NFL Player News

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.

Smith had surgery on his thumb Tuesday, with coach Kevin O'Connell saying afterward that the tight end should be ready for the start of the season.

This explains Smith's early departure from practice Monday and likely rules him out for most or all of training camp and the preseason. He'll have five and a half weeks to recover before the Vikings host the Packers on Sunday, Sept. 11. Next up on the team's TE depth chart are Ben Ellefson, Johnny Mundt, Zach Davidson and Nick Muse.

Smith missed the end of Monday's practice with a possible injury, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Smith left the session early before returning to the sideline without a helmet. The issue doesn't sound serious, but it'll be worth tracking if the tight end isn't back at practice within the next few days.

Alie-Cox (knee) returned to practice Tuesday, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

He suffered the injury Saturday but is now back at practice three days later. The Colts mostly have used Alie-Cox as a blocker (and sometimes a goal-line threat) to this point in his career, but he could take on a larger role this season with Jack Doyle having retired and the competition for snaps coming from young, untested players (2021 fourth-round pick Kylen Granson and 2022 third-rounder Jelani Woods).

Seals-Jones did not participate in Monday's practice, marking the third consecutive session he's missed, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

It's unclear if Seals-Jones is dealing with an injury, and he certainly has plenty of time to ramp into shape before the season begins, but his absence from practice is notable because he's in a competition for New York's starting tight-end role. The veteran came into camp with a slight inside edge for the gig, but the Giants also brought in ex-Texan Jordan Akins this offseason and selected Daniel Bellinger in the fourth round of the draft, and either player could pull ahead of Seals-Jones on the depth chart with a strong preseason.

Bryant is off to a strong start in training camp and looks ready to handle a greater load in 2022, Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official site reports. "He's been a very good player for us since he got here," Cleveland tight ends coach T.C. McCartney said. "He does a lot of things that do not show up on the stat sheet necessarily, but we expect him to take the next step, as well."

Bryant hauled in a few short passes Monday and was on the receiving end of a deep ball from Deshaun Watson on Saturday. With the Browns moving on from Austin Hooper during the offseason, Bryant is expected to pick up extra playing time behind starter David Njoku. It was only two seasons ago as a rookie that Bryant outplayed Njoku and earned more playing time than him.

Quitoriano (undisclosed) was activated from the active/PUP list Monday, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports.

Quitoriano spent less than a week on the active/PUP list to begin training camp. The rookie fifth-round pick out of Oregon State will compete for a depth role at tight end with the Texans.

Fortson (quadriceps) didn't practice Monday, but coach Andy Reid believes the tight end will be available to practice within the next few days, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

Once healthy, Fortson will compete for a depth role at tight end behind Travis Kelce. Per Reid, Fortson's injury "isn't too bad."