NFL Player News

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.

When asked Monday whether Higbee (knee) will be able to practice in the coming days, coach Sean McVay replied "I don't think so," Brady Henderson of ESPN reports.

Higbee sprained his MCL in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 30 and was listed as a non-participant on the Rams' posted injury report last week. At this stage, the tight end's status for Sunday's Super Bowl against the Bengals is cloudy, more so if Higbee is unable to practice at all in advance of the contest. That said, McVay noted that Higbee is "going to do everything in his power" to be available, with the team planning to "take it a day at a time with Tyler." In Higbee's anticipated absence from practice, Kendall Blanton is in line to handle first-team TE reps.

Mack signed a reserve/future deal with the Packers on Monday,

Mack was selected in the seventh round of the 2019 draft by New Orleans. However, his time with the Saints was short, and he since has had stints on the practice squads of the Steelers, Chiefs and Lions. Mack has yet to play in an NFL game, but he'll work to take advantage of the opportunity in Green Bay and change that in 2022.