NFL Player News

Bryant caught a pair of touchdown passes during drills Wednesday, Dan Labbe of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The Browns are giving Bryant a good look early in camp, and he's setting himself up for longer looks as camp wears on. The 2019 John Mackey Award winner can play off the line, something he did often at Florida Atlantic and the Browns want to do with their tight ends. Bryant's currently third on the depth chart but will be pushing David Njoku in camp.

Swaim signed a contract with the Titans on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 27-year-old was let go by the Jaguars this offseason, and after numerous tryouts around the league, he settled one a contract in Tennessee. Swaim only suited up in six games last season with Jacksonville, chipping in 13 catches for 65 yards, so he'll likely add a nice depth piece to the tight end room should injuries or illness occur during the season.

Vannett is in the concussion protocol Wednesday, Mike Klis of 9News Denver reports.

Vannett will need to fully clear the league's concussion protocol before retaking the practice field. The Broncos are relying on him to provide a veteran presence in an otherwise extremely youthful tight end room.

Tonyan has been taking some reps with the Packers' starting offense in practice, Mike Spofford of the team's official site reports.

Most of the discussion surrounding the Green Bay tight ends this offseason has focused on 2019 third-round pick Jace Sternberger and rookie third-round pick Josiah Deguara, but Tonyan and 36-year-old blocking specialist Marcedes Lewis also appear to be right in the mix to earn playing time. Tonyan originally caught on with the Packers' practice squad as an undrafted rookie back in 2017, and he then caught 14 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns in 27 games the past two seasons, playing more snaps on special teams (326) than offense (260). The 26-year-old seems to have made a clean recovery from offseason surgery for a core-muscle injury, and he's now hoping to be a significant part of the Green Bay passing attack in 2020.

The Eagles are labeling Goedert as day to day with an upper-body injury, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Goedert, Miles Sanders and Boston Scott were all held out of Wednesday's practice, but there hasn't been any indication that any are in danger of missing Week 1. The Eagles will likley have Joshua Perkins join Zach Ertz in two-TE formations while Goedert is absent from practice.

The Vikings expect Smith to handle a bigger role in his second professional season, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.

Smith was one of the youngest players in the NFL last season, and he had the disadvantage of playing a position with a notoriously steep learning curve for rookies. No matter, he played 60 percent of Minnesota's offensive snaps during the regular season and 58 percent in two playoff games, catching 39 passes along the way. Smith never emerged as a high-volume receiver, but he demonstrated progress throughout the year, and the Vikings expect him to take another step forward this season. In fantasy-football terms, there's still the issue of Kyle Rudolph taking a large chunk of the tight-end snaps and targets, likely limiting the ceiling for Smith's receiving production. The two tight ends had similar stats last year in terms of catches, yards and targets, but Rudolph held a 6-2 advantage in touchdowns. It won't come as any surprise if Smith takes on more of the receiving work in single-tight end formations this year.

Sweeney (foot) remains on the PUP list and isn't practicing Wednesday, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

Sweeney currently sits fourth on the depth chart at tight end and is no certainty to secure a roster spot, even though he saw action in six games as a seventh-round rookie last season.

Trautman has been a standout performer in the Saints' initial practices, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

The third-round rookie has gotten some work with the first-team offense and drew the attention of fellow tight end Jared Cook for his hands and route running. Trautman is unlikely to see much work in the passing game in his first season with New Orleans, but these promising early reports suggest he could be on track for future success.

Dissly (Achilles) wore pads during Tuesday's practice, he reports.

Dissly tore his Achilles in Week 6 last year and has been diligently rehabbing since then. He passed a physical in early August and has been easing into practices, and while there haven't been reports that Dissly has taken contact yet, participating in padded practice is a big step. The 24-year-old tight end has shown nothing but promise since entering the league, as he's accrued 31 receptions for 418 yards and six touchdowns over 10 games, but his inability to stay healthy has left fantasy managers disappointed.

Gesicki said Thursday that having DeVante Parker and Preston Williams (knee) on the outside will allow him to see more beneficial matchups in 2020, Travis Wingfield of the Dolphins' official site reports.

Gesicki could certainly benefit from matchups that will let him take advantage of his athletic gifts, assuming Parker and Williams are each able to build upon the relative success they enjoyed in 2019 and draw away defensive attention. For his part, Gesicki was serviceable last season while logging 51 catches for 570 yards and five scores, but his 57.3 percent catch rate and lack of broken tackles draw into question how much untapped upside he actually has. Of course, Gesicki was considered a raw prospect coming out of Penn State and plays arguably the most difficult position to adjust to at the NFL level. If he's able to take a step forward in Year 3, Gesicki could be positioned for a breakout campaign. The 24-year-old could also become a safety blanket for Tua Tagovailoa, if the quarterback eventually takes the field and defaults to the usual rookie tendency of leaning on his tight end.