NFL Player News

Keene (knee) has been ruled out for Monday's game against the Jets.

Keene didn't travel with the team for Monday's matchup, leaving just Ryan Izzo (hamstring), who is listed as questionable, as the only remaining tight end on New England's roster. Perhaps Rashod Berry, who is on the practice squad, will be elevated. Otherwise, Izzo will handle a hefty workload if he's able to suit up.

Firkser recorded three receptions on six targets for 19 yards in Week 9 against the Bears.

Firkser finished second on the team with six targets, behind only A.J. Brown. He was utilized close to the line of scrimmage, limiting his output potential, with his longest catch of the day going for only 12 yards. Firkser was on the field for 49 percent of offensive snaps, his second-highest mark of the season. Nevertheless, he is still working behind Jonnu Smith as the team's primary pass-catching tight end.

Hollister caught five of seven targets for 60 yards in Sunday's 44-34 loss to the Bills.

For the first time this season, Hollister led Seattle's tight ends in snap share (48 percent) and targets, recording more than Greg Olsen and Will Dissly combined in the latter category. Three of those targets were in the red zone too, although he failed to find the end zone. Neither Olsen nor Dissly has been good enough to dismiss challengers for the top spot this year, so Hollister could realistically maintain an increased workload moving forward. It's worth keeping an eye on his usage in Week 10 against the Rams.

Thomas caught three of six targets for 28 yards in Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Giants.

The six targets were third most on the team, and the most Thomas has seen since Week 3. He played every single snap on offense for the first time this season, though he came pretty close a few other times. Even with the three-down role, Thomas is difficult to trust for fantasy purposes, playing in a subpar offense with a revolving door at quarterback. He'll catch passes from Alex Smith when Washington travels to Detroit for Week 10.

Thomas caught one of two targets for eight yards in Sunday's 33-31 loss to the Chiefs.

Thomas actually fumbled on his lone reception Sunday, but the ball fortunately went out of bounds to clear him of a potential turnover. Through nine games, Thomas sports merely 11 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, giving him minimal fantasy value.

Brown failed to catch his only target in Sunday's 27-25 win over Jacksonville.

He saw added competition for snaps Sunday with the return of Jordan Akins, who had missed three contests with a concussion and ankle injury. Brown finished second among the position group with 25 snaps, behind Darren Fells (33) and ahead of Akins (22), but Akins should receive a greater share going forward. Brown has caught three of four targets for 32 yards in six games this season.

Akins caught two of four targets for 19 yards in Sunday's 27-25 win over the Jaguars.

Akins returned to the lineup after missing three consecutive games with a concussion and ankle injury. The third-year tight end opened the season as the lead tight end but on Sunday, he finished third in snap count (22) behind Darren Fells (33) and Pharaoh Brown (25). The diminished playing time is likely the result of the Texans exercising caution. Prior to his recent injury, Akins was the leading tight end target, as he was Sunday.

Hurst caught seven of a team-high eight targets, accumulating 62 receiving yards during Sunday's 34-27 win against the Broncos.

Calvin Ridley (foot) was unavailable to state his own case, but Hurst commanded more passing-game involvement than at least one Pro Bowl-caliber receiver during Week 9, out-targeting the great Julio Jones by an 8-7 count. It seemed obvious the South Carolina product would see more involvement with the Falcons this season after the team sacrificed a second-round draft choice to acquire him from Baltimore. Regardless of the compensation the Falcons gave up, for fantasy purposes he's already surpassed his previous career highs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns with seven games still remaining on the regular-season slate. He's rounded into consistent form of late especially, with four-plus receptions and at least 54 receiving yards in each of his past four outings. Hurst may be earning his keep long term despite general manager Thomas Dimitroff having been relieved of his duties Oct. 11.

Waller caught five of 10 targets for 22 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-26 win over the Chargers.

While it wasn't the most efficient performance, Waller did set a new career high with his fourth TD of the season. The tight end has seen double-digit targets three times in eight games as Derek Carr's top option heading into Week 10's clash with a Broncos defense that has only given up two touchdowns to opposition TEs so far this year.

Smith brought in both his targets for 32 yards and a touchdown in Week 9 against the Bears.

Smith was out-targeted by fellow tight end Anthony Firkser, but managed to rack up more yards and find the end zone. His score came midway through the fourth quarter on a play action pass when he was left open leaking into the end zone from the two-yard line. Despite that production, Smith has had a hard time earning consistent targets since the return of Corey Davis, as he has seen two or fewer targets in three of four contests since Week 6. He'll draw a Week 10 matchup against the Colts.