NFL Player News

Waller (knee/back) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Broncos.

The Raiders deemed Waller doubtful for the contest after he didn't practice this past week, and he's now slated to miss his fourth straight game. In his continued absence, Foster Moreau will continue to head the team's tight end corps in Week 16.

Kroft will serve as the Jets' starting tight end Sunday against the Jaguars after Ryan Griffin (knee) was placed on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.

Griffin moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list three days later, but regardless, he won't play again this season, paving the way for Kroft to operate as the Jets' clear top option at the position. Kroft returned from a five-game absence due to a lacerated lung and played 61 percent of the Jets' offensive snaps in the Week 15 loss to the Dolphins, finishing with two receptions for 35 yards on two targets. He could see his snap share and target count climb slightly with Griffin out of the mix, but likely not enough to make Kroft an appealing option in season-long leagues or DFS.

Sweeney appears to be a healthy scratch Week 16 against New England.

Sweeney logged 22 offensive snaps last week against Carolina despite dealing with a hip injury for the past several weeks. While he avoided the injury report this week, the tight end ultimately won't be suiting up on game day. Since Week 10, Sweeney has seen a combined two targets on offense, becoming largely an afterthought when starter Dawson Knox is healthy.

The Chiefs downgraded Kelce (not injury related) from questionable to out in advance of Sunday's game against the Steelers.

Though the Chiefs reinstated Kelce from the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday, the transaction was made with the hope that he would fully clear the NFL's return-to-play COVID-19 protocols ahead of Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, as of Sunday morning, Kelce was either still symptomatic of the virus or was unable to submit a second consecutive negative test result, so the star tight end will be sidelined for the first time this season. Blake Bell, Noah Gray and Nakia Griffin-Stewart are the Chiefs' available options at tight end, but none of the three is likely to take on the massive role in the passing game that Kelce typically handles.

Kelce (illness), who remains questionable for Sunday's game against the Steelers, won't be available for the contest after he was unable to clear the NFL's COVID-19 return-to-play protocols, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Though Kansas City reinstated Kelce from the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday, the team only made the transaction so he would be on the 53-man roster and therefore eligible to play if he cleared the protocol Sunday morning. Kelce either hasn't tested negative twice at least 24 hours apart or is still experiencing symptoms of the virus, so he'll be forced to miss his first game of the season. The Chiefs will officially confirm Kelce as out with the release of their inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. Look for a combination of Blake Bell and Noah Gray to cover most of the snaps at tight end in Kelce's stead.

Ertz reeled in eight of 13 targets for 71 yards during Saturday's 22-16 loss to the Colts.

Since the Cardinals lost DeAndre Hopkins (knee) for the rest of the regular season after Week 14, Kyler Murray has targeted Ertz a whopping 24 times over the last two contests. But the increase in volume has yielded tepid results in the game log, as Ertz has combined for 14 catches for 145 yards and no touchdowns. He actually hasn't reached the end zone, either, since Week 11 -- a span of four outings -- and has yet to get to the century mark in receiving yards in eight appearances with Arizona. In any case, Ertz will look to take advantage of his new standing as Murray's favorite in a showdown at Dallas on Sunday, Jan. 2.

Knox's role could take on greater importance Sunday with wide receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis both ruled out while in the COVID-19 protocols.

Knox is normally a big part of the offense anyway, but with two of the team's top five receiving options out, expect him to see a high target volume in the most important game of the season for the Bills. While the increased opportunity will be nice for managers needing a big game out of the third-year tight end, it's worth noting the Patriots have the league's third-best past defense, plus there's a chance of wind and snow for the game.

The Seahawks elevated Mabry from the practice squad Saturday, John Boyle of the team's official site reports.

Mabry earned some run in six of Seattle's first seven games of the season, totaling 18 snaps on offense and 55 on special teams. He's still in search of his first NFL target, which may come to pass Sunday versus the Bears with the Seahawks down Will Dissly (COVID-19).

Hooper caught three passes for 26 yards on five targets against Green Bay on Saturday.

When the Browns made Hooper one of the league's highest-paid tight ends as a free agent in 2020, it was assumed he'd be a focal point of the Cleveland offense, but through nearly two full seasons he has been both lightly used and highly inefficient, and he heads into the final two weeks of 2021 at risk of finishing with an average of less than 6.0 yards per target despite catching just 58.9 percent of his targets to this point. He has surpassed 42 yards in a game just once this year, so he might be touchdown-dependent for fantasy viability against the Steelers in Week 17.

The Chiefs have activated Kelce (illness) from the reserve/COVID-19 reserve list and added him to the team's injury report as questionable for Sunday's game against the Steelers, Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Kelce has yet to clear COVID protocols, but the Chiefs are holding out hope that he may gain clearance ahead of Sunday's 4:25 ET game against the Steelers. If that doesn't happen, Kelce can then be made inactive by the team. Next up for the team's TE looks if Kelce isn't available Sunday are Blake Bell and Noah Gray.