NFL Player News

Smith recorded two touchdowns in practice Wednesday and may be in store for an increased red-zone role in 2021, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Kyle Rudolph left in free agency in the offseason, giving Smith an opportunity to pick up more work inside the 20-yard line. While head coach Mike Zimmer said earlier in the summer that Smith's role may not change much sans Randolph and that Tyler Conklin would instead see a bigger boost in opportunity as the second tight end, it's possible that Smith takes over as the main red-zone target at the position. Rudolph produced 15 touchdowns between 2016 and 2017, though it's worth noting that he holds a four-inch advantage in height over Smith. Regardless, Smith's usage will be something to monitor in the preseason.

The Packers activated Deguara (knee) from the PUP list Wednesday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

While Demovsky noted Deguara has been medically cleared from the torn ACL he suffered Oct. 5 against the Falcons, he likely will be eased into practices. Robert Tonyan is the clear-cut top receiving tight end in Green Bay, and Marcedes Lewis handles key blocking duties. As a result, Deguara, a 2020 third-round pick, may be fighting for not much more than a peripheral role in the Packers offense.

Conklin isn't practicing Wednesday due to an ankle injury, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Conklin initially missed practice Monday, but he told reporters his ankle injury isn't serious. He's expected to work as Minnesota's No. 2 tight end, a role that could entail playing more than half the snaps on offense. With Conklin temporary unavailable, rookie fifth-round pick Zach Davidson should get a few more practice reps.

Alie-Cox sat out practice Wednesday with a knee injury, Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star reports.

The tight end didn't participate in the session, but he attended practice as an observer, suggesting the injury isn't too serious. Alie-Cox, Jack Doyle and Kylen Granson are competing for tight end snaps, after Doyle and Alie-Cox shared the position with Trey Burton in 2020. Alie-Cox doesn't have an obvious path to more than three or four targets per game, but he made a good impression last season with 394 receiving yards on only 39 targets (10.1 YPT).

San Francisco cut Pederson on Wednesday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Pederson was cut to make room for fellow tight end Joshua Perkins. The undrafted rookie out of Louisiana Monroe will look to find a new home elsewhere in the league.

Waller is absent from a second straight practice Wednesday, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.

A player of Waller's stature might get a day off just for maintenance, but two absences in a row seemingly hints at an injury or ailment of some sort. The star tight end played all 16 games in 2019 and 2020, topping 1,100 receiving yards both times.

Freiermuth had ice taped to his left shoulder following an early exit from Tuesday's practice, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

The timing of the injury, even if it's minor, likely will prevent Freiermuth from making his NFL debut in the Hall of Fame Game against Dallas on Thursday. The rookie second-round pick reportedly has looked good through the first week of training camp, and he'll have three additional chances to suit up in exhibitions before the games begin to count. While unlikely to make a run at the Week 1 starting job, Freiermuth could poach some snaps and targets from fellow tight end Eric Ebron.

The Texans activated Brown (undisclosed) from the non-football injury list Tuesday, NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reports.

Brown spent just under a week on the NFI list. Now healthy, Brown can make his first appearance at training camp and begin competing for reserve reps at the tight end position.

Based on what he's seen early on in training camp, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic suggests that Fant "is likely to be used in more creative ways" during his second campaign working in Pat Shurmur's offense.

Fant, who recorded a team-high 62 catches (on 93 targets) for 673 yards and three TDs in 15 games last season, is going to be a big part of Denver's passing attack, regardless of who the team's QB is, an outcome that's pending an ongoing competition between Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. Per the report, getting Fant -- who averaged 10.9 yards per reception last season, which was down from his 14.1 mark as a rookie -- "involved deeper down the field appears to be a priority" early in training camp, with the 2019 first-rounder noting that he expects to make an impact on all sorts of routes (deep, intermediate and short) this season. Wideouts Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler and Tim Patrick no doubt will command their share of targets, but if Fant indeed is utilized in a variety of ways, there should be enough looks for him to maintain steady fantasy utility in 2021.

Seals-Jones (leg) resumed practicing Monday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Seals-Jones suffered a leg contusion during practice last week, but he's already recovered enough to resume participating in on-field drills. Count on Seals-Jones to resume competing for a depth gig behind top tight end Logan Thomas.