NFL Player News

General manger John Lynch suggested Kittle could play fewer snaps this season, Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle reports. "A stated goal of ours this year was to have some people around (Kittle) such that we could take some off him," said Lynch. "George is a great player. And you can run into 'Let's have him out there every single play of the season.'"

Lynch made his comments in the context of the 49ers keeping four tight ends on their initial 53-man roster. Ross Dwelley, Levine Toilolo and Kaden Smith aren't serious threats to Kittle's target volume, but they might allow the team to take its superstar tight end off the field a bit more often. Kittle played 88 percent of the snaps on offense last season, including four games with a share above 95 percent in the final seven weeks. Any reduction in playing time won't be drastic, as NFL teams rightfully tend to avoid taking their best player off the field. Kittle will open his season with a Week 1 contest in Tampa Bay, facing a Buccaneers defense that allowed the fifth most receiving yards (1,061) to tight ends last season.

The Cardinals waived Seals-Jones on Saturday, Kyle Odegard of the team's official site reports.

The Seals-Jones experiment in Arizona is over for the time being, despite his prior experience with rookie QB Kyler Murray at Texas A&M in 2015. Seals-Jones will seek out employment elsewhere, leaving Charles Clay and Maxx Williams as the sole tight ends on the Cardinals' 53-man roster.

Carter (knee) was cut by Buffalo on Saturday, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

Carter had been nursing a knee injury and was a longshot roster candidate to begin with, especially once rookies Dawson Knox and Tommy Sweeney displayed they were better pass-catching options than any other healthy tight ends on the pre-cut roster.

Tomlinson was let go by the Jets on Saturday, Randy Lange of the Jets' official site reports.

Tomlinson played three seasons for the Jets, accumulating 16 catches for 193 yards and one touchdown. With Chris Herndon serving a four-game suspension to start the year, the Jets are currently somewhat thin at the tight end position, though signings could occur between now and Week 1.

Kroft (foot) has been moved from the PUP list to the 53-man roster.

Kroft has been in recovery mode since breaking his right foot in mid-May, but the Bills are confident enough with his health to elevate him before Week 1. He'll thus serve as the team's No. 1 tight end to kick off the 2019 campaign, though without any preseason action or much time at all with his new team, he could even be an inactive for a week or two until he gets up to speed, or at the very least given a limited play count.

Rader was cut by the Steelers on Saturday, Josina Anderson of ESPN reports.

Rader has spent time with both the Steelers and Packers since going undrafted out of Youngstown State in 2018. He'll now look for a chance elsewhere in the league.

The Bills cut Jackson on Saturday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports.

A local product who went undrafted out of Buffalo, Jackson attended training camp with the hope of securing a spot with the Bills as a developmental quarterback. The 21-year-old apparently didn't make enough of an impression to stick around on the 53-man roster, however, even after completing 22 of 33 attempts for 175 yards and a touchdown in the preseason finale versus Minnesota. The Bills may look to stash him on their practice squad if he goes unclaimed while on waivers.

Derby was cut by the Saints on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Derby joined the Saints this offseason after stints with the Dolphins, Broncos and Patriots. New Orleans cut Derby, and the team seems fine with its tight end trio of Jared Cook, Josh Hill and Dan Arnold.

Wolf was waived by the Jaguars on Friday, Phillip Heilman of The Athletic reports.

Wolf joined the Jaguars during the second week of August but went without a catch in three preseason contests. The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Tennessee last year and is still looking to make his NFL debut.

Duarte was cut by Atlanta on Friday, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

The former UCLA Bruin was in and out of Atlanta in less than a week, but did make an impact in his lone preseason appearance. Duarte logged 30 percent of the offensive snaps and recorded a seven-yard catch, while also tackling Jaguars return man Michael Walker inside his own 20-yard line on a fourth-quarter kickoff. The 24-year-old Duarte continues his search for a home in the NFL, having bounced to four different teams since being drafted by the Dolphins in the seventh round back in 2016.