NFL Player News

Kelce underwent offseason shoulder surgery, Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports. "He'll probably miss some time throughout the offseason, but he'll be ready, I believe, for camp," head coach Andy Reid said of the tight end Wednesday.

Calling the procedure a clean-up, Reid replied, "I don't think so," as it pertains to a significant injury. As for the timetable mentioned, it's unclear if Kelce will be healthy in time for minicamp or training camp, which are separated by approximately six weeks on the NFL calendar. No matter the precise date that he's cleared for all activity, it appears as if he'll enter the 2017 season intact. If so, Kelce will be aiming to improve his number of catches, target count, and receiving yardage for the fourth straight campaign.

Malleck (neck) signed a contract with the Steelers on Wednesday, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Malleck spent training camp with the Giants in 2016 before suffering a neck injury and being released just prior to the start of the regular season. He'll have an opportunity to compete for a depth role as a tight end and special teams player in Pittsburgh in 2017.

Donnell will not be re-signed by the Giants this offseason, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports.

Donnell has spent all four of his professional seasons with the Giants, but he's failed to build on his faux-breakthrough 2014 campaign that included 63 catches for 623 yards and six touchdowns. In fact, besides that season, the 28-year-old boasts just 47 catches for 346 yards and three scores in his career. While missing 10 games over the past two seasons has contributed toward that decline in production, Donnell is nonetheless now slated to resume his career elsewhere in 2017.

Griswold signed a reserve/future contract with the Falcons on Tuesday, Kelsey Conway of the team's official site reports.

Griswold spent part of last offseason with the Colts, but was waived by the team before the beginning of the preseason due to an undisclosed injury. Almost a year later and the tight end now has another chance to keep his NFL dream alive. Levine Toilolo and Jacob Tamme (shoulder) are both slated to be unrestricted free agents this offseason, which could boost Griswold's stock as he competes for a spot on the final 53-man roster.

Hooper brought in three of six targets for 32 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons' 34-28 Super Bowl LI overtime loss to the Patriots.

The 2016 third-round pick led the Falcons in targets and brought in a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter, giving Atlanta a 14-0 lead at the time. Hooper thus wraps up a rookie campaign in which he turned in a modest 19 receptions (on 27 targets) for 271 yards and three touchdowns, with his best stretch coming over Weeks 8 and 9, when he posted a combined eight receptions for 87 yards against the Packers and Bucs, respectively. Atlanta's offense under Kyle Shanahan -- with its highly efficient two-back system, superstar No. 1 receiver, and effective second and third options -- didn't make much use of the tight end overall, limiting Hooper's upside in his first campaign. However, given his big-play ability, the team is likely to invest some time this offseason in looking for ways to integrate the Stanford product more consistently during the 2017 campaign.

Graham admitted at last weekend's Pro Bowl that he "barely practiced" during the 2016 season, Liz Mathews of USA Today reports.

After suffering a torn patellar tendon in Week 12 of his first campaign in Seattle, Graham faced an uphill battle to regain even a semblance of his former standing among the top tight ends in the NFL. Indeed, he didn't make an appearance last preseason and earned just 17 of 82 offensive snaps in the 2016 season opener. Ramping up his workload as the weeks ticked by, he notched the first of three 100-yard efforts in Week 3 and scattered six end-zone visits throughout a complete 16-game slate. The preceding was possible due to Graham's regular appearances on the injury report, typically due to non-injury, suggesting that rest was the recipe for his success. There's no telling if this is his high-water mark as a Seahawk, but he will turn 31 in November, meaning he could be hard-pressed to replicate a 65/923/6 line due to a combination of his age and medical history.

Pantale signed a reserve/future contract with the Dolphins.

Pantale spent the 2016 offseason with the Eagles but was released days before the beginning of the regular season due to a head injury. He also has spent time with the Jets and the Bears.

James caught five passes (seven targets) for 48 yards in Pittsburgh's 36-17 AFC championship loss to New England.

Despite the Steelers trailing throughout the game, all but one of James' receptions came before halftime, including what appeared to be a 19-yard touchdown that, upon review, was ruled down by contact at the one-yard line. The Steelers ultimately settled for a Chris Boswell field goal, and didn't reached the end zone again until the final minutes of the game.

Waller finished the season with 10 receptions on 17 targets for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

The Ravens had a logjam at tight end for much of the season, with Dennis Pitta serving as the only reliable contributor at the position on a weekly basis. Waller didn't make his season debut until Week 5 and didn't see his first targets until his fourth appearance. That said, Waller began to capitalize on his limited opportunities as the season wore on, snaring just under 60 percent of his targets and converting two of them for touchdowns. Although his target volume and overall production don't jump off the page, it's worth noting that seven of his 17 targets (41 percent) came in the red zone. While that isn't much of a sample size, it's worth comparing that to Pitta's red zone target rate of 10.7 percent. Waller has the size (6-6, 245) and testing numbers, which include a 4.46 40-yard dash and 37-in vertical jump, to make him a red zone threat in the Ravens' passing attack. Given that quarterback Joe Flacco will not have major targets Steve Smith and possibly Kamar Aiken at his disposal, Waller could have some deep sleeper potential in 2017.

Hamlett signed a reserve/future contract with Dallas on Monday.

Hamlett played in three games for the Browns as an undrafted rookie in 2016, finishing the season with one catch for 17 yards and a touchdown. He'll look to secure a spot at tight end with the Cowboys in 2017 behind Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar.