NFL Player News

Hesse caught all three of his targets for 31 yards during Sunday's 29-15 loss to the Bills.

With Hayden Hurst out due to COVID-19 protocols, Hesse was elevated to the active roster for the first time since Week 13. Star rookie Kyle Pitts also left the game at the start of the second half with a hamstring injury, so with Atlanta's top two tight ends sidelined, Hesse made the most of his opportunity by setting season highs in receptions (three) and yards (31). Pitts' status for Week 18 is uncertain, but Hurst is expected to return, so Hesse's role will likely be diminished. However, Hesse appears to have jumped Lee Smith on the depth chart after the former played 37 offensive snaps to the latter's 10.

Pinkey logged 28 of 63 offensive snaps during Sunday's 51-29 loss to the Seahawks.

Pinkey was in the starting lineup with both T.J. Hockenson (finger) and Brock Wright (COVID-19) sidelined, but he was not targeted with a pass even though Detroit sent a pair of them to offensive tackles. The Vanderbilt product will not be on the fantasy radar in Week 18 against Green Bay even if Wright is unable to gain medical clearance in time.

Pruitt will have surgery on his ankle Monday and will miss extended time, John Glennon of SI.com reports.

Given how the injury looked and this subsequent prognosis, it sounds as if Pruitt is unlikely to return even later in the playoffs. He ends the regular season with 14 catches on 18 targets for 145 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games. Anthony Firkser should see a bump in playing time, and the Titans will likely add a third tight end to the roster shortly.

Coach Ron Rivera said Monday that Seals-Jones has entered the concussion protocol, Matthew Paras of The Washington Times reports.

Seals-Jones was taken off the field on a backboard during Sunday's loss to the Eagles and will have several steps to clear if he hopes to return for Sunday's Week 18 matchup against the Giants. John Bates and Sammis Reyes should see increased work against the Giants if Seals-Jones is unavailable.

Smith was on the field for 42 of a possible 72 snaps on offense in Sunday's 50-10 win over the Jaguars, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Despite seeing more snaps (42) in Week 17 than fellow tight end Hunter Henry (39 snaps, three catches on five targets for 37 yards), Smith was limited to one catch on his only target for 20 yards and one carry for five yards. As long as he operates in a game-flow dependent timeshare, Smith will remain a hit-or-miss fantasy option.

Henry was on the field for 39 of a possible 72 snaps on offense in Sunday's 50-10 win over the Jaguars en route to catching three of his five targets for 37 yards, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Fellow tight end Jonnu Smith out-snapped (42) Henry in the contest, but he was only targeted once (for a 20-yard gain). Henry's volume and yardage totals have been sporadic of late, but he remains on the fantasy radar due to his TD potential. Through 16 games to date, he's logged a 45/517/9 stat line on 69 targets.

Deguara was targeted three times and caught two passes for 11 yards in Sunday's 37-10 victory over the Vikings.

Deguara would have had a much better night had he hauled in an Aaron Rodgers pass into the end zone on the Packers' first drive, but alas, he failed to hit even the 20-yard mark for the third straight game. Deguara remains the most appealing fantasy option among Green Bay's tight ends, but with him producing minimally and the Packers having already sewn up the top seed in the NFC, there are likely better options to go with Week 18.

Swaim recorded three receptions on three targets for nine yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 34-3 win over Miami.

Swaim recorded three catches for the third time in his last four games. Despite that decent volume, he's surpassed 10 yards only once in that span. Swaim did manage to salvage his performance on Sunday with a one-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the victory. Even so, it was only his third touchdown catch of the season heading into a Week 18 matchup at Houston.

Akins was not targeted during Sunday's 23-7 loss to the 49ers.

Akins, who was on the field for just five snaps, has three catches for 30 yards over the seven games since Houston's bye week. He was a healthy scratch in three of those games.

Brown caught his lone target for nine yards in Sunday's 23-7 loss to San Francisco.

Brown and rookie Brevin Jordan accounted for the only two balls thrown to Houston tight ends Sunday. This was the eighth time in 14 games that Brown's finished with fewer than 10 yards.