NFL Player News

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said Saubert (back) won't play in Thursday's game against the Saints, Kelsey Conway of the Falcons' official site reports.

The back issue prevented Saubert from practicing at any point this week and will force his first absence of the 2017 campaign. Exclusively a blocking tight end and special-teams contributor, Saubert doesn't offer any appeal in the fantasy realm.

The Packers signed Tonyan to their practice squad Tuesday.

Tonyan, an undrafted free agent out of Indiana State, previously attended training camp with the Lions before being let go in early September. The 23-year-old will offer the Packers additional depth at tight end.

Traylor caught both of his targets for 16 total yards during Sunday's 35-9 loss in Miami.

Traylor joined his first professional active roster three weeks ago and took the starting job. Traylor has led Denver tight ends in offensive snaps in each of the past three weeks and logged 53 on Sunday as compared to former starter Virgil Green's 21 and former third-round pick Jeff Heuerman's 14. It's hard to judge Traylor's abilities too much with the Broncos' never-ending disaster at quarterback, but the second-year player has showed promise late in the season.

Kroft caught both of his targets for 30 yards during Monday's 23-20 loss to the Steelers.

Earlier in the season, it looked like Cincinnati was going to be able to plug Kroft into Tyler Eifert's spot and roll as Kroft had a four-game streak with at least four catches. He has not reached that total in the five games since, and while has scored twice in that span, he has not provided the same pop. Kroft has a firm grasp on the starting job, seeing the field for 92 percent of the Bengals' offensive snaps on Monday, but keep in mind that he's getting overshadowed a bit by Cincy's outside receivers and the emergence of rookie do-everything back Joe Mixon.

Lewis snagged four of five targets for 46 yards during Sunday's 30-10 win over the Colts.

The catch total tied a season high for Lewis. The veteran tight end has not been much of a receiver in recent seasons but is showing some consistency as of late. He has either scored or topped 40 yards in four of his last six games. Paired with his stranglehold on the starting job, seeing the field for 56 of 66 offensive plays on Sunday, Lewis is becoming a weapon to be reckoned with in Jacksonville.

Vannett converted his three targets into three catches and 40 yards during Sunday's 24-10 win over Philadelphia.

Vannett's 21-yard catch midway through the fourth quarter helped set up a J.D. McKissic touchdown to put Seattle up by two scores. Sunday was Vannett's third game in his last four contests in which he has caught multiple passes after just one such performance during the season's first eight weeks. He seems to have leapfrogged Luke Willson for the No. 2 job behind Jimmy Graham and might have his sights set higher. Vannett actually logged more snaps (33 to 29) and targets (three to two) than No. 3 receiver Tyler Lockett. His increasing role in the offense will be worth monitoring.

Pruitt was promoted to the Texans' active roster Tuesday.

Pruitt spent almost the entire season with the Texans' practice squad but now gets the call-up after C.J. Fiedorowicz (concussion) was placed on injured reserve. Stephen Anderson will likely take over starting responsibilities at tight end, but Pruitt could see offensive reps as he is the only other healthy tight end on the active roster at this time.

Saubert (back) was listed as a non-participant on Monday's estimated practice report.

The exact nature of Saubert's issue is unclear, but the Falcons did not actually take the practice field Monday, so the report is just an estimation. However, being listed as a DNP on a short week surely isn't an encouraging sign for the tight end's status heading into Thursday's bout with the Saints.

Thomas, subbing in as the No. 2 tight end for an injured Nick O'Leary, caught both of his targets for 10 yards during Sunday's loss to the Patriots.

The converted quarterback did see the field for 33 percent of the offensive plays, but with O'Leary about to return to practice this week, Thomas could be relegated to No. 3 and mostly a special teams role.

Ertz is in the concussion protocol, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Ertz was visibly shaken up during the third quarter of Sunday's 24-10 loss to the Eagles, necessitating an exit to the locker room in the third quarter. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game shortly thereafter, finishing with two catches for 24 yard on four targets. Trey Burton will take on an expanded role in the passing attack if Ertz isn't ready for a Week 14 road game against the Rams. Burton caught two of four targets for 41 yards and a touchdown when Ertz was held out of a blowout win over the Broncos in Week 9 while recovering from a hamstring injury. Ertz's only other concussion on record in the NFL occurred in November 2015 and caused him to miss one game.