NFL Player News

Kelce secured six of nine targets for 23 yards in Saturday's 27-20 divisional round loss to the Patriots.

The third-year pro simply could not get downfield, as the Patriots clearly focused on containing one of the Chiefs' top passing-game weapons. Kelce's minuscule 3.8 yards per catch was easily his lowest of the season, and outside of a game-high 13-yard reception, he only managed 10 yards on his five other catches. Despite the mediocre conclusion to the season, Kelce saw increases in his catches (72), yards (875) and targets (100) from a year ago, and will undoubtedly be a focal point of the Kansas City passing game in 2016.

Quarless (knee) was placed on season-ending injured reserve Friday.

Quarless missed the vast majority of this season due to a knee issue, which required fluid draining earlier this week. With concerns over his health and effectiveness going forward, the Packers decided to shut Quarless down for the year, opening the door for Justin Perillo to serve as Richard Rodgers' main backup at tight end ahead of Saturday's playoff game in Arizona.

Quarless (knee) will be placed on injured reserve by the Packers, the ESPN reports.

Quarless posted on Instagram on Thursday that his "season has come to an end not by my choice," and he's expected to be placed on injured reserve at some point Friday. Quarless reportedly had fluid drained from his knee recently, an issue that stems back to an early-season injury that landed him on the injured reserve/designated to return list after Week 3. The sixth-year tight end was a limited participant in practice both Wednesday and Thursday, but the Packers were apparently not convinced about his health and will likely hand his roster spot to another receiver or tight end for the team's NFC divisional round game against the Cardinals on Saturday. Quarless will enter free agency in the offseason, and with Richard Rodgers now taking over the primary tight end role for the Packers, it's certainly possible Quarless won't be wearing green and gold next season.

Johnson finished the 2015 season with only one reception for four yards and does not figure to be much of a factor in 2016 either.

Johnson was signed before the 2014 season as a blocking tight end and fullback, and he could very well return to a similar role in 2016, but he just does not touch the ball on offense at all.

Pruitt caught two passes for 22 yards in Sunday's loss to Seattle.

Pruitt hauled in both of his targets Sunday to post his second-best receiving output of his rookie season. With Kyle Rudolph in the fold as the team's top tight end, Pruitt only saw 16 passes thrown his way in the regular season as a reserve-type option. That said, with Rudolph's lengthy injury history, the Vikings will need to continue developing Pruitt into a viable tight end should Rudolph find himself on the inactive list at any point next season.

Graham was inactive for Saturday's playoff game against the Chiefs.

Graham was once an up-and-coming tight end, who caught 49 of 89 targets with five touchdowns in 2013. The Texans re-signed him to a three-year deal coming off that season, but he was from a different regime and never became an important piece for head coach Bill O'Brien. Graham played in the first eight games of the season, but never again once Ryan Griffin came off short-term injured reserve. He's got one year left on his contract, but is a candidate to be released in March.

Kelce caught eight of 10 targets for 128 yards in Sunday's win over the Texans.

The big tight end assumed a central role in the passing game after Jeremy Maclin left with an injury, and he responded with his largest yardage output of the season in recording his first 100-yard game since the season opener. Kelce accounted for roughly two thirds of Alex Smith's yardage on the day, and he will play a large role once again next week, whether Maclin is healthy or not, as the Chiefs travel to take on either the Broncos or the Patriots.

Kelce (groin) is listed as active Saturday at Houston, BJ Kissel of the Chiefs' official site reports.

After practicing in full all week, Kelce will aim to replicate his only performance of the season against the Texans from Week 1, when he set season highs in both yards (106) and touchdowns (two).

Escobar (torn Achilles) finished the season with just eight catches on 13 targets for 64 yards and a touchdown in 14 games.

The former second round pick is increasingly looking like a bust, as despite Escobar's size and value as a red-zone target he has yet to establish himself as a reliable pass-catching threat in three seasons. Assuming he returns from his torn Achilles tendon at 100 percent, expect him to back up Cowboys institution Jason Witten once again in 2016.

Bibbs finished his rookie season with one catch on two targets for seven yards.

Bibbs was able to make some noise during camp, but it was clear early on that Gary Barnidge would be the top pass catching option at the position. As such, Bibbs was inactive for nine of the first 10 games of the season, but did make the active roster for each game after the team's bye. Like fellow tight end Jim Dray, the 260-pound Bibbs is arguably just as useful as a blocker, so perhaps his time will come over the next couple seasons.