NFL Player News

Ertz (ankle) has been designated to return from IR, Mike Kaye of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

With that, the tight end's 21-day practice window has opened, and Ertz could be activated as soon as Sunday's game against the Browns. Prior to suffering a high-ankle sprain Week 6, Ertz had hauled in 24 of his 45 targets for 178 yards and a TD. In his absence, Dallas Goedert and Richard Rodgers have filled in, but once he's fully up to speed, Ertz will push to reclaim his status as the Eagles' top tight end.

Hudson did not record any statistics across seven snaps from scrimmage in the Buccaneers' 46-23 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

Hudson has now garnered active status in every game from Week 2 onward, although that's only led to a 2-21 line on a total of six targets. Coach Bruce Arians continues to roll with four active tight ends on most weeks, but both Hudson and position mate Antony Auclair are being used exclusively in a run-blocking capacity with both Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate healthy in front of them.

Smythe caught both of his targets for nine yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 29-21 win over the Chargers.

Smythe doesn't see targets with the same regularity as Mike Gesicki, and Adam Shaheen has shown superior deep and intermediate abilities, but the second-year pro is establishing himself as an option in the red zone. He'll look to continue establishing chemistry with Tua Tagovailoa at Denver in Week 11.

Everett caught two of three targets for 27 yards during Sunday's 23-16 win over the Seahawks.

After receiving nine targets Week 8 against Miami, Everett wasn't involved nearly as much following the Rams' bye week with Tyler Higbee back in action. However, Everett did nearly score a touchdown after taking a 16-yard reception to Seattle's 1-yard line. Running back Darrell Henderson scored on the next play. While Everett projects to remain involved in the passing attack, he's difficult to rely on in the majority of fantasy settings.

Higbee caught three of six targets for a season-high 60 yards during Sunday's 23-16 win over Seattle.

The fifth-year tight end was particularly instrumental on Los Angeles' second drive with receptions of 39 and 14 yards before a rushing score from running back Darrell Henderson put Los Angeles in the lead for good. Higbee's been quiet since scoring three touchdowns Week 2 against Philadelphia, but this was a better outing and could prove to be a sign of things to come. Fantasy managers will still probably want to keep expectations in check, though.

Thomas caught his only target for seven yards in Sunday's 46-23 loss to the Buccaneers.

Thomas saw fellow tight end Colin Thompson score to begin the game, and is now tied with Thompson with one touchdown this season. With just 12 grabs in total, Thomas clearly isn't involved enough in Carolina's passing game to justify fantasy ownership despite his starting role.

Thompson scored a seven-yard touchdown on his only target in Sunday's 46-23 loss to the Buccaneers.

Thompson opened the scoring by finding the end zone on the first reception of his career. With that being the only catch he's made thus far, however, Thompson remains far off fantasy radars.

Akins caught his lone target for five yards in Sunday's 10-7 loss to the Browns.

Akins' target was in the red zone -- the tight end's third target inside the 20 this season -- but overall, Houston's tight ends weren't used much in the game. They were thrown to just four times among Deshaun Watson's 30 pass attempts. Akins and Darren Fells each had one target while Pharaoh Brown was targeted twice and had a touchdown.

Brown caught two of two targets for 21 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 10-7 loss to the Browns.

Brown surprisingly led Houston's tight ends in targets -- the first time that's happened in 2020 -- and scored his first touchdown of the season. His 16-yard touchdown catch brought the Texans within one score late in the fourth quarter, but the Browns were able to run out the clock. Brown currently sits third on the depth chart behind Jordan Akins and Darren Fells.

Njoku was not targeted in Sunday's 10-7 win over Houston.

Cleveland tight ends were targeted only twice on a weather-impacted day on the shores of Lake Erie, and both went to lead tight end Austin Hooper. Neither Njoku nor Harrison Bryant were given any looks on a day when the Browns stuck to their strength and ran twice as much they threw the ball. That trend should continue as the weather gets colder, which could limit targets for all receivers. Njoku has just 13 targets over six games, resulting in eight catches, 102 yards and two touchdowns.