NFL Player News

Ruckert (foot) was activated from the non-football injury list Wednesday, Ethan Greenberg of the Jets' official site reports.

Ruckert can now practice with the team after missing the start of training camp with a foot injury. The rookie is currently the No. 3 tight end on the Jets' depth chart, behind C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin. Ruckert totaled 54 catches for 615 yards and 12 touchdowns in his time at Ohio State. The Jets' third-round pick in 2022 will now have a chance to prove himself in camp and compete for snaps moving forward.

McKitty (undisclosed) didn't practice Wednesday, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Coach Brandon Staley stated McKitty is dealing with a "soft tissue" injury, adding the tight end is day-to-day. It appears the team is exercising caution with the second-year tight end. McKitty currently finds himself behind both Gerald Everett and Donald Parham in the tight end pecking order, so it's likely he'll face an uphill battle for playing time this season, barring an injury to either of his aforementioned teammates.

Dulcich (hamstring) has made progress this week, going through individual drills back-to-back days, Andrew Mason of 104.3 The Fan Denver reports.

The rookie tight end seemingly is on track to rejoin team drills soon, though head coach Nathaniel Hackett said the Broncos will be careful with him given the nature of hamstring injuries. Dulcich is in the mix for targets at tight end, though Albert Okwuegbunam is the favorite for the starting job and has clear advantages over his new teammate in terms size, speed and experience. Dulcich might be better in the short passing game, however.

Seals-Jones (undisclosed) missed a fifth straight practice Wednesday, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

No injury has been reported, but that's the most likely explanation for his continued absence. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News notes that Seals-Jones didn't get much run in spring practices either, after signing with the Giants in March. The team's other candidates for tight-end targets are former Texan Jordan Akins and rookie fourth-round pick Daniel Bellinger.

Jordan made several big plays during Tuesday's practice session, John Harris of the Texans' official site reports.

Jordan made a couple of nice touchdown grabs, including a snag amongst three defenders. He was also featured in the Texans' two-minute drill. While Houston head coach Lovie Smith may consider Pharaoh Brown the team's starting tight end, Jordan is the superior pass-catching talent and is more likely to be the better fantasy option at the position.

Houston head coach Lovie Smith labeled Brown as "our starting tight end" during Tuesday's post-practice news conference.

Smith feels Brown is the most complete tight end on the team when taking into account his prowess as a blocker, but the coach also talked about his catching skills and said he'll have a "big role." That may be the case for a team expecting to run the ball often, but once passing situations arise, expect Brevin Jordan to be the lead target at the position.

Mundt is the leading candidate for the starting tight end job with Irv Smith (thumb) sidelined for the preseason and possibly early in the regular season, Dane Mizutani of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Mundt will compete with Ben Ellefson, Nick Muse and Zach Davidson, as there wasn't a clear No. 2 tight end before camp began. All three backups are seen as mostly blockers, so the Vikings would likely reduce the tight end's role in the passing game if Smith were to miss regular season games. Still, it's worth watching Mundt's development in the preseason, as offensive coordinator Wes Phillips suggested Mundt has untapped potential as a pass catcher.

Ferguson picked up a hamstring issue during Tuesday's practice, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The seriousness of Ferguson's injury has yet to be revealed, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Dallas exercise caution with its rookie tight end. The Wisconsin product was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft after securing first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2021, when he recorded 46 receptions, 450 yards and three touchdowns over 13 games, all while in a run-heavy offense. Once Ferguson is cleared to play, he'll compete with Sean McKeon and Jeremy Sprinkle (Achilles) for the No. 2 tight end spot behind Dalton Schultz.

Smith underwent thumb surgery Tuesday, but the Vikings are optimistic he will be ready for Week 1, Kevin Seifert of ESPN reports. "We still feel very strongly about our process to get him back," coach Kevin O'Connell noted of the team's top tight end, "and hopefully have him -- barring any setbacks -- available for that opener."

Smith, who missed the entire 2021 season after having surgery to repair a meniscus issue in his right knee, had opened training camp in line to participate fully, but now the 2019 second-rounder seems destined to miss most or all of camp and the preseason. In his absence, Ben Ellefson, Johnny Mundt, Zach Davidson, Nick Muse and Shaun Beyer are available to handle Minnesota's tight end reps.

Freiermuth (hamstring) won't practice Tuesday, Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

The same applies to top back Najee Harris (foot) and wideout Chase Claypool (shoulder), with Lolley indicating that none of the injuries to Pittsburgh's key skill players are considered serious. Next up for tight end reps in Freiermuth's absence are Zach Gentry, Kevin Rader and Connor Heyward.