NFL Player News

Njoku (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, Njoku's deactivation Sunday is a coach's decision. In his absence, Demetrius Harris is slated to start at tight end for the Browns in Week 15.

Fant was forced out of Sunday's game against the Chiefs with a shoulder injury, Mike Klis of 9News Denver reports.

Fant approached Week 15 action nursing foot and hip issues, and now a shoulder injury can be added to his list of aches and pains. Prior to his exit from Sunday's game, the tight end caught his only target for 43 yards.

Graham (wrist/groin) is listed as active Sunday versus the Bears.

Graham has made his presence routine on Packers injury reports this season, but this week marked just the second time the team designated him as questionable. In the end, he wasn't in danger of suiting up with a Bears defense on tap that has conceded the third-most catches to tight ends (81) through 13 games.

Fant (foot/hip) is listed as active for Sunday's road game against the Chiefs.

Fant is out there if you need him this week and as long as he avoids any in-game setbacks, he'll be in a position to continue to make an impact in Denver's passing attack in wintry weather conditions in Week 15. The No. 20 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft is coming off a strong effort last Sunday against the Texans, in which he caught all four of his targets for 113 yards and a TD.

Higbee should work as the Rams' clear No. 1 tight end Sunday against the Cowboys with Gerald Everett (knee/illness) ruled out for a third consecutive game.

Considering that Everett has yet to even resume practicing suffering the knee injury in a Nov. 25 loss to Baltimore and is also recovering from a stomach virus, Higbee could be unchallenged for the top spot on the depth chart beyond Week 15. For now though, Higbee will profile as one of the top fantasy options at his position, as he's turned in back-to-back seven-catch, 100-plus-yard receiving efforts while playing at least 90 percent of the Rams' offensive snaps in both of the past two weeks. Higbee should have a good chance to maintain his productive ways while facing off against a Cowboys team that allowed the relatively anonymous tight-end duo of J.P. Holtz and Jesper Horsted to combine for seven receptions for 92 yards on seven targets in Week 14.

Hurst had one catch for 19 yards on two targets in Thursday's 42-21 win over the Jets.

This was a bit of a letdown from Hurst after his breakout showing in the Week 14 win over the Bills. In fairness, Baltimore only attempted 23 passes and only three other players had more targets than Hurst. Still, Thursday served as a reminder that Hurst's big game against the Bills was more of an anomaly than a sign of things to come, especially when top tight end Mark Andrews is healthy and available to handle a full snap load.

Everett (knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's game in Dallas.

Everett hasn't been able to practice since he hyperextended his knee in a Week 12 loss to Baltimore. The situation has worked out favorably for Tyler Higbee, who had zero 100-yard performances through 58 regular-season games but now has two in the past two weeks.

Vannett is expected to start at tight end in Sunday's game against the Bills with Vance McDonald (concussion) ruled out for the contest, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports. "It's a great opportunity for me," Vannett said Friday. "I'm looking forward to it, to prove to my teammates that they can trust me and prove to everybody in this organization that they can rely on me to get the job done."

Picked up via trade from Seattle in September, Vannett has mostly worked as a blocker in his 10 games with Pittsburgh, garnering only 10 targets and hauling in seven of them for 70 yards and no touchdowns. He'll likely continue to offer most of his impact as a blocker in Week 15, though McDonald's absence will free Vannett up to run more routes than usual, putting the 26-year-old on the radar in weekly leagues that start two tight ends. Rookie fifth-round pick Zach Gentry should dress as Vannett's backup after he was previously inactive for 10 of the Steelers' first 13 games.

Wesco played 29 snaps on offense (49 percent) but was not targeted during Thursday's 42-21 loss to the Ravens.

Wesco also played seven snaps on special teams (28 percent). The rookie fourth-round pick split reps at tight end evenly with Daniel Brown, but he didn't handle either of Sam Darnold's two targets to the position. Wesco has only been targeted once this season, Week 10 against the Giants, when he recorded one catch for 15 yards.

Graham (wrist/groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Chicago.

Graham was a limited practice participant Wednesday through Friday, nursing a groin injury in addition to his long-standing wrist issue. There hasn't been any report that he's actually in danger of missing the game, but it's at least worth keeping an eye on ahead of Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff.