NFL Player News

Njoku (hamstring) won't practice Thursday, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Back-to-back absences suggest the tight end is in some danger of missing Sunday's game at Kansas City. It wouldn't be too big a loss for the Cleveland offense, as Njoku played only 31 percent of snaps in the team's wild-card win over Pittsburgh, catching one pass for seven yards. Austin Hooper logged 90 percent of snaps and a team-high 11 targets, while rookie Harrison Bryant got 33 percent of snaps and zero targets. Bryant would be the favorite to pick up most of Njoku's vacated snaps.

Sample finished the 2020 season with 40 catches for 349 yards and his first NFL touchdown.

While Sample won't be drawing comparisons to Travis Kelce anytime soon, the 2019 second-round pick from the University of Washington did make important strides, taking advantage of the playing time resulting from C.J. Uzomah's season-ending injury.

Fant finished the 2020 season with 62 receptions for 673 yards and three touchdowns on 93 targets over his 15 appearances with the program.

Fant became more of a short-range, volume target under first-year offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak than he had been while playing in the Rich Scangarello-led offense in 2019. The tight end averaged 4.1 catches per game in 2020, but his yards per reception fell by more than three, dropping from 14.1 in 2019 to 10.9 in 2020. Fant's production fell off dramatically after injuring his ankle Week 4 against the Jets, and though he only ended up missing one game on the season, he never seemed to fully recover from the issue. With a full offseason to rehab and with better health in 2021, Fant could have the potential to make another leap forward in his third NFL season.

Pinkney signed a futures contract with the Titans Wednesday.

Pinkney has seen an active roster once so far, which was with the Falcons in Week 17 of this season, but he didn't end up making his NFL debut as he was listed as inactive. The tight end had an impressive four years at Vanderbilt, where he had 114 receptions for 1,560 yards and 14 touchdowns. He'll have his sights set on finally seeing the field with the Titans in the upcoming season.

Lewis (knee) did not practice Wednesday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Lewis was limited in Tuesday's practice, so it's somewhat concerning to see his activity level drop. Of course, the veteran tight end has regularly had a cap on his reps all season. He'll have one more chance to practice before the Packers have to tag him with an injury designation for Saturday's divisional contest against the Rams.

Kelce doesn't appear on the injury report the Chiefs released Wednesday, Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star reports.

Kelce was held out of the Chiefs' regular-season finale against the Chargers for rest purposes and benefited from Kansas City having a first-round bye in the postseason, so he should have the benefit of fresh legs heading into the team's playoff opener Sunday versus the Browns. Top wideout Tyreek Hill, who dealt with a hamstring injury back in December, is also off the Chiefs' injury report. Patrick Mahomes will thus have his full assortment of pass catching weapons available for the divisional round.

Njoku (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

While the extent and cause of Njoku's hamstring injury is unknown, he was unable to practice Wednesday. The tight end played in the wild-card win over Pittsburgh, where he caught his lone target for seven yards.

Hill didn't practice Wednesday due to a knee injury, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Hill dealt with a concussion last week, but he managed to pass through the protocol for head injuries to play in Sunday's wild-card win over the Bears. In the 21-9 victory, he lost a fumble, had four carries for 15 yards and caught both targets for five yards. Now with a knee issue in tow, Hill's status will be one to monitor as this weekend's game against the Buccaneers draws closer.

Lewis (knee) was a limited participant on Tuesday's injury report.

Lewis has consistently been limited in practice this year, so this isn't cause for concern. The 36-year-old tight end is expected to suit up in Saturday's playoff matchup against the Rams and he'll mainly work in a blocking role.

Thompson finished the 2020 season with one catch on two targets for seven yards and a touchdown in 15 games played.

Thompson, a rookie out of Temple, scored in Week 10 versus the Buccaneers on the only catch of his career thus far. After playing under Panthers coach Matt Rhule in college, Thompson's ability as a blocker and on special teams recently earned him a one-year extension, which will likely result in him filling similar roles next season.