NFL Player News

Engram caught five of 10 targets for 61 yards in Monday night's 25-23 loss to the Buccaneers. He also rushed once for nine yards.

Engram rebounded relatively well from his costly drops in Week 7's defeat. In fact, the tight end made a season-long catch of 30 yards, and earlier came very close to scoring his first receiving touchdown of the campaign. The 26-year-old has now seen at least nine targets in consecutive weeks, helping him post two of his three best yardage totals to date. That uptick in production bodes well ahead of Sunday's game against Washington.

Smythe caught both his targets for 16 yards during Sunday's 28-17 win over the Rams.

Both of Smythe's grabs went for eight yards, and he actually led Miami's tight end group in receiving on a day when Tua Tagovailoa threw for just 93 yards. Smythe also had more snaps than either Mike Gesicki or Adam Shaheen, though he mostly worked as a blocker.

Gesicki caught one of two targets for eight yards during Sunday's 28-17 win over the Rams.

Gesicki's lack of offensive involvement was in large part by design, as Miami's defense and special teams both managed to account for touchdowns, and Los Angeles' offense wasn't able to move consistently at any point. It's worth noting, however, that this was Gesicki's fourth game of the year with one or fewer catches. Until such time as he proves to have established a consistent connection with rookie signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa, Gesicki can be considered a boom-or-bust fantasy option.

Johnson reverted to New Orleans' practice squad Monday after recording one catch for five yards during Sunday's 26-23 overtime win against the Bears, per the NFL's official transaction log.

Johnson's workload was certainly encouraging, as the 24-year-old led all Saints skill-position players in fielding 64 of 74 offensive snaps. His three targets were also tied for fourth most on the team, but New Orleans may be getting some of its perimeter weapons back this week in a road trip to Tampa Bay -- most notably, Michael Thomas (hamstring), who has potential to make his first appearance since the season opener after logging limited practice sessions Thursday and Friday of last week.

Sternberger caught three passes for a career-high 46 yards in Sunday's loss to the Vikings.

One week after scoring the first regular-season touchdown of his career Sternberger set a new career high in single-game receiving yards. He also played a career-high 28 snaps and -- at least for fantasy purposes -- seems to have pulled ahead of Marcedes Lewis in the Packers' tight end hierarchy. While Sternberger is becoming more involved in the offense and the Packers like utilizing multiple tight ends, he remains both a distant second behind Robert Tonyan on the depth chart and a fringe option in most fantasy leagues.

Lewis (knee) was listed as a non-participant on Monday's estimated injury report.

The veteran played his usual blocking-heavy role during Sunday's loss to the Vikings and didn't receive a target, though he uncharacteristically was charged with a pair of holding penalties. Lewis has been bothered by the knee issue for much of the season but so far has only missed the Week 4 matchup with Atlanta.

Alie-Cox (knee) caught three of four targets for 37 yards in Sunday's 41-21 win over the Lions.

Alie-Cox led Colts tight ends in receiving yards but was kept out of the end zone while both Jack Doyle and Trey Burton found pay dirt, giving Doyle and Burton a combined five touchdowns in the past two weeks. Even though he was the most productive of the three tight ends when healthy earlier this season, Alie-Cox will have a hard time carving out value in the Colts' three-man tight end rotation if he plays second fiddle in the red zone.

Kittle is expected to miss eight weeks with a broken bone in his foot, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The timeline would have Kittle returning for a Week 17 matchup against the Cardinals, and that's only if the recovery progresses as planned. With injuries ravaging the 49ers' top skill players at every position, the team may not be in playoff contention at that point, in which case Kittle likely wouldn't return to action. Kittle is expected to be placed on injured reserve soon. Ross Dwelley tops the tight end pecking order for now, but Jordan Reed (knee) could return from IR for Thursday's game versus the Packers.

Dwelley could have an increased role in the offense with George Kittle (foot) expected to be out for eight weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Kittle suffered a broken bone in his foot during Sunday's loss to the Seahawks and could be out for the rest of the season. After Kittle's exit, Dwelley caught a 16-yard touchdown, and he also had five catches for 54 yards during Kittle's two-game absence earlier this year. However, Jordan Reed (knee) worked as the primary tight end before going down with his own injury. Reed is back at practice and could be on the field for Week 9, but if he's not ready to go Dwelley should operate as San Francisco's top tight end.

Kittle suffered a small fracture in his foot during Sunday's loss to the Seahawks and is expected to miss substantial time, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

While the initial diagnosis didn't reveal anything broken in Kittle's ankle, further testing revealed that the superstar tight end picked up a significant foot injury. There's no clear timeline for his return, but his absence furthers the 49ers' injury woes, as Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) is out long term as well. Kittle is a candidate for injured reserve, which would keep him out of the lineup for at least three weeks. Jordan Reed (knee) could return from IR for Thursday's game versus the Packers, and Ross Dwelley should see an uptick in usage as well.