NFL Player News

Pierce was released by the Packers on Saturday, Packersnews.com reports.

Pierce competed for the third tight end spot on the roster during training camp, but he did not show enough to beat out Justin Perillo for the job.

Tomlinson was waived by the Texans on Friday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Tomlinson was fighting for a depth tight end position but appears to have been just shy of making the 53-man roster. He was on Houston's practice squad in 2015 and will be eligible for that again if he clears waivers.

Escobar caught one pass on five targets for 13 yards in Thursday's preseason finale against the Texans.

It wasn't an impressive line by any means, but the important takeaway is that Escobar seems fully recovered from his Achilles injury. He'll once again be Jason Witten's primary backup and an occasional red zone option for the Cowboys.

Hamlett is listed as the team's fourth-string tight end, according to the team's official website.

As recently as last week, Hamlett was listed as the backup to Gary Barnidge, but that may have been an oversight, as Randall Telfer and Seth DeValve are now ahead of him on the depth chart. The 24-year-old will most likely be looking for a new team when the Browns cut their roster to 53.

Malleck was moved to the Giants' injured reserve list Wednesday, Dan Duggan of NewJersey.com reports.

Malleck is reportedly suffering from a "burner" after taking a hit to the shoulder and neck area during practice. However, he was a long shot to make the team behind Will Tye, Larry Donnell and Jerell Adams before going down.

Although he said Graham (knee) has been a full participant at recent practices, head coach Pete Carroll acknowledged that he won't have a good idea about the tight end's Week 1 availability until the final days leading up to the game, Liz Mathews of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Graham was activated from the PUP list on Aug. 10 and returned to team work at practice last Wednesday. He'll conclude the preseason without any appearances, with everything suggesting that he's truly questionable for Week 1 against the Dolphins. Even if he plays, Graham probably won't be ready for a full starter's complement of snaps, perhaps being limited to passing downs and red-zone work. Luke Willson figures to pick up the slack, with Nick Vannett (ankle) and/or Brandon Williams possibly chipping in.

Vannett (ankle) has yet to start running and could still be a week away from a return to field, Curtis Crabtree of Sports Radio KJR reports.

Vannett suffered the ankle injury during the second week of the preseason and has been sidelined ever since. He's yet to start running, which seems to indicate he's still a ways off from a potential return. He's expected to be out for at least another week, so Vannett should be considered questionable for the team's regular season opener versus the Dolphins on Sept. 11. Even when healthy, Vannett is only a depth option behind the likes of Jimmy Graham and Luke Wilson.

Paulsen's chances of making the 53-man roster remain in limbo, John Keim of ESPN reports.

Paulsen is no stranger to the roster bubble. While he has managed to survive final cuts in the past, there is no guarantee that the Redskins opt to keep three tight ends this season. There are some close to the organization who remain optimistic, but also others who could see Washington parting ways with the 29-year-old after five seasons with the team. Ultimately, the team will have until Saturday to determine whether or not Paulsen will be donning red and yellow in 2016.

James is expected to start at tight end, after teammate Ladarius Green (ankle) was moved to the regular-season PUP list Tuesday, ruling him out for the first six weeks of the season, ESPN.com reports.

Things have been moving in this direction throughout training camp, with Green unable to participate while slowly recovering from January ankle surgery. James has thus had the opportunity to work with the first-team offense throughout the offseason program and camp, capping things off by catching four passes for 25 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason game against the Saints. The 2015 fifth-round selection didn't do much with his limited playing time last season, catching eight passes for 56 yards and a touchdown on 181 offensive snaps. James should be more involved this season, but wideouts Markus Wheaton, Eli Rogers and Sammie Coates are the better bets to emerge as Ben Roethlisberger's secondary options behind Antonio Brown and DeAngelo Williams/Le'Veon Bell.

Graham has been placed on IR by the Broncos.

With Graham -- who has been dealing with a shoulder injury -- now on IR, the Broncos' TE depth chart is currently topped by Virgil Green and Jeff Heuerman.