NFL Player News

Lewis (knee) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Lewis is following his usual practice regimen, as the veteran tight end is managing his reps to start the week. There's no concern about his ability to play this week against the Colts, and fantasy managers shouldn't be concerned with his health anyway, as Lewis has generated a 4-32-2 line through eight games.

Smith (groin) was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice.

Prior to sitting out the Vikings' Week 10 win in Chicago, Smith didn't practice at all, so he appears to be taking a step in the right direction. Still, his status should be watched closely to get a sense of his odds to return to action Sunday versus the Cowboys. If Smith can't play, the Vikings will go with Kyle Rudolph and Tyler Conklin at tight end.

Daniels (ankle) is listed as questionable for Thursday's contest in Seattle.

Daniels left this past Sunday's win against the Bills in the third quarter due to an ankle injury, which didn't allow him to practice this week. Meanwhile, Maxx Williams managed one limited showing Wednesday. Considering the banged-up nature of the Cardinals' tight end group, Dan Arnold may be poised for much more work than normal, especially if one of Daniels and Williams are inactive.

Tonyan (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Tonyan has dealt with ankle and knee injuries for a good portion of the season, but his share of the offensive snaps has hovered between 60 and 67 percent for seven of nine outings. Since he went off for five touchdowns in three games from Weeks 2 through 4, he's been kept out of the end zone while accumulating 14 catches (on 18 targets) for 174 yards across the last five games. Assuming he's able to suit up Sunday at Indianapolis, Tonyan may find it difficult to produce against a Colts defense that has held tight ends to a league-low 4.8 yards per target in 2020.

Pruitt (knee) didn't participate in Wednesday's practice, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Pruitt sat out last week's loss to the Colts because of a knee sprain, and he's trending in the wrong direction to start the week. The 28-year-old tight end functions mainly as a blocking specialist, as he's been targeted just four times over six games. If Pruitt's forced to miss this Sunday's matchup against the Ravens, Geoff Swaim likely will be active once again as the team's No. 3 tight end.

Hockenson (toe) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.

Hockenson managed to play through the toe injury during Sunday's last-second win over Washington, but the issue clearly plagued him on the field. The second-year tight end caught just two of four targets for 13 yards and no touchdowns, finishing with his worst fantasy day of the season. The key members of Detroit's pass-catching group are quite banged up entering a Week 11 matchup with Carolina, as Kenny Golladay (hip) was limited Wednesday, while all of Matthew Stafford (thumb), Marvin Jones (knee) and Danny Amendola (hip) were non-participants. With that in mind, Hockenson actually looks like one of the Lions' healthier skill-position players.

Fant's absence from Wednesday's practice was attributed to a rib injury, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

While it's at least encouraging that Fant isn't dealing with an aggravation of the ankle injury that has bothered him in recent weeks, his inability to practice on even a limited basis to begin Week 11 is somewhat concerning. Nick Vannett is currently the only healthy tight end for Denver, so he could be in line for a substantial workload if Fant's injury is serious enough to sideline him.

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

Alie-Cox has been playing through the knee injury for a few weeks now, so he's likely on track to play in Sunday's game against the Packers, barring a setback. If Jack Doyle (concussion) remains out, Alie-Cox should continue to split reps at tight end with Trey Burton.

Vannett wasn't targeted in Sunday's 37-12 loss to the Raiders.

Vannett moved up to second on Denver's tight end depth chart due to a rash of injuries at the position, but he didn't take advantage of the expanded role. He has caught just six passes all season and has never broken 30 catches or 300 yards in a campaign.

Ertz (ankle) is taking part in practice Wednesday, Daniel Gallen of The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports.

The Eagles designated Ertz to return from injured reserve, opening a 21-day window for the team to make a decision between bringing him back to the active roster or ruling him out for the rest of the season. Ertz's practice participation suggests it will be the former, though it isn't certain he'll be activated before Sunday's game in Cleveland. The veteran tight end suffered a high-ankle sprain Week 6, leaving Richard Rodgers in a three-down role for a Week 7 win over the Giants. Dallas Goedert then returned from his own ankle injury Week 8, logging 84 and 93 percent of snaps the past two games. Ertz's impending return should affect Goedert's playing time, though it was the latter who was more productive back in September when both tight ends were healthy.