NFL Player News

Head coach Ron Rivera said Turner (hamstring) has "a chance" to play next Sunday against the Lions, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Turner missed Sunday's game against the Jaguars as a result of the hamstring injury he picked up in early August. However, the 6-foot-6 tight end was a limited participant in each of the team's practice sessions last week, giving him a shot to play Week 2 against Detroit. Keep an eye on the Commanders' practice/injury reports throughout the upcoming days, as they should provide a better picture regarding Turner's availability for next Sunday's contest against the Lions.

Pitts caught two of seven targets for 19 yards during Sunday's 27-26 loss to New Orleans.

Pitts was targeted two times on the Falcons' opening drive, hauling in one pass for 11 yards. He added an eight-yard reception at the end of the first half that set up a last-second field goal from Younghoe Koo. However, the phenom tight end was shut out in the second half as the Falcons offense sputtered, which allowed the Saints to make a fourth-quarter comeback. Pitts tied rookie wideout Drake London in targets but finished fourth on the team in receiving yards behind a trio of receivers -- London, Olamide Zaccheaus and KhaDarel Hodge. Pitts' Week 1 performance was disappointing, but his high target share bodes well for a potential bounce-back performance against the Rams in Week 2.

Tremble caught his only target for one yard in Sunday's 26-24 loss to the Browns.

Tremble caught the ball on the two-yard line but couldn't find his way into the end zone on his only touch. Interestingly, he also played only half as many snaps as teammate Ian Thomas, who caught two passes for 53 yards, clouding the picture on who Carolina's top tight end is.

Thomas caught two of three targets for 53 yards in Sunday's 26-24 loss to the Browns.

Thomas played almost twice as many snaps as teammate Tommy Tremble, hauling in a career-long catch of 50 yards as well. While Thomas isn't a particularly dynamic pass-catcher, it'll be worth monitoring his playing time in relation to Tremble's throughout the season as new quarterback Baker Mayfield has a history of leaning on his tight ends.

Jordan caught one of two targets for five yards in Sunday's 20-20 tie with Indianapolis.

A Houston tight end accounted for two touchdown catches in the game, but it wasn't Jordan. Newcomer O.J. Howard showed immediate chemistry with quarterback Davis Mills, hauling in touchdown strikes of 22 and 16 yards. Jordan developed into a threat over the second half of last season and was touted as a red-zone option entering 2022, but the presence of Howard appears to have dampened Jordan's sleeper appeal.

Brown caught his lone target for 17 yards in Sunday's 20-20 tie with the Colts.

Brown lead Houston's tight ends with 46 snaps, but the clear winner of the room from a receiving perspective was the recently added O.J. Howard, who caught two touchdown passes on just 12 snaps. Brown is considered the team's best blocking tight end and should continue to lead in snaps, but Howard or Brevin Jordan (42 snaps) could become key targets in a passing game that lacks established options behind Brandin Cooks.

Bryant caught two of four targets for 18 yards in Sunday's 26-24 win over Carolina.

Bryant was on the field for 38 snaps, nearly half that of starter David Njoku's 71, but he came away as the target leader at tight end. Cleveland relied heavily on its running back tandem of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt for three-and-a-half quarters until the Panthers made it a closer game and took the lead in the fourth, so the Browns' pass catchers may not have a big role in game plans designed for Jacoby Brissett. If the team dominates like it did during most of Week 1, Brissett will likely fall between 20 and 25 pass attempts per game, leaving little volume for Bryant.

Njoku caught his lone target for seven yards in Sunday's 26-24 win over the Panthers. He had one other catch nullified by a penalty.

Njoku took over the top tight end job after the Browns let Austin Hooper walk during the offseason, and expectations were high after he signed a four-year, $55 million contract last May. Njoku played 71 snaps, the most among all Cleveland pass-catchers, but the target-to-snap ratio was poor. Fellow tight end Harrison Bryant caught two of four targets for 18 yards while playing 38 snaps. As was expected with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback instead of Deshaun Watson (suspension), the Browns' offense featured more runs (39) than passes (34), and 11 of Brissett's attempts came on the final two drives. Until that point, the offense was carried by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. It may be difficult to rely on any Cleveland receiver until Watson returns.

Schultz caught seven of nine targets for 62 yards in Sunday's 19-3 loss to the Buccaneers.

It was a night to forget for the entire Cowboys offense, but at least Schultz was able to get his fantasy managers some garbage-time yardage for a nice start to the 2022 campaign. The tight end still takes a hit in value following the post-game announcement that Dak Prescott (thumb) will require surgery that will cost the signal-caller multiple games. Cooper Rush filled in to close out this forgettable loss, but team owner/GM Jerry Jones could look at potential upgrades from outside the organization, which ultimately might be a slightly less painful pill to swallow for Schultz and the rest of the team's position players given Rush's limited upside.

Mitchell (coach's decision) was inactive for Sunday's 38-35 loss to the Eagles.

Mitchell was a healthy scratch as the No. 4 tight end behind T.J. Hockenson, Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra. While the fifth-round rookie could get worked into the offense in due time, it doesn't seem like that time will be coming soon.