NFL Player News

Hollister agreed to a contract with the Jaguars on Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

The 27-year-old spent camp with the Bills and was unable to make the season-opening roster, and he'll now receive an opportunity with the Jags. Jacksonville has a weak group of tight ends with Chris Manhertz, James O'Shaughnessy and Luke Farrell, so Hollister could carve out a role in the offense with a strong showing at practice early on.

Fant (leg) isn't practicing Thursday, but he's still expected to return to practice next week, Mike Klis of 9News Denver reports.

He's been out of practice for more than a week now, leaving Albert Okwuegbunam, Eric Saubert and Andrew Back as the Broncos' tight ends. The Broncos expect Fant to play Week 1 against the Giants, but we'll start to be concerned if he isn't on the practice field next week.

Jackson (back) was placed on injured reserve Thursday, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Jackson suffered a back fracture in mid-August that carries a recovery timetable of 8-to-10 weeks, and he won't be eligible to return until at least Week 4 against Kansas City. The 23-year-old had a strong camp prior to his injury but will have to wait to make his season debut.

Kroft is the only true tight end left on the roster after the Jets traded Chris Herndon and cut Kenny Yeboah, Daniel Brown and Ryan Griffin, NJ.com's Joey Chandler reports.

The Jets' passing game figures to focus on their deep group of wide receivers, but they'll presumably still need someone to take snaps at tight end, where the current choices are Kroft or 267-pound blocking specialist Trevon Wesco (three catches on 360 career offensive snaps). The 28-year-old Kroft had chances to start in Cincinnati and Buffalo and maxed out at 42-404-7 as a 16-game starter for the Bengals in 2017, but he's at least shown some ability in the red zone with 12 TDs on 85 career receptions. While he isn't likely to finish first or second on the team in targets, Kroft could see 4-5 looks per week if he's the only tight end running routes for rookie QB Zach Wilson.

Sweeney was back at practice Wednesday after missing Saturday's preseason finale due to a foot injury, Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News reports.

The Bills must have viewed Sweeney's injury as minor, given that they cut Jacob Hollister on Tuesday and now only have two true tight ends on the roster -- Sweeney and starter Dawson Knox. The third-year man enters the 2021 campaign as a clear backup to Knox, though for now, he's only one injury away from a key role in a high-powered offense.

Tomlinson signed a contract with the Ravens on Wednesday, Clifton Brown of the team's official site reports.

Tomlinson was cut by the Ravens on Monday, but he'll rejoin the team. The 29-year-old should serve as Baltimore's No. 3 tight end until Nick Boyle (knee) is ready to take the field.

Davidson signed with the Vikings' practice squad Wednesday, Craig Peters of the team's official site reports.

Davidson was unable to make the initial 53-man roster, but he'll remain in Minnesota on the practice squad. The rookie fifth-round pick could receive a promotion if the Vikings deal with any more injuries at tight end.

Ertz said Wednesday that he's "moving on from everything that happened this offseason" and is happy to be with the Eagles, Tim McManus of ESPN.com reports.

Ertz also anticipates regaining his pre-2020 form, though he might not have the same role even if that more or less happens. While Ertz's return to the Eagles after some offseason drama puts a dent in Dallas Goedert's breakout case, there's seemingly still a good chance the 26-year-old sees more targets than his 30-year-old counterpart. That said, Ertz has three Pro Bowl appearances and five 70-catch seasons to his name, while Goedert has thus far maxed out at a 58-607-5 receiving line (in 2019). Both are scheduled for free agency next offseason.

The Vikings placed Smith (knee) on injured reserve Wednesday, Eric Smith of the team's official site reports.

Minnesota's pass-catching corps has been hammered by injuries in training camp and the preseason, but Smith's health concern seems to be the most serious. On Wednesday, he underwent a repair of his meniscus, which is accompanied by a 4-to-5-month recovery timeline. With Smith likely out for the season, the Vikings have gotten creative with the tight end room, trading for Chris Herndon from the Jets and claiming Ben Ellefson off waivers from the Jaguars. Herndon and Ellefson will join holdovers Tyler Conklin, the likely Week 1 starter, and Brandon Dillon.

Conklin could see an expanded role at tight end after Irv Smith (knee) underwent a procedure Wednesday that will likely sideline him for the entire season, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The Vikings traded for Chris Herndon on Tuesday, but the team mostly seems to be counting on Conklin to shoulder the burden of the No. 1 tight end. Head coach Mike Zimmer mentioned that Smith's injury will impact formation usage, with the Vikings likely using more three-wide sets than they did last season when Smith, Conklin and Kyle Rudolph were all on the team. Still, Conklin could be looking at 50-plus snaps per week even in a more spread-out offense, given that Herndon, 2019 undrafted free agent Brandon Dillon and waiver pickup Ben Ellefson are the only other tight ends on the roster. Conklin won't blow anyone away with his 4.8 speed, but he caught 19 of 26 targets for 194 yards last year. He returned to practice Monday after dealing with a hamstring injury for much of training camp.