NFL Player News

Smith hauled in three of his four targets for 63 yards and a touchdown in the team's Week 16 loss to the Saints.

Smith accounted for nearly two-thirds of his production when he recorded a 41-yard touchdown on the team's opening possession. On the scoring play, he caught a pass from Ryan Tannehill while flashing across the middle of the field about 12 yards from the line of scrimmage before turning upfield to find the end zone. Smith opened the Titans' following drive with a 15-yard reception, seemingly putting him in line for a massive performance. Though that didn't come to fruition, Smith has surpassed 60 yards in consecutive games and appears to be developing rapport with Tannehill. Smith will look to connect for another touchdown in the team's regular-season finale against the Texans in Week 17, a game the Titans have to win for a playoff spot.

Hooper snagged seven of nine targets for 82 receiving yards during Sunday's 24-12 win against the Jaguars.

Prior to an encouraging Week 16 showing against Jacksonville, Hooper had managed just five catches for 52 yards in his first two games back from a sprained MCL suffered Nov. 10 at New Orleans. Hooper broke out of his brief slump Sunday, garnering his highest number of targets since Week 5 and translating those opportunities into his third-greatest yardage output of 2019. Taking on a Buccaneers defense Week 17 that ranks bottom 10 in receptions (75), receiving yards (899) and touchdowns (seven) allowed to opposing tight ends, Hooper is a high-upside fantasy play for the Falcons' regular-season finale.

Andrews caught six of nine targets for 93 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 31-15 win over the Browns.

Andrews did most of his damage in the final 1:18 of the first half, catching touchdowns of 39 and 14 yards after his team previously had gone scoreless. The 23-year-old tight end has emerged as quarterback Lamar Jackson's favorite target, having found the end zone 10 times in his sophomore season while topping 90 receiving yards on four different occasions. With the top seed in the AFC locked up for Baltimore, Andrews' fantasy owners may need to look for alternatives Week 17, as there's a good chance coach John Harbaugh will opt to sit his more prominent starters against the Steelers in the season finale.

Fant (shoulder) is active for Sunday's Week 16 tilt against the Lions.

The rookie tight end managed to log limited practices throughout the week and now will enjoy active status for a favorable matchup. Fant has worked well with rookie quarterback Drew Lock during the latter's last two starts, bringing in six of seven targets for 169 yards and a touchdown over that span.

Gentry (coach's decision) is officially inactive for Sunday's game against the Jets, Teresa Varley of the team's official site reports.

The 2019 fifth-round pick out of Michigan made his NFL debut last week, and nabbed his only target for a four-yard catch. With veteran Vance McDonald (concussion) back in the fold, Gentry will have just one more chance this season to join the roster in Week 17.

Njoku is on the inactive list for the second consecutive week in advance of Sunday's matchup against Baltimore.

Njoku will wind up a healthy scratch after not appearing on the injury report, giving way to Demetrius Harris at tight end in his stead. He logged 21 snaps in his return from the IR in Week 14, but he has now sat in back-to-back weeks. It's unclear what role, if any, Njoku will have when the Browns head to Cincinnati to finish the regular season next week.

Akins failed to catch any of his two targets in Saturday's 23-20 win over Tampa Bay in Week 16.

Both of his targets were inside the red zone, but the Texans failed to execute when getting near the Buccaneers' goal. After a big nine-target game Week 14 against the Broncos, Akins has just four targets and two catches for seven yards in the two games since. He has as many targets (48) and three fewer catches (31) than starter Darren Fells, but he has only two touchdowns, both coming in Week 3.

Knox caught just one of his four targets for 33 yards during Saturday's loss to the Patriots.

Knox caught what looked like a TD on a beautiful throw from Josh Allen, but he was ruled down just outside the goal line, where Allen then threw a short TD pass to left tackle Dion Dawkins of all people. That turned a nice outing for Knox into his usual modest one, as he's now caught exactly one ball in each of the last three games.

Knox caught just one of his four targets for 33 yards during Saturday's loss to the Patriots.

Knox caught what looked like a TD on a beautiful throw from Josh Allen, but he was ruled down just outside the goal line, where Allen then threw a short TD pass to left tackle Dion Dawkins, of all people. That turned a nice outing for Knox into his usual modest one, as he's now caught exactly one ball in each of the last three games.

Higbee secured nine of 11 targets for 104 yards in the Rams' 34-31 loss to the 49ers on Saturday.

Despite the return to action of Gerald Everett (knee), Higbee still was the clear top option at tight end, outpacing his position mate by 10 targets. Higbee also paced the Rams in receptions and co-led the team in targets on the way to his fourth consecutive 100-yard effort. The 2016 fourth-round pick's late-season play has been a revelation, and he'll face the team he first eclipsed the century mark against, the Cardinals, to close out the season in Week 17.