NFL Player News

Hesse was elevated to the active roster ahead of Sunday's game against the Bills, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

Hesse is in line for his first game action since Week 13. He'll be third on Atlanta's tight end depth chart if Hayden Hurst is unable to return from the COVID list in time for the tilt against Buffalo.

Vannett was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

The return of Juwan Johnson (COVID-19) and Adam Trautman (COVID-19) has relegated Vannett to essentially a bit piece in the Saints offense, but Saturday's designation will test the depth of the team's tight end corps once more. Expect the aforementioned duo to shoulder the majority of the offensive snaps as the Saints did not elevate another tight end from the practice squad.

Kroft remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of Sunday's game against the Buccaneers, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Until Kroft is able clear the NFL's COVID protocols, Kenny Yeboah and Daniel Brown are the Jets' available tight end options, with neither profiling as a high-percentage fantasy option.

Hudson was elevated from the practice squad Saturday ahead of Sunday's game against the Texans, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Hudson has a chance to see on-field action for just the third time this season. He'll provide mostly special-teams depth for the 49ers on Sunday.

Davis (illness) was activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday.

Davis and Marcedes Lewis were both activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list, paving the way for the Packers to have their full complement of tight ends available for Sunday's contest. Davis has played just 31 offensive snaps over the last two weeks.

Lewis was activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday and will be eligible to play Sunday against the Vikings.

The veteran tight end has played at least 24 offensive snaps in seven of the last eight games and has accumulated 14 receptions for 106 yards during that stretch, so his absence would have been noteworthy. Expect Lewis to reprise his role as a blocker extraordinaire with Josiah Deguara acting as the primary tight end.

Kampmoyer was elevated to the Chargers' active roster Saturday.

With the Chargers down Jared Cook (COVID-19) and Donald Parham (concussion), Kampmoyer will be expected to provide depth behind the rarely used combination of Stephen Anderson and Tre' McKitty. The undrafted free agent has yet to play in an NFL game.

Manhertz (illness) was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday.

Manhertz landed on the COVID-19 list Monday after testing positive for the virus, but he was able to clear the protocols and will be available for Sunday's matchup with New England. The 29-year-old is poised to operate as the Jags' No. 1 tight end since James O'Shaughnessy is sidelined by a hip injury.

Washington (undisclosed) was placed on the practice squad COVID-19 list Saturday.

The former Wake Forest standout was signed to the Bengals' practice squad last week in order to provide depth to the tight end position in what is his second stint with the team, but he will have to wait at least one more week to make his NFL debut. He went undrafted in the 2021 draft.

Freiermuth (concussion) doesn't have an injury designation for Monday's game against the Browns, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Freiermuth missed Week 16 due to the concussion but was able to clear the concussion protocol and practice with no limitations this week. The 23-year-old has caught 49 of 64 targets for 422 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games during his rookie campaign.