NFL Player News

Seals-Jones was placed on injured reserve Tuesday due to a toe injury, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

Seals-Jones can't play for the Giants this season, but he might be able to play for another team if he reaches an injury settlement. It's also possible this is truly a season-ending injury, as Seals-Jones otherwise seemed to be right in the mix for snaps in arguably the weakest TE room in the league. Rookie Daniel Bellinger got most of the first-team snaps in the Giants' first two preseason games and had a costly drop-turned-interception in the second one.

The Chargers placed Smartt (undisclosed) on the reserve/non-football injury list Tuesday, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Smartt began training camp on the active/NFI list, but he's since shifted to the reserve list. He'll be forced to miss a minimum of four games.

Hudson was waived by the 49ers on Tuesday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Hudson appeared in two games with the 49ers last season, while also spending time on their practice squad. He re-upped with the team on a reserve/future deal in January, but he'll now have to work for a new opportunity elsewhere.

Coach Nathaniel Hackett said the Broncos are doing "everything they can" to get Dulcich (hamstring) on the field Week 1, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

It appears Dulcich will miss a third straight preseason game, in addition to most of training camp and part of the offseason program. He nonetheless has a shot at snaps early in the season, as the Broncos don't seem thrilled with projected starter Albert Okwuegbunam, who has spent a lot of time playing alongside backups and third-stringers this preseason. The Broncos' other tight ends are more relevant as blockers than receivers, so it'll presumably be one of the two young guys getting TE snaps in clear passing situations if nothing else. For Dulcich, the first challenge is getting his hamstring to a point where he can play.

Knox (personal) took part in Tuesday's practice, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports.

Knox was away from the Bills recently due to the passing of his brother. Now that he's back with the team, the fourth-year tight end will have one more chance to get some preseason reps Friday at Carolina.

Bell recently underwent surgery to address a hip flexor injury, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

While a timetable for Bell's return hasn't been outlined, it seems likely he'll miss regular-season action. In his absence, Noah Gray and Jody Fortson are next up for tight end reps behind the team's clear-cut top option at the position, Travis Kelce.

Waller (undisclosed) isn't practicing Tuesday, Tashan Reed of The Athletic reports.

Waller missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury before returning to practice last Wednesday. He's now out again, though it could be maintenance rather than a setback or new injury. Either way, it's impacting Waller's fantasy value, with his ADP dropping in recent weeks as the Raiders have declined to provide any detail on the injury. Josh McDaniel seems to take after mentor Bill Belichick in that regard, at least.

Seals-Jones (undisclosed) should claim a roster spot heading into the 2022 campaign, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

The tight end hasn't practiced since the second day of camp while dealing with an unspecified injury, but he seems all but guaranteed to make the final roster after signing with New York in March. There's no word on if Seals-Jones will be healthy for the start of the year, but he will in all likelihood split reps with Daniel Bellinger on the Giants' offense when he returns to the field.

Pitts caught his only target for 52 yards in Monday's preseason loss to the Jets.

Pitts made the most of his brief appearance in Atlanta's second preseason game by blowing past the Jets secondary for the big gain. Marcus Mariota underthrew the pass slightly, likely costing Pitts the chance to reach the end zone. Pitts looks almost certain to be the focal point of the Falcons' passing attack in 2022, especially with rookie Drake London (knee) currently sidelined.

Akins didn't record a catch or a target in Sunday's exhibition win over the Bengals, and he didn't enter the game on offense until midway through the fourth quarter, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Akins logged only eight offensive snaps in total, fewer than three other tight ends on the roster despite the fact that Ricky Seals-Jones (undisclosed) sat out again. The Giants don't have a particularly robust corps of players at the position, but Akins looks to be in danger of missing out on a spot on the initial 53-man roster based on his usage thus far. Rookie Daniel Bellinger is the only tight end who is a lock to make the team at this point, though, so Akins isn't completely out of the picture.