NFL Player News

Dafney is on the preseason PUP list with a knee injury, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Dafney was placed on the PUP list earlier this week, though the nature of the injury was previously undisclosed. The 24-year-old will need to pass a physical before being allowed to take the field for training camp.

Gesicki (undisclosed) isn't practicing Saturday for medical reasons, Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Details about Gesicki's injury remain unknown at this point, but more details will likely surface in the coming days. The starting tight end will look to get healthy before Miami kicks off preseason play Aug. 14 against the Bears.

Kelce (back) is practicing Saturday, Aaron Ladd of KSHB 41 News reports.

Kelce exited Thursday's practice with back tightness, but his return to the practice field two days later suggests the issue was minor. The star tight end is primed for another strong campaign after reaching the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past five seasons.

Kittle is already showing chemistry with rookie QB Trey Lance at training camp, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Kittle makes things easy on his quarterbacks, and he's played with a bunch of them early in his career, in part due to Jimmy Garoppolo's injury woes. Coach Kyle Shanahan has said multiple times that he views Garoppolo as his starter, but history suggests Lance -- a No. 3 overall pick -- will end up taking snaps one way or another before the end of the season. That might not be good for Kittle's receiving stats in the short term, but it'll work out for him in the long run if Lance becomes the player the Niners expect.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday that Pruitt (calf) will miss some time, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Pruitt, who joined the 49ers in June, looks to be competing for a depth role in San Francisco. George Kittle is unquestionably the 49ers' top tight end, and Ross Dwelley seems like the favorite for the No. 2 role. However, if he can return to practice soon, Pruitt could very well compete with Charlie Woerner and Josh Pederson for the No. 3 spot.

The Packers placed Dafney (undisclosed) on the PUP list Thursday, NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reports.

Dafney will need to clear a physical before being cleared to join teammates at training camp practices. He carved out a regular reserve gig during the 2020 postseason, but the return of Josiah Deguara (knee) could threaten Dafney's role if he can't get back to full health soon.

Gesicki has been QB Tua Tagoviloa's "go-to receiver" early in camp, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald reports.

The report also notes that the young QB has thrown a lot of passes to running backs, in part because veteran wide receivers DeVante Parker, Will Fuller and Preston Williams are out with injuries. Gesicki gets a nice opportunity to build chemistry with Tagovailoa, but further down the line, the tight end could face tough competition for targets from a deep WR group that added Fuller and sixth overall pick Jaylen Waddle in the offseason. Gesicki is in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, coming off a 2020 campaign with career highs for catches (53), yards (703) and TDs (six), though he actually saw four fewer targets (85) than in 2019.

Akins made a number of catches at Thursday's practice, John Harris of the Texans' official website reports.

Akins is on track to work as Houston's top pass-catching tight end, with an opportunity to handle more snaps (and possibly targets) after Darren Fells left for Detroit in the offseason. The Texans did draft Brevin Jordan in the fifth round and still have 258-pound blocker Pharaoh Brown and 2019 third-round pick Kahale Warring, but Akins is the only tight end on the roster with more than 19 NFL receptions. Given the poor state of the team's WR group, Akins could see a handful of targets per game -- possibly even more if he can improve his blocking and earn a three-down role.

As expected, Smith (hamstring) has been a practice participant during training camp, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.

The free-agent acquisition previously missed time with a hamstring issue, but Smith has been working fully in camp and will now be part of the Patriots' new 1-2 punch at tight end, joined by fellow newcomer Hunter Henry. Though Henry's presence creates the possibility that a time-share could somewhat hamper Smith's target volume, it's also reasonable to expect that both players will have a decent fantasy floor due to the likelihood that multiple-tight-end sets will be a key component of New England's offense in 2021.

Thedford (undisclosed) left Thursday's practice due to injury, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.

The specifics of Thedford's injury are not clear. Any missed time could hurt his chances of securing a depth role behind T.J. Hockenson and Darren Fells.