NFL Player News

The Cowboys have designated McKeon (ankle) to return from IR, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

Dallas will have 21 days to evaluate McKeon at practice and make a decision on whether to bring him back to the active roster. As a rookie last season, McKeon appeared in 14 games but failed to draw a single target.

Bell (back) didn't practice Wednesday, Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star reports.

It's unclear when Bell picked up the injury, but it's worth monitoring throughout the week. Travis Kelce (neck) also is questionable for Week 6, so Noah Gray and Jody Fortson could be in line for extended work against Washington.

Njoku won't practice Wednesday due to a knee injury, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Njoku is coming off the best game of his career in the Browns' 47-42 loss to the Chargers, when he turned in seven receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. He appears to have gotten banged up at some point along the way, but the Browns may just be extending him some extra maintenance, as he's one of several key contributors on the Cleveland offense who won't practice Wednesday. The Browns are set for a tough Week 6 matchup against the undefeated Cardinals.

Sample secured two of four targets for nine yards in Sunday's 25-22 loss to the Packers.

Sample saw his first targets of the season Week 5, after going without a look on any of his 103 offensive snaps through the first four games. The 25-year-old logged 21 of the 67 offensive snaps Sunday, ranking a distant second at the position behind No. 1 tight end C.J. Uzomah (56). Sample is irrelevant for fantasy purposes, but an injury to Uzomah would clear a path to more opportunities within the offense.

Uzomah caught both of his targets for 16 yards in Sunday's 25-22 overtime loss to the Packers.

Uzomah predictably took a big step back statistically following his 95-yard, two touchdown performance in the Week 4 win over Jacksonville. The veteran still operated as the Bengals' clear top tight end Week 5, playing a season-high 84 percent of the offensive snaps. With so many mouths to feed in Cincinnati's offense, Uzomah isn't a bankable fantasy option, even in a favorable matchup Week 6 in Detroit.

Hesse was signed to the Falcons' practice squad Tuesday.

Hesse appeared in the first two games of the season for the Falcons and was cut over the weekend. However, the 26-year-old will stick around on the practice squad.

Higbee caught both of his targets for 14 yards and a touchdown during Thursday's 26-17 win over Seattle.

The score was the veteran's second of the season, and Higbee has quietly been a respectable fantasy producer from the tight end position. He's also up to six red-zone targets through five games, so while his year-long numbers don't jump off the page (17-166-2), Higbee projects to remain a serviceable contributor in the majority of fantasy formats.

Daniels was reinstated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday.

Daniels was sidelined for the Cardinals' Week 5 win over the 49ers after testing positive for the virus last Wednesday. Since he was vaccinated, Daniels was eligible to rejoin the Cardinals in less than 10 days after testing negative for the virus twice at least 24 hours apart. Before missing last week's contest, Daniels had been serving as the team's No. 2 tight end, but he could enjoy a long-term stay atop the depth chart beginning with Sunday's game in Cleveland. Maxx Williams exited the Cardinals' Week 5 loss with a knee injury that the team fears may be a season-ending ACL tear. Even if that's the case, Daniels likely wouldn't be much more than a tertiary option in the passing game, with the Cardinals instead relying on him mostly as a blocker.

Ertz is expected to see an uptick in playing time Thursday against the Rams with fellow tight end Dallas Goedert (illness) unlikely to make it back from the reserve/COVID-19 list prior to the game, EJ Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Goedert was placed on the list Tuesday, after he was revealed to have tested positive for the virus. Because he is vaccinated, he'll be eligible for activation within 10 days, but since he'll still need to be asymptomatic and produce two negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart, he's doubtful to gain clearance before Thursday's 8:20 p.m. EDT kickoff. Goedert's expected absence will likely result in Ertz absorbing a larger share of the tight-end snaps. While frequently sharing the field with Goedert, Ertz has hovered between 50 and 62 percent of the offensive snaps while averaging five targets through the first five games. In addition to likely getting an uptick in snaps, Ertz should be in store for more volume in the passing game as well, given how stout the Tampa Bay front has been against the run this season.

Granson had two receptions for 19 yards in Monday's loss at Baltimore.

Granson played just eight snaps on offense, but he had two targets for a second consecutive week after none the first three games. While that won't make him relevant in most fantasy leagues, it shows the rookie's role in the offense could continue to grow.