NFL Player News

James caught 2-of-4 passes for 19 yards in Pittsburgh's 23-17 overtime loss to Chicago on Sunday.

James briefly left the game with a shoulder injury, but returned after missing only a few snaps. He has a favorable Week 4 matchup against Baltimore, which has allowed opposing tight ends to score four touchdowns in their past two games.

Ertz caught eight of his 10 targets for 55 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 27-24 win over the Giants. He also lost a fumble.

The most targeted Eagles pass catcher on the day, Ertz doubled his team's lead with a three-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. His fumble came at a crucial juncture, setting up a Giants touchdown drive to tie the game early in the fourth. Despite the mistake, Ertz bounced back to make a couple of key receptions to set up a field goal late in the game. He remains a key component of the team's passing attack and will continue as such next week against the Chargers.

Kroft will start in place of regular No. 1 tight end Tyler Eifert (knee/back) on Sunday at Green Bay, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Expect Kroft to hold down the fort during Eifert's absence, which could be a precautionary measure. If Eifert begins to string together DNPs, though, Kroft would be in line for some utility in the tight end ranks. In 32 career games, Kroft has recorded 22 catches (on 28 targets) for 226 yards and one touchdown.

James (shoulder) returned to Sunday's game against the Bears, Missi Matthews of Steelers.com reports.

James was able to return after missing a portion of Sunday's tilt due to a shoulder injury, which he sustained during the first half. The issue appears to have been minor and he'll continue to serve as the Steelers' No. 1 tight end with Vance McDonald and Xavier Grimble providing depth.

Graham (ankle) is active for Sunday's game at Tennessee.

Graham didn't inspire confidence in his ability to play with back-to-back absences Wednesday and Thursday. That said, he turned in a full practice Friday, which was followed by a vote of confidence from head coach Pete Carroll. Per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, Graham was seen running during a pregame workout and will now look to produce against the Titans' 20th-ranked pass defense (230.5 yards per game).

James is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Bears after suffering a left shoulder injury during the first half, Dale Lolley of the Observer-Reporter reports.

James' status for the remainder of Sunday's tilt is up in the air at this point, while Vance McDonald and Xavier Grimble now have an opportunity to see additional snaps. Another update regarding James' outlook should become available upon the release of additional information.

Lewis caught four of five targets for 62 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's 44-7 win over the Ravens in London.

Held without a catch on four targets over the first two weeks, Lewis shockingly caught three touchdown passes in Week 3. His massive 6-foot-6 frame came in quite useful on scoring passes from 17, 30 and four yards out. Lewis plays the vast majority of offensive snaps and figures to remain a threat in the red zone, but Sunday's outing is still best viewed as an extreme outlier. He only has 31 touchdowns in 157 regular-season games, despite serving as a starter for most of his career. Lewis does draw a favorable Week 4 matchup, heading to New York to face the Jets.

Kroft is slated for more snaps Sunday at Green Bay with Tyler Eifert (knee/back) out of the lineup, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Eifert's health concerns appear to stem from side effects of last December's back surgery and knee tendinitis from the preseason, signaling a multi-game absence is possible. After handling 84 and then 78 percent of the offensive snaps in the first two weeks of the season, Eifert leaves a large void to be filled by Kroft and, to a lesser extent, Ryan Hewitt. Whether the workload results in marks in the box score remains to be seen, but Kroft has hauled in 22 of 28 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown in 32 career contests.

After practicing fully Friday, James (ankle) no longer appears on the Steelers' Week 3 injury report.

Through two games, James has logged 10 catches (on 13 targets) for 68 yards, to go along with two Week 1 touchdowns. It remains to be seen if James starts losing looks to fellow TE Vance McDonald, but in Week 2, James was on the field for 96 percent of the Steelers' snaps on offense.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Graham (ankle) didn't have any limitations at Friday's practice and should be ready to play in Sunday's game against Tennessee, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Given the Seahawks' history when it comes to injury information, this is still a situation that bears close watching in the lead up to Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff. Graham was held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday after managing just one catch for one yard on two targets in Sunday's 12-9 win over the 49ers. Given how poorly he was playing prior to the injury, it's fair to question whether Graham will be at all effective if he ends up facing the Titans. Luke Willson and Nick Vannett will both take on extra snaps if Graham doesn't play.