NFL Player News

Kroft (knee/ankle) has been ruled out for Saturday's matchup with Houston, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

Kroft was held out of practice during the week and the severity of his injuries remain unclear. He hasn't been targeted by quarterback Andy Dalton in over five weeks, but he could have conceivably seen a larger role with Tyler Eifert also sidelined in Week 16. C.J. Uzomah and Ryan Hewitt will be left to handle the tight end duties on Saturday for Cincinnati.

Ertz secured both of his targets for 33 yards in Thursday's 24-19 win over the Giants.

Coming off a three-week stretch where he totaled 25 receptions on 36 targets for 271 yards and a touchdown, Ertz came back down to earth against a tough Giants defense. Despite the one-game downturn, the fourth-year pro has followed up a career-best 2015 campaign with solid numbers of 63 receptions for 644 yards and two touchdowns over just 12 games this season. He'll look to finish things off on a high note when Philadelphia faces off with the Cowboys in their New Year's Day season finale.

Hooper (knee) isn't expected to be available for Saturday's game in Carolina, Kelsey Conway of the Falcons' official site reports.

The extent of Hooper's activity through Thursday was work on a side field, including jogging and ladder drills. Consequently, head coach Dan Quinn likely considered the Falcons were preparing with one less day in Week 16, and Hooper wasn't a candidate to be ready. With Hooper likely out of the picture, Matt Ryan will lean on Levine Loilolo, Joshua Perkins, and practice-squad addition D.J. Tialavea at tight end Saturday.

Head coach Dan Quinn said Thursday that Hooper (knee) likely won't take the field Saturday at Carolina, Kelsey Conway of the Falcons' official site reports.

After jogging on the side at Tuesday's unofficial session, Hooper proceeded to focus on rehab rather than practice Wednesday. As of Thursday, he was still contained to work on a side field, performing ladder drills, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Aside from keeping up his conditioning, Hooper appears poised to land on the inactive list this weekend, as intimated by Quinn on Thursday. Expect clarification on Hooper's availability upon the release of Friday's injury report, but an absence would leave Levine Toilolo and Joshua Perkins as Atlanta's only healthy tight ends in the penultimate week of the regular season.

Derby (concussion) did not practice Wednesday.

With both Derby and Virgil Green in the NFL's concussion protocol, Jeff Heuerman is currently the Broncos' top healthy tight end as Sunday's game against the Chiefs approaches.

Hooper (knee) did not practice Wednesday, Vance McClure of ESPN.com reports.

Hooper continues to nurse a knee injury, and the Falcons are yet to release any specifics in the aftermath of Sunday's win over the 49ers. As of now, Hooper's status for Saturday's game appears to be in considerable jeopardy, though it is notable that he was able to do some jogging at Tuesday's session.

Kroft was unable to practice Wednesday with knee and ankle injuries, Paul Dehner of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

It remains unclear how severe each injury is, but it's entirely possible that his absence was for maintenance purposes since he was also dealing with a concussion just last week. Kroft's availability for Thursday's practice should give more info on his ability to play Saturday against the Texans, especially since the team's normal work week is shortened by one day.

Uzomah (calf) was not listed on Wednesday's injury report ahead of Saturday's game against the Texans, Paul Dehner of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Uzomah hasn't played since Week 10 against the Giants when he was given just one offensive snap. He'll likely be most utilized on special teams during the final two weeks of the regular season, even with Tyler Eifert (back) and Tyler Kroft (knee) currently carrying precautionary injury designations.

Bell (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Cam Inman of Mercury News reports.

This announcement comes as no surprise after the 49ers announced that Bell was not going to play for the remainder of the season. Je'Rom Hamm and Garrett Celek are left as the only tight ends on San Francisco's active roster.

Hooper (knee) was seen jogging during the part of Tuesday's practice open to the media, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

Hooper donned a brace on his left knee in the aftermath of Sunday's win against the 49ers. Slated for an MRI on Monday, the Falcons have yet to reveal the diagnosis, but his minimal activity Tuesday isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. Expect his status to receive some clarification as the week unfolds.