NFL Player News

Thomas (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Vikings, Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat Chronicle reports.

Thomas has two receptions for 31 yards over the first two games, but a majority of his usage was still on special teams. Khari Lee may see a slight uptick in opportunities in Thomas' absence.

Njoku caught both of his targets for 36 yards during Thursday's 21-17 victory over the Jets.

Both of Njoku's receptions came from Baker Mayfield, though with just one catch in the second half, he wasn't as involved in the offense as fantasy owners would have liked. However, if Mayfield is in fact the starting quarterback moving forward, his gun-slinging ways and ability to throw the ball downfield should help Njoku's value, and the tight end could very well see a considerable uptick in targets.

Hollister (chest) has been ruled out for Sunday night's game against the Lions.

Hollister caught all three of his targets for 35 yards in Week 2's loss to the Jaguars, but he was added to the Patriots' injury report Friday and subsequently ruled out. His absence could free up some looks for fellow tight end Dwayne Allen, but Rob Gronkowski remains the Patriots' top option at the position.

Hurst (foot) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Denver, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Hurst's recovery timeline was estimated at 3-to-4 weeks when he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot Aug. 24. It seems his rehab process will stretch well beyond the initial timetable, as he still hasn't returned to practice nearly a month later. Nick Boyle, Mark Andrews and Maxx Williams will continue to form a timeshare at tight end.

Engram (ankle) doesn't have a designation on the final injury report for Sunday's game in Houston.

After logging limited practices the previous two days, Engram made it back to full participation Friday. He should be fine to handle his usual role in a struggling Big Blue offense.

Tomlinson caught one of two targets for 14 yards in Thursday's 21-17 loss to Cleveland.

New York operated without No. 1 tight end Neal Sterling (concussion), but Tomlinson's role didn't change much, as the blocking specialist played 24 of a possible 63 snaps on offense. If he's not stepping up given the Jets' barren depth chart at his position right now, it's safe to say Tomlinson will never be a valuable fantasy commodity.

Hollister was not sighted at practice Friday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Hollister was not listed on the injury report previously in the week, so it remains unclear what's causing the absence. The 24-year-old was dealing with a hamstring injury last week, but he played against the Jaguars last Sunday and had no limitations through the first two practices of the week.

Engram (ankle) was listed as a limited participant in Thursday's practice, but head coach Pat Shumur said he expects the tight end will be "fine" for Sunday's game in Houston, Tom Rock of Newsday reports.

Engram has kicked off the week with back-to-back limited showings in practice, a surprising development after there was no indication that he came out of the Week 2 loss to the Cowboys with an injury. Shumur's comments offer some peace of mind to fantasy owners regarding Engram's status for the weekend, but the 24-year-old's full participation in Friday's session would remove any lingering doubt about his outlook.

Engram was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice due to an ankle injury.

Engram wasn't listed on the injury report last week and didn't seem to have any issues while posting a 7-67-1 receiving line on seven targets in Sunday's 20-13 loss to the Cowboys. In fact, he did most of his damage late in the fourth quarter, when the Giants scored 10 points in garbage time. Assuming the ankle issue isn't a concern heading into the weekend, Engram will do battle with a Houston defense that held Titans tight end Jonnu Smith catchless in Week 2, but only after giving up 123 yards to the Patriots' Rob Gronkowski in Week 1.

Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said Wednesday he wants to increase Goedert's involvement, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. "We have a talented player in Dallas, and we need to find more ways to get him involved," Groh said Tuesday. "We need to get him involved more. We had some extenuating circumstances [Week 2 against the Buccaneers], for a variety of reasons."

After logging just 17 offensive snaps in both of his first two games, Goedert should see his role expand out of sheer necessity while the Eagles deal with a slew of injuries at wide receiver. The team has largely relied on three-wideout formations during Doug Pederson's tenure as head coach, but the current personnel hints at greater use of two-tight end sets, at least until Alshon Jeffery (shoulder) is ready to play. Regardless, it's hard to imagine Goedert averaging more than two or three catches per week unless Zach Ertz misses time with an injury.