NFL Player News

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.

Seals-Jones brought in both of his targets for 43 yards and lost a fumble in the Cardinals' 20-7 preseason loss to the Broncos on Thursday.

Seals-Jones had a game-long 31-yard reception that showed off his downfield chops, but he also committed his fumble at the end of the play at the Broncos' 22-yard line. Despite the miscue, Seals-Jones was the only one of the team's top three projected tight ends to see action Thursday, and it remains to be seen where exactly he'll slot in on the depth chart in relation to position mates Charles Clay and Maxx Williams ahead of Week 1.

Sternberger (concussion) was cleared to play in Thursday's preseason game against Kansas City, but he was forced to leave the contest due to an ankle injury, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

After the contest, Sternberger stated that the ankle injury was nothing serious, though he wasn't cleared to return to Green Bay's last preseason matchup. The rookie tight end expects to be ready for Week 1 of the regular season and can take solace in the fact he caught a two-yard touchdown on one of his four targets Thursday.

Hill completed 13 of 17 passes for 100 yards and ran the ball five times for 35 yards in Thursday's preseason loss to the Dolphins.

Teddy Bridgewater got the start for the Saints in the final preseason game, but Hill took over in the second half and put together a solid showing of his own, leading the offense to a touchdown in the fourth quarter. His spot as the No. 3 QB on the depth chart is secure due to his rushing ability and contributions in the red zone and on special teams, but it's Hill's development as a passer that will determine whether he has a chance to be Drew Brees' eventual successor.

Jackson completed 22 of 33 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown during Thursday's 27-23 win over Minnesota. He added 77 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, but fumbled twice.

Jackson had his sloppy moments, but his size and athleticism showed big in a game full of third-stringers. He also flashed some moxie late, capping off two touchdown drives in the game's final four minutes. On the first, Jackson scrambled and dove into the end zone for a six-yard score. Next, he stood tall in the pocket and delivered a dart to David Sills for a game-winning eight-yard touchdown. The Bills already have their quarterback of the future in Josh Allen and their steady veteran backup in Matt Barkley. Jackson could use some seasoning on the practice squad, but -- given the similarity in skillsets between he and Allen -- could be the team's future at QB2, though for now he has no chance of passing Barkley in 2019.

Goedert (calf) should be ready for Week 1 against Washington, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.

Goedert is catching passes on the field during pregame warmups before Thursday's preseason finale against the Jets. He injured his calf in the exhibition opener, finishing with three catches for 50 yards on five targets in what ultimately will be his only August appearance. With Zach Ertz expected to maintain a three-down workload, the Eagles will use two-TE formations to get Goedert on the field, though it does involve the sacrifice of removing Nelson Agholor, DeSean Jackson (finger) or Alshon Jeffery.

Fant (ankle) is part of an injury-riddled tight end group that saw Jake Butt (knee) suffer another setback earlier this week, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports.

Fant had been dealing with his own injury -- a minor ankle sprain -- but returned to practice Monday. Jeff Heuerman (shoulder) then made his way back to the practice field Tuesday, after missing the first three games of the preseason. Both tight ends seem to be on track for Week 1 at Oakland, giving the Broncos some options for how to divide snaps. Troy Fumagalli also is in the mix for playing time, coming off a five-catch performance in the third week of the preseason.

Kroft (broken foot) still has not been cleared to practice and could be put on the regular-season PUP list, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports. "I would say we continue to evaluate where he is in his progress," said coach Sean McDermott. "That's an almost daily conversation that Brandon and I have with (head athletic trainer) Nate (Breske) and our medical staff and how it affects the overall numbers as we get to that main cut down at this point."

Kroft is still probably the Bills' top receiving threat at tight end, so the team will continue looking for signs he's getting better before moving him to a regular-season injury designation. The inseason PUP list would make him ineligible to return to practice or game action until Week 7 at the earliest.

Coach Sean McDermott says that while the decision is not finalized, Jackson likely will start Thursday in the team's preseason finale, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

We'd be pretty shocked if this didn't happen, as there's no way Josh Allen will see the field in a meaningless game, while backup Matt Barkley has been on fire all preseason and doesn't need to show anything more. Jackson will probably play quite a bit Thursday, and it may be a final audition for the undrafted rookie to show he deserves a spot on the active roster and not a practice squad.