NFL Player News

Gesicki and the Dolphins are unlikely to come to terms on a contract extension ahead of Friday's 4:00 p.m. ET deadline for franchise-tagged players, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Gesicki signed his one-year, $10.9-million contract tender in March after reports that may he file a grievance to be treated as a wide receiver in this contract calculation - a move that could have netted him an additional $8.5 million in guaranteed salary. Barring any last-minute negotiations, the 26-year-old now looks primed to play out the 2022 campaign on the franchise tag. Gesicki has been used as a prolific pass-catching threat over the past three seasons with Miami, recording career-highs in targets (112), catches (73) and receiving yards (780) over 17 games in 2021; however, his usage may take a step back in 2022 with talented wideouts Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill also on the team's roster and in line to log plenty of targets this coming season.

Schultz is not expected to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the Cowboys before Friday's 4:00 p.m ET deadline for franchise-tagged players, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Schultz appears poised to play the 2022 season on a $10.9 million franchise tag, barring any last-minute breakthrough in his contract negotiations with Dallas. The 25-year-old skipped a portion of the Cowboys' voluntary OTAs due to dissatisfaction with his contract situation before reporting to mandatory minicamp in mid-June. Schultz officially signed his franchise tag tender in March, likely indicating that he will not hold out any further. The tight end improved upon his impressive stat line from 2020 (63-615-4) with 78 receptions for 808 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and, after the trade of wide receiver Amari Cooper, Schultz could be in line for an even bigger role in Dallas' passing game in 2022.

McKeon participated in workouts with Dak Prescott and other key members of the Cowboys offense earlier this month, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Top tight end Dalton Schultz was part of the group, as were CeeDee Lamb, Ezekiel Elliott and 2022 third-round pick Jalen Tolbert, which makes the inclusion of a depth TE like McKeon stand out. Heading into his third NFL season, the undrafted player out of Michigan has seen most of his action on special teams so far, but with Blake Jarwin no long on the Dallas roster, McKeon has a chance to win a much more significant role on offense. His main competition for the No. 2 spot behind Schultz will likely come from rookie Jake Ferguson, a fourth-round pick in this year's draft.

Njoku is set to take on a larger role in the Browns passing game in 2022, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports. "We certainly want to feature (Njoku)," Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "(He has) great size, great length in terms of catching the football and being able to go up and pluck contested catches. I think there is an evolution that will continue for David the player."

Njoku was a part-time player in four of his five seasons, but he will become the lead tight end in 2022 after the Browns let Austin Hooper go. He played 47 percent of the snaps in 2020 then 64 percent last season, and that number should head north of 80 percent in 2022. Stefanski feels the 26-year-old Njoku has evolved into a complete tight end, and the Browns rewarded him with a four-year contract earlier in the offseason. He's been featured in the red zone during Stefanski's watch -- all the tight ends were -- and has been used on quick throws, when he can use his athleticism after the catch. That was the case with a 71-yard touchdown on a screen pass in Week 5, a game in which Njoku caught seven passes for 149 yards. Unfortunately, the tight end never had more than 39 yards in a game the rest of the season, a glimpse into the inconsistency that's dogged him.

Tonyan's (knee) availability for the Packers' season opener against the Vikings is still is unclear after he spent OTAs and minicamp rehabbing off to the side, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Tonyan's lack of participation so far this offseason comes as no surprise given he is just over eight months out from suffering a torn ACL late last October. The Packers likely will take their time in bringing the 28-year-old tight end back, as the team needs him to fill a more prominent role in the passing game after the loss of star wideout Davante Adams. Backup tight ends Josiah Deguara, Marcedes Lewis and Tyler Davis combined for 39 catches, 358 receiving yards and two touchdowns without Tonyan in the lineup over the final nine games of the 2021 season, and these three should rotate to help fill in if Tonyan is unable to go by Week 1.

Kmet anticipates having a large role in the passing game under new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, John Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Getsy comes over from Green Bay, where he mostly worked with mediocre tight ends but did help coordinate a prolific 2020 passing attack with QB Aaron Rodgers throwing 48 TDs and TE Robert Tonyan scoring 11 of them on only 59 targets. Kmet got 93 targets last season under a different coaching staff, but his 60 catches produced only 612 yards (10.2 YPC, 6.6 YPT) and nary a touchdown. While the 2020 second-round pick has shown some potential as a chain mover, he's scored just once on 18 career red-zone targets and has only one gain of more than 25 yards. Development from QB Justin Fields would go a long way in helping with the lack of big plays and TDs, and there's some volume upside for Kmet in a Chicago offense with subpar options at wide receiver behind undersized No. 1 Darnell Mooney.

Freiermuth said he expects to reach 800 or 900 yards this year, noting that his rookie-year average of 8.3 yards per catch was "atrocious", Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Freiermuth had a solid debut campaign in 2021 even with the poor per-catch average, scoring seven TDs while seeing 20 of his 79 targets in the red zone. All those looks near the goal line tend to depress yardage averages like YPC and YPT, though the trade off is mostly a good one for fantasy. The bigger factor in Freiermuth's lack of yardage (497 from 60 catches) was a 5.5 aDOT, placing him 19th out of 25 TEs with 50-plus targets. That number could rise as Freiermuth improves his route-running and YAC skills and takes some snaps with QBs other than Ben Roethlisberger (though neither Mitch Trubisky nor Kenny Pickett figure to be an upgrade in terms of short-pass accuracy). Realistically, Freiermuth needs triple-digit targets to reach the yardage range he's talking about -- neither likely nor impossible. He'll get plenty of snaps if he stays healthy, as the Steelers don't have much behind him at tight end in terms of either experience or pass-catching potential now that Eric Ebron is gone.

Kelce said "you can't pay me enough" when KSHB 41's Aaron Ladd asked him if he's underpaid, but the tight end also suggested he isn't concerned with his contract right now, noting that he'll "let everyone else worry about the money situation."

It's probably not news to Kelce that he's signed extensions early and lost some money because of it. He's still been among the highest-paid tight ends in the league most years, which nonetheless makes him a bargain for the Chiefs when he puts up receiving stats more like a top WR than a top TE. The 32-year-old most recently signed an extension in August 2020, keeping him under contract through 2025 with projected cap hits of $8.9 million (2022), $14.7 million (2023), $16.4 million (2024) and $18.7 million (2025) -- good pay for a TE; not so much for someone with 5,106 receiving yards over the past four years. Another extension wouldn't make sense given his age, unless it's just adding dummy years for cap reasons, but the Chiefs could give Kelce a modest raise this season or next to keep him happy. He isn't holding out and is poised for a busy 2022 after the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill to Miami this spring.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said Pitts is only "scratching the surface," Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

Pitts was drafted fourth overall by the Falcons in 2021 and lived up to the hype by recording 1,026 receiving yards as a rookie, becoming the first tight end to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in his first year since Mike Ditka in 1961. The 6-foot-6 phenom registered three 100-plus yard games -- including a 163-yard performance in Week 7 -- and averaged 15.1 yards per catch. However, Pitts, who was projected to be a major red-zone threat, caught just one touchdown on 25 targets from inside 20 yards. If the Florida product is going to continue living up to the hype, he'll have to improve his red-zone efficiency in Year 2. Atlanta hopes that the addition of fellow first-round pick Drake London and former Raider Bryan Edwards will open up more 1-on-1 opportunities for Pitts to showcase his athletic ability near the end zone moving forward, though it remains to be seen how prolific a Marcus Mariota-led offense can be in 2022.

Hooper has made a strong impression on quarterback Ryan Tannehill during offseason practices, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

The Titans have overhauled their pass catchers this offseason, moving on from A.J. Brown but also adding rookie Treylon Burks and Robert Woods. Hooper is a more under-the-radar addition, particularly after a couple uninspiring seasons in Cleveland. However, he has earned praise from Tannehill regarding his feel for running routes and ability to get open out of breaks. Though Hooper is entering his seventh season in the NFL, he still is only 27 years old and could be heavily involved in the Titans offense in 2022.