NFL Player News

Keene (knee) returned to practice Wednesday, opening the three-week window for the tight end to be activated from IR, Mike Reiss of ESPN NFL Nation reports.

Keene can be removed from IR whenever the team deems him ready, but he'll need to show that he's good to go in practice first. Given New England's lack of tight end usage in the passing game this season, Keene's unlikely to make much of an impact even once deemed healthy.

The Eagles activated Ertz (ankle) from injured reserve Wednesday.

Before suffering a high-ankle sprain Oct. 18, Ertz had caught 24 of his 45 targets for 178 yards and a touchdown in six games. In his absence, Dallas Goedert and Richard Rodgers headed the Eagles' tight-end corps, but the return of Ertz dampens the outlooks for the former two players. Ertz should reclaim a significant share of the offensive snaps after he was on the field for no fewer than 85 percent of the Eagles' plays in any of the first five games of the season, but the poor efficiency he showed while ostensibly healthy in those contests means that he shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a surefire fantasy starter now that he's back in action.

Firkser did not haul in his only target during Sunday's 45-26 win against Indianapolis.

Tennessee only elected to go to the air 22 times against the AFC South rival Colts. Instead, pounding the rock 45 times to the tune of 5.1 yards per attempt with four rushing scores. Firkser posted multiple receptions in six of his seven preceding appearances entering Week 12, but Sunday's effort represented his second zero-catch effort of the 2020 campaign. He remains with one TD on the season as Tennessee readies for a Week 13 home game against Cleveland.

Hollister caught two of five targets for 11 yards in Monday's 23-17 win over the Eagles.

Hollister handled a 55 percent snap share in the first game without Greg Olsen, his highest mark of the season but still fewer than Will Dissly (72 percent). However, Dissly didn't receive a target. In fact, Hollister has out-targeted Dissly 21-9 since the Week 6 bye. That hasn't turned into much fantasy value, though, as he produced a 14-119-0 line in that stretch.

Dissly didn't receive a target in Monday's 23-17 win over the Eagles.

In Seattle's first game without Greg Olsen (foot), Dissly out-snapped Jacob Hollister by a 48-37 margin. However, Hollister received five targets compared to Dissly's goose egg. Hollister did little with the looks however, turning them into two receptions for 11 yards. Dissly is the better blocker of the two, so his snap count should remain consistent, but his fantasy value remains low.

Okwuegbunam underwent successful surgery to repair a torn ACL on Tuesday, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.

The rookie tight end will now shift his focus toward rehabbing for the 2021 season. It's unclear whether he'll be ready in time for Week 1 after picking up the injury Nov. 8. The fourth-round pick showed promise before sustaining the brutal injury, receiving heavy targets from college teammate Drew Lock and finishing with an 11-121-1 line on 15 targets over four games. Okwuegbunam will reside on IR for the remainder of the season.

The Giants cut Wieting from the practice squad Tuesday, Dan Salomone of the team's official site reports.

This was Wieting's third stop since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in April, as he tried his hand with Cleveland and Miami as well. The 23-year-old is strictly a run-blocking tight end and will seek a practice squad role elsewhere.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that he's hopeful Kittle (foot) will return for the "last couple weeks" of the season, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) are slated to begin doing individual work on a side field in the near future as they continue their respective rehabs. The tight end himself hasn't played since Week 8 due to a fractured cuboid bone in his foot, and neither of the players' 21-day windows to be activated from IR will be opened until next week, at the earliest. Shanahan specifically noted "whether it's two games or one game or none," so a decision on Kittle could come down to whether the 49ers are still in the race for a playoff spot.

The Giants activated Smith (illness) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, Dan Salomone of the team's official site reports.

Smith tested positive for the virus Nov. 20 but has cleared the necessary protocols to return to team activities. The second-year tight end will return to the lineup without missing a game, set to serve as the No. 2 option behind Evan Engram against the Seahawks on Sunday.

Alie-Cox had two receptions for 19 yards on two targets in Sunday's loss to Tennessee.

Alie-Cox was out there for 38 of the offense's 74 snaps. He played the most snaps among the Indy tight ends, but he had fewer targets than Trey Burton (three receptions on six targets, including a touchdown). The Indy passing game utilizes all three tight ends, so Alie-Cox isn't going to get many receptions per week, and Burton has overtaken him as a red-zone target.