NFL Player News

Hooper (appendix) won't play Sunday against the Raiders, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Hooper underwent an appendectomy last Friday, so it's not surprising that he's slated to miss his second straight game. The Browns are on bye Week 9, so Hooper seems to have a good shot to return to action for the team's Nov. 15 contest against the Texans. In his continued absence, Harrison Bryant and David Njoku will head the Browns' Week 8 tight end corps.

Hurst brought in five of seven targets for 54 yards in the Falcons' 25-17 win over the Panthers on Thursday night.

The third-year pro continued to churn out solid numbers Thursday, enjoying an expanded role with Calvin Ridley exiting the game in the second quarter due to an ankle injury. Hurst checked in second to Julio Jones in receptions, receiving yards and targets, and he now has at least Thursday's 54 receiving yards in three straight games, his best stretch of play yet during his first season with Atlanta. Hurst also exactly matched his 2019 totals of 30 receptions and 349 yards in Baltimore with Thursday's production, leaving him poised to establish new career bests in both categories in a Week 9 home interconference affair against the Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 8.

Everett (illness) practiced fully Thursday, Kevin Modesti of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

A day removed from missing practice due to illness, Everett was back in the saddle Thursday and even handled every rep. Meanwhile, position mate Tyler Higbee remained limited by a hand contusion, which sidelined him this past Monday against the Bears. If Higbee doesn't gain clearance to play Sunday in Miami, Everett again will be in line to be the Rams' primary TE after going for a 4-28-1 line on five targets Week 7.

Higbee (hand) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday, Kevin Modesti of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Higbee has strung together back-to-back limited sessions, with Thursday's showing coinciding with the Rams' most rigorous workout of the week, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com. On Wednesday, coach Sean McVay referred to Higbee's hand injury as "a pretty gnarly hand contusion," so it remains to be seen if he'll be able to cap his time away from the field to just one game. Elsewhere in the TE room, Gerald Everett (illness) followed up Wednesday's DNP with a full practice Thursday, giving the Rams at least one of their top two tight ends for Sunday's contest at Miami.

Fant (ankle) was a full participant in Thursday's practice, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Just like last week, Fant opened Week 8 as a limited participant Wednesday before upgrading to full activity a day later. Now that he's further removed from the sprained ankle he sustained Oct. 1, Fant will look to deliver better results Sunday against the Chargers after the Chiefs limited him to three receptions for 38 yards in his return from a one-game absence last week. Fant still played 70 percent of the offensive snaps in that contest, and he should see a slight uptick in work moving forward after playing no fewer than 73 percent of the snaps in any of the Broncos' first three games.

Kmet (back) practiced in full Thursday.

Kmet has consistently played around 30 percent of the snaps on offense each week this season, but the rookie second-rounder only recently has been making an impact in the box score, gathering in all four targets for 65 yards and a TD over the last two games. He kicked off this week with a limited showing Wednesday but bucked the back injury on the second Week 8 practice report. While he'll continue to play second fiddle to starting TE Jimmy Graham, Kmet seems to be developing a rapport with starting quarterback Nick Foles.

Tonyan (ankle) was a full participant at Thursday's practice, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Green Bay listed Tonyan as a limited participant on Wednesday's estimated report due to the ankle issue, but the tight end was able to take every rep when the team returned to the field Thursday for the first time in Week 8. He'll thus be on tap for his normal duties as the Packers' top pass-catching option at his position this weekend versus Minnesota. During Green Bay's previous matchup with the Vikings in Week 1, Tonyan was shut out of the box score for the only time this season, drawing no targets despite playing 62 percent of the offensive snaps.

Lewis (knee) didn't participate in Thursday's practice.

Lewis took a step back in the Packers' second practice of the week, as he had been a limited participant at Wednesday's session. The Packers haven't indicated that Lewis experienced a setback, making it possible that his absence Thursday may have amounted to pre-planned maintenance. In any case, the Packers will decide whether the blocking specialist will carry a designation into Sunday's game against the Vikings following Friday's practice.

Alie-Cox (knee) returned to a limited practice Thursday.

We'll have to see if Alie-Cox heads into the weekend listed as questionable, but his fantasy upside is limited as long as fellow tight ends Jack Doyle and Trey Burton are both available.

Goedert (lower leg/ankle) said Thursday that he hasn't ruled himself out from playing this weekend against the Cowboys, EJ Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

When Goedert was placed on injured reserve Sept. 29 after being diagnosed with a small fracture in his tibia in addition to a high-ankle sprain, the prevailing expectation was that he would be sidelined through the Eagles' Week 9 bye. However, after taking part in practice Wednesday when the Eagles designated him to return from IR, Goedert noted that his ankle responded well to the activity, leaving the possibility open for him to return to action sooner than expected. For now, the Eagles are labeling Goedert as day-to-day and are non-committal on his status for Week 8, so an official word on his status may not come until Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, the deadline for the Eagles to add him to the roster ahead of the game against Dallas. If the Eagles err on the side of caution and keep Goedert on IR through their bye, Richard Rodgers would be in store for another turn as the team's top tight end.