NFL Player News

Knox (calf/illness) isn't practicing Wednesday, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports.

Knox remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list, though he'll be eligible for activation once 10 days have passed since his last negative test. The tight end was battling a calf injury at the time of his placement on the list, so he'll have multiple issues to heal up from before he's able to practice again. At this point, Knox looks unlikely to gain clearance for Sunday's game against the Seahawks.

Hooper (appendix) returned to practice Wednesday, putting him on track to play when the Browns returned to action Week 10 against Houston, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday that he expects Hooper to suit up in Cleveland's next game, and with a week and a half to get back up to speed, the tight end looks well on his way to being ready to go. Hooper's return to the lineup will likely result in fewer tight-end snaps and targets available for Harrison Bryant and David Njoku.

Njoku, who told the Browns he would like to be traded ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, ultimately stayed put in Cleveland, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Njoku first requested a trade in July before rescinding the demand in August, but he since told Cabot in October that he would be open to a change of scenery. The Browns had no intention of trading him, however, and no serious discussions with other teams occurred prior to the deadline. Instead of potentially becoming a lead tight end with another team, Njoku remains part of the three-man rotation that includes Austin Hooper and Harrison Bryant. Njoku, who has missed three games with a sprained knee, has eight catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns with only one drop on the campaign.

Kmet corralled his only target for two yards during Sunday's 26-23 overtime loss to New Orleans.

Kmet dealt with a back injury and was reported as a limited participant in practice for the first time all season last Wednesday. The second-round rookie was able to recover with a full session the following day, ultimately recording his eighth appearance of 2020 on Sunday against New Orleans. Despite him fielding a season-high 30 offensive snaps in the contest, Kmet's production against the Saints was a far cry from the four catches, 65 yards and one touchdown he produced the preceding two outings.

Asiasi (personal) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

The 23-year-old missed Sunday's loss to Buffalo due to personal reasons, but it's unclear why he was moved to injured reserve. Asiasi will be sidelined for at least the next three games. He's played only 81 snaps in five games this season, so his absence is unlikely to impact New England's gameplans.

Lewis (knee) was a limited participant in Tuesday's walk-through practice, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Lewis has been on the injury report with this knee issue before each of the last three games, but he's avoided missing time. His upgrade to limited participation Tuesday signals that he'll be ready to go Thursday against the 49ers. Lewis' role has been negligible this year, however, as he's recorded just three receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown through six contests.

The 49ers will place Kittle (foot) on injured reserve, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

While the team's medical staff has informed coach Kyle Shanahan that Kittle will be sidelined eight weeks due to a small fracture in his right foot, the tight end instead has told Shanahan that he intends to miss two weeks, per Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News. The move to IR indicates Kittle will be out at least three weeks, but it also gives the 49ers leeway in case Kittle beats the odds and recovers (at least is cleared to play) before the end of the campaign. In the meantime, Ross Dwelley will occupy the top of the TE depth chart until Jordan Reed (knee) is activated from injured reserve.

Parham did not see any targets in Sunday's 31-30 loss against Denver.

Parham played a paltry 10 offensive snaps in the absence of Virgil Green (ankle) who was placed on IR. Not surprisingly, the former XFL standout wasn't able to replicate his one-touchdown performance from last week and hardly figures to be an attractive fantasy asset so long as Hunter Henry (84 snaps Sunday) remains healthy.

Hudson failed to bring in his only target in the Buccaneers' 25-23 win over the Giants on Monday night.

The big tight end logged just three snaps from scrimmage, so his lack of statistics was unsurprising. Hudson is a distant third in the positional pecking order behind Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate, and the recent activation of Antony Auclair could also serve to frequently render Hudson a gameday inactive in coming weeks.

Henry caught all four of his targets for 33 yards in Sunday's 31-30 loss against the Broncos.

Henry converted every one of his targets and also saw a season-high 84 snaps. While Henry has only scored one touchdown this season, he is on pace to set career highs in receptions and receiving yards, although that's a byproduct of the tight end's lack of durability through five seasons. His four red-zone targets halfway through the campaign is a bit concerning, especially after the loss of Austin Ekeler (hamstring).