NFL Player News

Derby caught one of his three targets for 20 yards in Friday's preseason win over the Panthers.

While Derby didn't make much noise in Friday's game, with his overall body of work this summer he may be pulling away from Clay Harbor in his quest to land the Patriots' No. 3 TE job behind Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett.

James caught four passes for 25 yards and a touchdown on five targets in Friday's preseason game against the Saints.

James drew threw targets on Pittsburgh's opening drive, including a five-yard touchdown from Ben Roethlisberger on a broken play. With Ladarius Green (ankle) looking increasingly doubtful for Week 1, it seems James will open the season as Pittsburgh's top tight end, though the role probably won't involve so many targets most weeks.

Hamlett caught one pass for nine yards on one target against the Buccaneers on Friday.

Hamlett was recently bumped up to backup tight end behind Gary Barnidge despite failing to register a catch in his first two preseason games. That changed Friday, as Josh McCown found him for a nine-yard gain on his only catch of the night. Unless Barnidge gets injured, Hamlett's fantasy value will remain quite low.

Hooper secured all five of his targets for 50 yards in Thursday's 17-6 preseason loss to the Dolphins.

The 2016 third-round pick had his first breakout performance of sorts, serving as an effective receiver for both Matt Ryan and Matt Schaub. Hooper was encouragingly only behind Aldrick Robinson in targets by game's end, although that was undoubtedly aided by the fact that Julio Jones had an early exit due to an ankle injury. Hooper did outperform starting tight end Jacob Tamme on the evening, however, and could slowly force his way into increasing playing time once the regular season begins, given both his third-round status and Tamme's solid but unspectacular skill set.

Graham (shoulder) worked with the team's strength and conditioning coach Thursday, Andrew Mason of denverbroncos.com reports.

Graham has been nursing a shoulder injury for roughly two weeks now, but the 30-year-old appears to be closing in a return to the field. For the most part, Denver has remained mum regarding the details of his ailment, but the notion that Graham was spotted rehabbing is encouraging nonetheless. The seven-year vet is hoping to rekindle some of his production from 2013, but in order to do so he must first get back to 100 percent.

Hamlett has moved past Randall Telfer and is listed as the team's backup tight end, Pat McManamon of ESPN.com reports.

Hamlett must be impressing his coaches in practice because the 24-year-old has yet to catch a pass in the preseason. Gary Barnidge still figures to receive the majority of playing time for Hue Jackson's offense, but Hamlett's promotion is notable, especially if Barnidge goes down with an injury.

Kroft (knee) participated in some rehab exercises during Wednesday's practice, Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com reports.

Kroft originally pegged Week 1 as a target for his return, but given the nature of knee sprains, it wouldn't be surprising if he wasn't ready by then. As a rookie last season, Kroft helped fill the void during Tyler Eifert's absence. It remains to be seen what role, if any, Kroft will have in Cincinnati's offense once he's back to 100 percent on the gridiron.

Amaro (groin) was sidelined again for Wednesday's practice, Darryl Slater of NJ.com reports.

Amaro was in pads, but was unable to go through team portions and instead, spent the majority of his time doing some light running on the side. He reportedly appeared to be in some pain while jogging on the side, which may indicate he's more than a few days off from a return. We should hear more on his status later in the week, but for now, the 24-year-old looks doubtful for Saturday's preseason matchup with the Giants.

Graham (knee) began team work in practice Wednesday and will continue to ramp up his workload next week, Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com reports.

While Graham may not be ready to go by Week 1, his involvement in team drills is a huge step in the right direction. Look for more updates to come in the following week as the tight end expands his workload. Expect Luke Willson to dominate the first-team reps the remainder of the preseason schedule.

Vannett (ankle) will not play in Thursday's preseason affair with Dallas, the Seahawks' official site reports.

Vannett has been nursing a high ankle sprain that he suffered during last Thursday's preseason date with Minnesota. Due to the nature of these sprains, it's unsurprising that Vannett won't be able play Thursday. Currently, the 23-year-old is looking up at the likes of both Jimmy Graham (knee) and Luke Willson on the depth chart.