams.

Morris failed to practice Monday and Tuesday, but he was able to log a limited session Wednesday. While the 252-pounder continues to deal with his hamstring issue, the Bills will be without their No. 3 tight end Thursday night against the Rams.