NFL Player News

Alie-Cox (knee) was a limited participant in practice Wednesday.

Alie-Cox's bothersome knee has routinely capped his practice reps in recent weeks, but unless he's dealing with a setback, he should be able to suit up Sunday against the Steelers. If that's the case, he'll likely be sharing snaps at tight end with Jack Doyle and Trey Burton.

Gesicki (shoulder) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Practicing in a limited capacity wasn't enough for Gesicki to get clearance to play Week 15 against the Patriots, so his status for Saturday's road game against the Raiders remains murky. The tight end may need to upgrade to a full session Thursday in order to guarantee his availability for the contest. Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen will be in line for increased roles again if Gesicki can't go.

Engram was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice with a calf injury, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

The same injury limited him in practice last week, but he suited up for the Giants' loss to the Browns without issue. As such, there's no real reason to worry about Engram's status for Week 16 as long as he can continue logging at least limited participation in practices.

Njoku caught his lone target for 22 yards during Sunday's win over the Giants.

The 24-year-old played 48 percent of the offensive snaps but didn't find much involvement in the passing game. Njoku should continue to split time at tight end with Harrison Bryant and a now-healthy Austin Hooper (neck).

The Ravens signed Tomlinson to the active roster Tuesday.

The Ravens waived Luke Willson (hip) on Saturday, and Tomlinson will take his place as the second tight end to Mark Andrews. Tomlinson has played in four games with the Ravens this year, receiving just one target over 63 snaps on offense.

Sternberger (concussion) wasn't present at Tuesday's practice, Olivia Reiner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Sternberger has missed two games, and he remains in the league's five-step concussion protocol. The second-year tight end will need to take the field by Friday to have a chance to play Sunday against the Titans. The Packers will reveal an official practice report when they take the field Wednesday that should signal if Sternberger has made any progress.

Smith reeled in three of four targets for 37 yards during Sunday's 33-27 loss to Chicago.

With Kyle Rudolph (foot) unavailable for the Week 15 divisional tilt, Smith posted his fifth start of the 2020 campaign while tying for third on the team in targets. Tyler Conklin turned out to be the more profitable tight end option against the Bears, however, producing three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Smith has offered an inconsistent floor and a limited fantasy ceiling in his second pro campaign, with no more than five targets or 64 receiving yards in any game this season. The Alabama product has also been held under 25 yards on six different occasions, scoring a touchdown in just one of those instances.

Alie-Cox caught both targets for 14 yards in Sunday's 27-20 win over the Texans.

Alie-Cox produced the same exact stat line as Jack Doyle, while Trey Burton caught just one pass for eight yards. The trio of tight ends has just one touchdown over the past four weeks, and none of the players have produced more than 50 yards in a given outing.

Bell caught his lone target for 10 yards in Sunday's 41-33 win over the 49ers. He also rushed once for two yards.

Meanwhile, position mate Dalton Schultz was targeted twice, translating into two catches for 14 yards and a score. Bell has been targeted just six times over the past eight games; he won't be valuable for fantasy unless Schultz gets hurt.

Gesicki (shoulder) was listed as a limited participant at Tuesday's practice, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Gesicki closed Week 15 with back-to-back limited practices, but it wasn't enough for him to gain clearance ahead of Sunday's loss to the Patriots. While it's at least an encouraging sign Gesicki was able to maintain that level of practice activity to begin Week 16, he'll presumably need to upgrade to full participation by Thursday to avoid taking an injury designation into Saturday's game in Las Vegas. While Gesicki was sidelined Week 15, Durham Smythe (five catches for 40 yards) and Adam Shaheen (one catch for 15 yards) split the reps at tight end.