NFL Player News

Thomas brought in five of nine targets for 74 yards in Washington's 31-23 wild-card loss to the Buccaneers on Saturday night.

The veteran tight end followed up a career-best regular season with a strong showing in the season-ending loss, checking in third in receptions and receiving yards and second in targets. Thomas totaled between 63 and 101 receiving yards in four of his last six games including Saturday's contest, and he'll look to improve on 2020's 72-670-6 regular-season line during his 2021 contract year.

Higbee caught one of three targets for four yards during Saturday's 30-20 win over the Seahawks.

On a day when the Rams threw the ball just 25 times, Higbee wasn't heavily involved and mainly picked up scraps as Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp (knee) saw most of the targets. Kupp left the game in the latter stages because of an injury that could potentially affect his availability for the NFC divisional round matchup against either Green Bay or the Buccaneers. While Josh Reynolds and Van Jefferson's roles would likely increase if Kupp were to sit, Higbee's number could get called a few extra times as well.

Rader was activated from the Steelers' practice squad Saturday.

After making his NFL debut for Week 17's game against the Browns, Rader played in 12 special teams snaps and saw one target. The Pittsburgh native will have another chance suit up for Sunday's wild-card game against Cleveland.

Thomas finished the 2020 season with 20 catches on 31 targets for 145 yards and a touchdown in 16 games played.

Thomas was expected to assume a larger role in Carolina's passing game following the departure of long-time Pro-Bowler Greg Olsen, but that simply did not manifest despite Thomas playing about 65 percent of the offensive snaps. In fact, the 2018 fourth-rounder's final production closely mirrored that from 2019, when he experienced significant dips from his promising rookie campaign. With 2021 marking the final year of Thomas' current contract, he should be plenty motivated to elevate his involvement, but it remains to be seen whether he'll be featured more, plus the Panthers could always add another option at tight end.

Bryant was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday.

The Browns got back a number of players ahead of their Sunday playoff game against the Steelers, including the 2020 fourth-round pick. Bryant has picked up a decent amount of playing time as the No. 2 tight end behind Austin Hooper throughout the season but it hasn't translated into a ton of production. In his lone contest against the Steelers in Week 6, Bryant played just 37 percent of the offensive snaps and caught one of his two targets for 11 yards.

Kroft (coach's decision) is listed as inactive for Saturday's wild-card matchup against the Colts.

After clearing the league's COVID-19 protocols, Kroft will not suit up Saturday. Dawson Knox will continue to serve as the Bills' No. 1 tight end with Lee Smith acting as his backup.

Hill (concussion) does not carry an injury designation for Sunday's wild-card matchup against the Bears, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Hill's lack of an injury designation confirms that he's completely cleared the league's five-step concussion protocol, which doesn't come as much of a surprise considering that he's coming off back-to-back full practices. He'll handle his usual jack-of-all trades role versus Chicago while Drew Brees starts under center.

Pruitt recorded five receptions for 49 yards and two touchdowns across 11 games with the Titans in the 2020 regular season.

Pruitt recorded at least one reception in only four games this season, though he did serve as an option in the red zone occasionally. However, he is regarded as a strong run blocker and was utilized primarily in that role by the Titans. Pruitt is on an expiring contract and will hit unrestricted free agency this offseason.

Swaim recorded nine receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown across nine games with the Titans in the 2020 regular season.

Swaim signed with the Titans in mid-August, though he wasn't active on gameday until Week 6. He played a relatively large role thereafter, logging over a 50 percent snap rate in six of his nine contests. That didn't translate to much production in the box score, though he did serve as a solid run blocker to clear the way for Derrick Henry. Swaim will hit unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the Titans' postseason run.

Jackson signed a reserve/future contract with Philadelphia on Thursday.

Jackson led the University of Buffalo to a 10-4 record as the program's starting quarterback in 2018, but the 23-year-old has yet to suit up in an NFL regular-season game since entering the league as an undrafted free agent. The Eagles bring Jackson into 2021, not as a QB, but as a developmental option at tight end.