NFL Player News

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.

Paulsen was released by the Falcons on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Paulsen is the definition of a reliable veteran tight end, but he found himself the odd man out in Atlanta with Austin Hooper and Luke Stocker already holding down the fort. The 32-year-old should face little difficulty finding a role with a needy team elsewhere in the league.

Hunt was waived by the Panthers on Friday, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Hunt spent time in the Alliance of American Football in spring before latching on with the Panthers, but he did not succeed in ultimately carving out a spot on the initial 53-man roster. He'll work to earn another chance elsewhere in the league.

The Cowboys waived Lucas on Friday, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Lucas performed when called upon as a receiving option in the preseason, but he wasn't able to carve out a depth role in Dallas' tight end room. He'll likely need to catch on in a special-teams capacity to earn a gig elsewhere in the league.

McKever was cut by the Packers on Friday, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

McKever latched on with Green Bay in June and previously spent time with the Jaguars and Steelers. He projects as a possible asset on special teams and will look for a job with another club.

Graham (finger) did not play in Thursday's preseason finale against the Chiefs.

The Packers held out nearly every key player Thursday, so Graham's absence hardly comes as a surprise. It's not entirely clear where he stands in his recovery from his finger injury, so he should be considered questionable heading into the Packers' Week 1 matchup with the Bears.

General manager Brandon Beane started during Thursday's preseason telecast that he's hoping Kroft (broken foot) can make the Week 1 roster following a positive conversation with the team's medical staff, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

Kroft hasn't played a single preseason snap with his new team, so even though he's the starter in name, it might be slow going even if he avoids the regular-season PUP. Still, this is positive news for a Bills tight end group that doesn't offer much experience elsewhere aside from blocking specialist Lee Smith.

Sweeney did not see the field during Thursday's preseason win over the Vikings.

That's actually a good thing for Sweeney, as the Bills did not suit up any regulars across their first two units. It also shows how far the seventh-round rookie has come in his first camp. Sweeney, fellow rookie Dawson Knox and blocking specialist Lee Smith look like locks for the roster, while it's incumbent Jason Croom who probably needs an injury spot declared for starter Tyler Kroft (broken foot) in order to see his longshot chances come through.

Butler (undisclosed) caught his lone target for six yards in Thursday's 17-15 preseason loss to the Seahawks.

Butler missed practice earlier in the week due to an unknown issue, but he played over 60 offensive snaps Thursday as health no longer appears to be a concern. Unfortunately for the undrafted rookie, Derek Carrier and Luke Willson have much better odds of making the 53-man roster behind fellow tight ends Darren Waller and Foster Moreau.

Dwelley joined George Kittle as inactives for Thursday's preseason finale against the Chargers, signalling that the former has won a backup job on the 53-man roster.

Dwelley saw his stock rise with a strong training camp, and he apparently did enough to separate himself from the pack and earn the primary backup job behind star tight end Kittle. While this is great news for Dwelley, a backup tight end job won't get catch fantasy owners' attention unless Kittle was forced to miss time at any point this season.