NFL Player News

Bates is expected to serve as Washington's starting tight end Sunday against the Panthers with Ricky Seals-Jones (hip) ruled out for the contest and Logan Thomas (hamstring) still on injured reserve, Pete Hailey of NBC Sports Washington reports.

After Seals-Jones exited early in last week's upset win over the Buccaneers, Bates stepped in to play a career-high 63 percent of the Football Team's offensive snaps. Though he didn't fill a high-volume role in the passing game, the rookie made good on his limited opportunities, reeling in all three of his targets for 25 yards. Bates profiles as a low-end starter at tight end for deep-league lineups in Week 11.

Goedert (concussion) is signing a four-year contract extension with the Eagles, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Halfway through the final season of his rookie contract, Goedert now is signed with the Eagles through 2025, locked in alongside WR DeVonta Smith as a pass catcher for HC Nick Sirianni and OC Shane Steichen. The 26-year-old tight end has worked in an every-down role since the Eagles traded Zach Ertz to Arizona, though the increase in playing time has coincided with Sirianni's shift toward a run-first offense. Goedert is recovering from a concussion after an early exit from the Week 10 win at Denver, with a return to practice Thursday (as a limited participant) suggesting he has a shot to suit up this Sunday against the Saints.

Smith was on the field for 33 of a possible 64 snaps in Thursday's 25-0 win over the Falcons, en route to catching one of his two targets for 17 yards, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Meanwhile, fellow tight end Hunter Henry parlayed his 32 snaps into two catches on three targets for 25 yards. As long as he continues to split work with Henry, Smith -- who has logged two targets in each of his last three games -- remains a risky fantasy option.

Henry secured two of three targets for 25 yards in the Patriots' 25-0 win over the Falcons on Thursday night.

The veteran tight end saw a two-game touchdown streak snapped, and he now has recorded two or fewer receptions in five of the last six games overall. Henry's knack for the end zone has helped keep his fantasy value robust despite his usually modest reception and yardage totals -- his 6-75-1 line back in Week 5 counts as his best performance of the season -- but in games where he's been held without a touchdown, he's been subject to some pedestrian stat lines. Henry will have an opportunity to bounce back in a Week 12 home matchup against the Titans a week from Sunday.

Pitts secured three of four targets for 29 yards in the Falcons' 25-0 loss to the Patriots on Thursday night.

Pitts checked in tied for second in receptions and as the sole runner-up in receiving yards for the Falcons on the night, but neither tally was anything that would qualify as a useful figure from a fantasy perspective. The rookie tight end had even more attention heaped upon him than usual with both Calvin Ridley (personal) and Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) out, and it helped lead to his second-lowest yardage total of the season. Pitts has yet to top four catches in any of his last four games, although a potentially favorable Week 12 matchup against the Jaguars on the road a week from Sunday could help break that unfavorable pattern.

Everett (groin) was a non-participant at Thursday's practice, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

With back-to-back absences to open Week 11 prep, Everett doesn't appear to be trending in the right direction for Sunday's contest against the Cardinals. Fortunately for the fifth-year pro, he has one more session to mix into individual drills (or more) before the Seahawks tab him with a designation. If Everett ends up missing his third game of the season, Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson will cover for him at tight end, while Tyler Mabry and Ryan Izzo would be candidates for elevation from the team's practice squad.

Smith (shoulder) is listed as active for Thursday night's game against the Falcons.

The tight end is out there if you need him Thursday after a one-game absence, but his fantasy ceiling is capped while working in a timeshare with Hunter Henry. It's an arrangement that has resulted in Smith averaging 2.3 catches for 21.4 yards on 3.8 targets per game, while scoring one TD through nine contests.

Atlanta signed Hesse off its practice squad Thursday, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

Hesse will join the 53-man roster ahead of Thursday's matchup with the Patriots after fellow tight end Hayden Hurst (ankle) was moved to injured reserve in a corresponding move. In three appearances with the Falcons this season, Hesse has played 27 snaps on offense, failing to reel in his only target.

Goedert (concussion) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.

The limited showing amounts to progress for Goedert, who entered the NFL's concussion protocol after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit in Sunday's win over the Broncos, then missed practice Wednesday. While the extent of Goedert's practice activity Thursday isn't fully known, Josh Tolentino of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that the tight end was donning a helmet and did some route running and pass catching in the portion of the workout that was open to the media. Goedert won't necessarily need to practice fully Friday in order to play this weekend against New Orleans, but at the very least, he'll need to receive clearance from an independent neurologist.

Swaim (concussion) didn't practice Thursday, John Glennon of Sports Illustrated reports.

Swaim wasn't listed on the Titans' initial Week 11 injury report, so he likely suffered the concussion in Wednesday's practice. Friday's injury designation will help determine Swaim's chances of suiting up Sunday against the Texans, but his absence Thursday suggests he's in jeopardy of sitting out. If Swaim can't go, MyCole Pruitt and Anthony Firkser would take on larger roles at tight end for Tennessee.