NFL Player News

The Seahawks have acquired Hollister from the Patriots in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2020, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.

Presumably past the hamstring injury that he dealt with during the postseason, Hollister, who turns 26 in November, gives the Seahawks some added tight end depth with Will Dissly bouncing back from a knee injury. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder has notched just eight catches for 94 yards in 23 NFL games to date, but Hollister does offer a degree of pass-catching upside if he can stay on the field. From New England's perspective, the trade is somewhat surprising, considering the team did not select a tight end (which was viewed as a clear need) in the recent NFL Draft. With that in mind, it's possible the Patriots have another move brewing to address the position in the coming days.

Brown officially signed a contract with the Rams as an undrafted free agent.

Brown signs from FBS Texas State, where he caught 51 passes for 577 yards and five touchdowns in 2018. He was graded as the top tight end last season, according to Pro Football Focus, and caught 76.1 percent of targets. Brown could have a decent shot to make the roster with unproven options on the depth chart ahead of him.

Kroft (foot) will be joined by 2019 draft picks Dawson Knox (No. 96 overall) and Tommy Sweeney (No. 228) at tight end, Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News reports.

It's actually a pretty good outcome for Kroft, who signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract in March while rehabbing from season-ending foot surgery. The Bills can get out of the deal without much pain after one season, but they won't have an obvious replacement based on their 2019 draft picks. Knox finished his Ole Miss career with a 39-605-0 receiving line and was largely selected on the basis of workout numbers, while Sweeney's subpar speed caps his pass-catching upside. Jason Croom is the biggest threat to steal targets from Kroft in 2019.

The Chargers are expected to sign Helm as an undrafted free agent.

The Duke product was decent in 2018, catching 26 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Helm will likely battle with fellow undrafted tight end Matt Sokol, among others for a roster spot.

The Rams are expected to sign Blanton as an undrafted free agent, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Blanton played in 22 games over three seasons with the University of Missouri, recording 44 receptions for 476 yards and six touchdowns. The Rams tight-end corps is led by Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee, so Blanton will look to make the team as a depth option.

Jackson, who went undrafted, signed with the Bills as a free agent immediately following Saturday's seventh round, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Jackson has tremendous upside to match his size (6-foot-7, 249 pounds) and was expected to get drafted in the later rounds as a project quarterback following a nice career at the University of Buffalo. While Josh Allen may have the Bills' top job for the next decade, Jackson will get a chance to compete for a spot on the team in 2019, with Derek Anderson no sure thing as a No. 3 quarterback at this stage of his career. At worst, Jackson makes for the perfect practice squadder. He has a cannon of an arm, but like many big, strong quarterbacks, he'll have to learn to be more accurate as a pro, while his throwing mechanics still need quite a bit of refinement.

The Saints selected Mack in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 231st overall.

The highly regarded high school recruit out of Las Vegas failed to make much of a name for himself at Notre Dame, but Mack (6-foot-4, 249 pounds) posted respectable workout numbers for someone of his size at the combine and he has plenty of room to grow as both a receiver and blocker. The former is likely where he has the most potential at the pro level, though he may have a hard time cracking the Saints' 53-man roster out of training camp on a depth chart that otherwise includes Jared Cook, Josh Hill and Dan Arnold.

The Bills selected Sweeney in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 228th overall.

There figures to be a competition between Sweeney and fellow rookie Dawson Knox for the backup tight end spot behind Tyler Kroft, while Jason Croom is also in the mix. Sweeney was a four-year contributor at Boston College with 99 career receptions for 1,281 yards and 10 touchdowns. While his production is superior to Knox's, his athleticism lags behind. Sweeney ran just a 4.83 40-yard dash and his broad jump and short shuttles at his pro day were middling as well. It's not a guarantee that he breaks camp on the 53-man roster.

The 49ers selected Smith in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 176th overall.

Smith is a former five-star recruit out who possesses favorable size at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. While he seemingly has upside as both a blocker and receiver, Smith didn't record any explosive metrics at the combine and wasn't particularly productive in the red zone at Stanford. With the 49ers, Smith seems to have decent odds of making the 53-man roster with little competition for the No. 3 tight end role behind George Kittle and Garrett Celek.

The Steelers selected Gentry in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 141st overall.

Gentry is an interesting case study as a four-star quarterback prospect who transitioned to tight end early in his time at Michigan. He was ultimately a regular starter at the position the past two seasons and he finished that tenure with 49 receptions, 817 yards and four touchdowns. With plenty of room to continue growing, Gentry has the potential to surface as an interesting complement to Vance McDonald in an offense that no longer rosters Jesse James.