NFL Player News

Smith caught his only target for five yards in the Patriots' 23-6 preseason loss to the Raiders on Friday night.

Smith and fellow tight end Hunter Henry both logged 16 snaps in the team's preseason finale, with New England's depth options seeing extended action. However, once the regular season starts, Henry and Smith are in line to form a 1-2 TE combo for the team. In that context, Smith figures to log a steady share of snaps in 2022, but as long as both players are available, Smith's target volume could be somewhat sporadic.

Hendershot caught three of seven targets for 39 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason game against Seattle.

The undrafted rookie tight end out of Indiana wound up playing hero in this one, catching a pass in the flat from Ben DiNucci in the fourth quarter and breaking multiple tackles to get into the end zone for what proved to be the winning score. Hendershot has acquitted himself fairly well in camp and the preseason, but his chances of making the 53-man roster could depend on the health of Sean McKeon (ankle), with Dalton Schultz and 2022 fourth-round pick Jake Ferguson locked into spots.

Sweeney caught both of his targets for 36 yards during Friday's preseason loss against the Panthers.

Sweeney has been praised in camp by the coaching staff for taking a step up in his summer work. He currently sits third on the tight-end depth chart, but there's some scuttlebutt that O.J. Howard might be a roster cut. If that happens, Sweeney will make the Week 1 roster for sure, and there's a chance he could make it anyway as a third tight end.

Henry secured both targets for 23 yards in the Patriots' 23-6 preseason loss to the Raiders on Friday night.

Henry logged his first target on the Patriots' third drive and finished with a productive showing relative to playing time. The veteran tight end was a success in his first campaign in New England in 2021, recording a career-high nine touchdowns alongside a 50-603 line while playing all 17 games. Henry should be in for volume similar to last season's 75 targets, at minimum, and he could well be a primary beneficiary of Mac Jones' expected leap forward in his second season.

Ricci has been ruled out for the remainder of Friday's preseason finale against the Bills due to a groin injury, Schuyler Callihan of SI.com reports.

The extent of the injury remains unclear. The undrafted fullback out of Western Michigan appeared in 16 games for the Panthers as a rookie and operated mostly on special teams. As long as he's healthy, he figures to garner a similar role again in 2022.

Asiasi won't play in Friday's preseason finale against the Raiders due to a quadriceps injury, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.

The extent of the injury remains unclear, but at the moment, it doesn't appear like a major issue. The 25-year-old has been competing for a depth spot behind top tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith during training camp.

Hill isn't slated to play in Friday's preseason contest against the Chargers, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Neither Hill nor Adam Trautman were seen in uniform ahead of Friday's outing, meaning Nick Vannett, Juwan Johnson, J.P. Holtz and Lucas Krull will be the Saints' available tight ends Friday. Hill will be limited to one appearance during exhibition season, as he dealt with bruised ribs at the start of training camp that held him out of preseason Week 1. On nine offensive snaps last Friday at Green Bay, he hauled in one of two targets for 10 yards.

Trautman isn't in line to play in Friday's preseason game versus the Chargers, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

While all of Michael Thomas, Trautman and Taysom Hill weren't seen uniform before Friday's 8:00 p.m. ET kickoff, Jameis Winston, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram and Jarvis Landry were, so it appears as if some of the first-team offense will handle some in-game reps in the Saints' exhibition finale. With Trautman and Hill sidelined, though, Nick Vannett, Juwan Johnson, J.P. Holtz and Lucas Krull will be the team's available tight ends.

The Falcons re-signed Fisk on Friday, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

Fisk was waived by Atlanta a week ago, but he rejoins the team ahead of Saturday's preseason finale. The 6-foot-4 tight end was initially signed as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford.

Schultz and most other starters aren't expected to play in Friday's final preseason game against Seattle, with the Cowboys looking ahead to their Week 1 matchup with the Buccaneers, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The Cowboys will rest starters for a third straight week, prioritizing health over reps throughout the preseason. Schultz could be even busier this year than he was during his breakout 2021, as the Cowboys traded WR Amari Cooper to Cleveland and don't expect WR Michael Gallup (knee) to be ready for Week 1. The downside there is that Schultz will get more attention from defenses, starting with a Tampa unit that has S Antoine Winfield and LBs Lavonte David and Devin White patrolling the middle of the field. The Bucs allowed the 12th most PPR points to TEs last year, but it was largely volume-based without many big plays (six TDs, 6.7 YPT).