NFL Player News

With Tyler Higbee (knee) having been placed on IR by the Rams, Blanton is in line to lead the team's tight end corps in Sunday's Super Bowl against the Bengals, Brady Henderson of ESPN reports.

Higbee was forced out of the NFC Championship Game versus the 49ers on Jan. 30 after playing just 14 snaps, and as was the case in that contest, Blanton will be counted on to step in as the Rams' top tight end this Sunday. In relief of Higbee in the team's win over San Francisco, Blanton logged 61 snaps en route to catching all five of his targets for 57 yards. While Blanton is poised for a starting assignment, and, in turn, his share of targets this weekend, Brycen Hopkins is available to back him up, with Kyle Markway currently a member of Los Angeles' practice squad.

The Rams placed Higbee (knee) on injured reserve Friday, ruling him out for Sunday's Super Bowl against the Bengals.

Higbee hasn't been able to practice since suffering an MCL sprain in the NFC Championship Game against San Francisco, with coach Sean McVay conveying pessimism all along. With their long-time starter at tight end ruled out for the big game, L.A. will turn to 26-year-old Kendall Blanton, who caught five of five targets for 57 yards in the Rams' win over San Francisco a couple weeks ago. Blanton played 79 percent of snaps on offense in that game, while third-string tight end Brycen Hopkins was a healthy scratch. The options for depth behind Blanton this Sunday are Hopkins and practice-squad player Kyle Markway.

Uzomah (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's Super Bowl against the Rams, though he was a full practice participant Friday, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

Uzomah is the lone Bengal with a game designation on the final injury report, and coach Zac Taylor said Friday that he expects the tight end to play, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Should Uzomah deal with a late setback or have his role scaled back on account of the MCL sprain, Drew Sample would be next in line for snaps and targets at tight end. If Uzomah plays, as expected, the Bengals' inactive list will solely consist of healthy scratches ahead of the 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday evening.

Uzomah (knee) is expected to participate in Friday's practice and is trending toward playing in Sunday's Super Bowl against the Rams, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Uzomah returned to practice Thursday for the first time since spraining his left MCL in the AFC Championship game back on Jan. 30 and in the process was listed as a limited participant by the Bengals. Friday's session is slated to be lighter than Thursday's practice, but as long as the tight end avoids any setbacks he appears to be moving in the right direction in advance of Sunday's contest. However, at this stage, it seems likely that Uzomah will head into the weekend officially listed as questionable by Cincinnati.

Higbee (knee) didn't practice Thursday, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.

Higbee hasn't stepped on the practice field since spraining his MCL in the first half of the Rams' win in the NFC Championship Game versus the 49ers back on Jan. 30. With just one session left to make his presence felt in drills this week, he doesn't have much margin for error ahead of a Super Bowl LVI matchup with the Bengals. A limited or inactive Higbee on Sunday would place Kendall Blanton into a regular role at tight end in Los Angeles' offense.

Uzomah (knee) returned to a limited practice Thursday, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Uzomah's limited session Thursday marked the first time he's been able to practice since spraining his left MCL in the AFC Championship game back on Jan. 30. For his part, coach Zac Taylor previously relayed to Baby that Uzomah will continue to be evaluated throughout the week, and it seems likely that the Bengals' top tight end -- who logged a 49-493-5 stat line in 16 regular-season games -- will approach Sunday's Super Bowl against the Rams officially listed as questionable.

The Chiefs signed Pederson to a reserve/future contract Thursday, Mike Kaye of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Pederson was waived by New Orleans ahead of the regular season and failed to land another roster spot during the 2021 campaign. He'll now attempt to carve out a role with Kansas City during the offseason.

Sweeney played in 13 games during the 2021 regular season, catching nine of 12 targets for 44 yards and one touchdown.

Top tight end Dawson Knox sat out two games due to injury in the middle of the season, but even when he was moved into an elevated role in his stead, Sweeney proved he's nowhere near the pass catcher that Knox is. While taking on a 34 percent snap share for the season, Sweeney was mostly utilized for his blocking skills and not his hands. Knox isn't going anywhere since he's now at or near the upper echelon of NFL tight ends, so the best Sweeney can hope for is that the Bills don't bring in too much competition this offseason. After missing all of 2020 due to a heart condition related to COVID-19, Sweeney's best performance in any game since his 2019 rookie campaign is a modest 3-30-0 receiving line in Week 8 this past season.

Higbee (knee) was a non-participant at Wednesday's walk-through practice, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.

Since spraining his MCL in the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers on Jan. 30, Higbee has missed all on-field work for the Rams, which so far has included a pair of walk-throughs and one full session. He'll have two more chances to get on the practice field this week, but it may be a stretch for that to happen after head coach Sean McVay told Henderson on Monday, "I don't think so," regarding the tight end's chances to do so. If Higbee is limited or can't play in Sunday's Super Bowl versus the Bengals, Kendall Blanton would assumed most of the tight end reps for Los Angeles.

Uzomah (knee) won't practice Wednesday, but Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he's still optimistic the tight end will be ready for Sunday's Super Bowl matchup with the Rams, Jay Morrison of The Athletic reports.

Uzomah did rehab work over the weekend and said Monday that he anticipates playing in the Super Bowl, but he'll still go down as a non-participant on the fourth consecutive practice report. He'll have chances Thursday and Friday to log some on-field activity before the Bengals release their final injury report ahead of Sunday. If Uzomah is unavailable this weekend, Drew Sample likely will find himself in a three-down role at tight end, which was the case after Uzomah's early exit in the AFC Championship Game against Kansas City.