NFL Player News

The injury that forced Andrews out of Sunday's win over the Bills is being described as a thigh bruise, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Zrebiec adds that coach John Harbaugh indicated the tight end's injury isn't serious, noting that Andrews expects to play this coming Thursday against the Jets.

Fant exited Sunday's 38-24 win over the Texans after his foot was stepped on, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports.

On the plus side, the tight end's X-rays came up negative, which suggests that Fant has a chance to play next weekend against the Chiefs. Prior to his exit from Sunday's game, he caught all four of his targets for 113 yards and a TD.

Fant left Sunday's game against the Texans after suffering a foot injury, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

Prior to being carted off the field Sunday, Fant made his mark in the Broncos' strong effort against Houston, hauling in all four of his targets for 113 yards and a TD.

Andrews was forced out of Sunday's game against the Bills with a knee injury, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Prior to his exit, Andrews had caught one of his three targets for 14 yards. Next up for the Ravens' tight end looks in his absence are Hayden Hurst and Nick Boyle.

Njoku will start at tight end for the Browns in their Week 14 matchup against the Bengals.

Njoku has seen just 76 total snaps this season, as he's been sidelined since Week 2 against the Jets due to a broken wrist. The third-year player was activated from IR on Saturday, however, and Cleveland will waste no time getting him back into action. Njoku has favorable fantasy matchups both this week and next, but it's unclear if there will be any rust to shake off after this much time on the sidelines. Working in his favor against the Bengals is the fact that fellow tight end Demetrius Harris will be inactive with a shoulder injury, leaving Njoku to lead the way if he's able, though Ricky Seals-Jones and Stephen Carlson still are on hand to provide depth.

Engram (foot), who has been ruled out for Monday's game against the Eagles, expressed uncertainty about his ability to play again in 2019, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports. "I'm going to try my best [to return] in the final three weeks [of the season]," Engram said.

After Engram opened this week as a limited participant in practice, initial reports suggested the tight end was on track to put an end to his three-game absence, but his condition apparently took a turn for the worse Saturday. Engram was a spectator for the Giants' final practice of Week 14, ensuring he would be sidelined for yet another game. While Engram indicated that he didn't experience a setback, it's clear the foot injury isn't allowing him to move around at full speed just yet. With little on the line at this point in the season for the 2-10 Giants, Engram may not be pushed to play unless both he and the organization are confident that he's 100 percent healthy.

Sample (ankle) was placed on injured reserve by the Bengals on Saturday, Tyler Dragon of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Sample suffered a high-ankle sprain Nov. 11 in a matchup with the Ravens. The severity of the injury will keep him out for the remainder of the year. Drafted in the second round, the rookie tight end will finish his season with five receptions for 30 yards in nine games.

Smith is expected to fill in as the Giants' primary pass-catching tight end Monday against the Eagles after Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) were both ruled out for the contest, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

Smith capitalized in garbage time during the Giants' Week 13 loss to the Packers, tallying most of his 70 receiving yards with New York trailing by multiple scores. Still, it was a positive performance for the rookie tight end, who'll get an opportunity to take advantage of an inconsistent Eagles secondary which just allowed Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki to post a 5-79-1 line. Smith will be catching passes from a new starting quarterback in Eli Manning, who will replaced the injured Daniel Jones (ankle) in Week 14.

Njoku (wrist) was activated from injured reserve Saturday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Njoku's return from injured reserve couldn't have come at a better time, as the Browns face both the Bengals and Cardinals --- the latter of which could go down as one of the historically worst teams at covering tight ends --- in consecutive weeks. The 23-year-old isn't expected to be limited either, as Njoku was reportedly doing well in terms of conditioning weeks before Saturday's roster decision. It's pretty clear the third-year pro will immediately jump to the top of the depth chart, with Demetrius Harris (shoulder) and Ricky Seals-Jones expected to see a drastic step back in terms of playing time.

Engram (foot) has been ruled out for Monday's game against the Eagles, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

The outcome is a disappointing one for Engram, as coach Pat Shurmur had previously expressed optimism that the tight end would be ready to return from a four-week absence to play Monday night. With Engram's strained left foot still troubling him, however, rookie Kaden Smith should be in line to act as the Giants' top pass-catching tight end for another week. Engram's top backup, Rhett Ellison (concussion), has also been ruled out for Week 14.