NFL Player News

Alie-Cox (knee) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.

Alie-Cox managed to play through his lingering knee issue during Sunday's win over the Lions, so barring any setbacks, he should be good for Week 9. Fellow tight ends Jack Doyle and Trey Burton both scored versus Detroit, while Alie-Cox was limited to just three catches (on four targets) for 37 yards.

Graham was held out of practice Wednesday with knee and hamstring injuries.

Prior to Wednesday's session, Graham frequently didn't take the field for the first practice of the week in what the Bears had usually terms as veteran days off. He now has a pair of injuries attached to his name, however, but thus far, the Bears haven't suggested his availability for Sunday's game in Tennessee is in any peril. Aside from four touchdowns, Graham has only put up 29 receptions for 247 yards over 49 targets through the Bears' first eight games.

Hockenson was limited at Wednesday's practice with a toe injury, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

While Hockenson didn't find the end zone this past Sunday against the Colts, he otherwise had season bests across the board (seven catches for 65 yards on 10 targets). He may have been helped by Kenny Golladay's departure early in the third quarter due to a hip issue, which is expected to sideline the wideout for at least one game. One further point to note is that if Hockenson is able to gut out his toe injury this weekend at Minnesota, he may be on the receiving end of passes from Chase Daniel after Matthew Stafford was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday.

Akins (concussion/ankle) was a full participant in practice Wednesday, Aaron Reiss of The Athletic reports.

Akins practiced fully for the first time since Week 4. His ability to take every rep in practice coming out of the bye week paves the way for Akins to get back on the field Sunday in Jacksonville. He'll likely be looking at a split of the tight-end snaps with Darren Fells.

Kittle was diagnosed Wednesday with a fractured cuboid bone in his foot, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

General manager John Lynch relayed that a CT scan revealed the extent of Kittle's injury, which he suffered in Sunday's loss to Seattle. After being placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Kittle was given a recovery timeline of eight weeks, but coach Kyle Shanahan noted that the tight end believes he'll only be sidelined two weeks, per Inman. In the interim, the 49ers will roll with Ross Dwelley at tight end until Jordan Reed (knee) is activated from IR, perhaps ahead of Thursday's game versus the Packers.

Kroft caught his lone target for 11 yards in Sunday's 24-21 win over the Patriots.

Kroft didn't see much volume as Buffalo went run-heavy on a windy day -- quarterback Josh Allen threw only 18 passes, and half of those went to Stefon Diggs. With fellow tight end Dawson Knox (illness/calf) still on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Kroft should continue to see the majority of playing time at tight end against the porous Seahawks secondary in Week 9.

Thomas was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice due to an ankle injury, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Coming off Washington's bye week, Thomas' ability to practice is a decent sign that he'll be able to suit up Sunday against the Giants. Still, his status should be watched closely over the next few days to ensure he can take on his usual share of the reps at tight end. Thomas has played at least 74 percent of the offensive snaps in each of Washington's first seven games.

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.