NFL Player News

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, who injured his shoulder Week 5, told Jay Glazer of FOX Sports that he'll play Sunday against Detroit. In fact, he won't even need to test his shoulder during pregame warmups. However, he's not expected to start Week 7. Albert Breer of NFL Network reports that Graham will be primarily used in red zone packages for the Saints. 

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (shoulder) is not expected to start Sunday, but plans to play, according to an ESPN report.

After missing 11 days, Graham returned to practice Thursday and wants to test his shoulder in warmups before New Orleans plays Detroit at 1 p.m. ET before making a final decision, ESPN reports.

Graham origianally injured his shoulder vs. Tampa Bay on Oct. 5.

The Seahawks signed safety Steven Terrell and tight end RaShaun Allen off the practice squad to the active roster Saturday. Terrell was added to the active roster in advance of last week's game before being waived and rejoining the practice squad.

The Cardinals have listed 12 players on their final injury report for Week 7 at Oakland. As expected, defensive end Calais Campbell (knee) and tight end Troy Niklas (ankle) were ruled out for Sunday.

Deemed questionable were tight end John Carlson (knee), inside linebacker Glenn Carson, defensive end Frostee Rucker (calf) and defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu (illness). Meanwhile, wide receiver John Brown (hamstring), Andre Ellington (foot), wide receiver Michael Floyd (groin), outside linebacker Alex Okafor (quad), quarterback Carson Palmer (shoulder) and Patrick Peterson (ankle) were all labeled as probable on the report.

Besides Calvin Johnson, the Lions may be without their top two pass-catching tight ends heading into Week 7 at home against the Saints.

Joseph Fauria was unable to practice and was ruled out for Sunday. Eric Ebron, who was limited participant on Wednesday, was unable to return to the practice field Thursday and Friday. As a result, he was labeled doubtful for the game. Theo Riddick (hamstring) and Travis Lewis (quadriceps) missed practice the entire week. Riddick is doubtful, while Lewis was ruled out for Week 7.

Johnson was not a participant in practice the entire week and could be sidelined until Week 10. He was officially questionable on the injury report. Reggie Bush (ankle), Jeremy Ross (ankle) and Ezekiel Ansah (toe) were all listed as probable for Sunday.

With Joseph Fauria (ankle) out and Eric Ebron (hamstring) doubtful for Sunday, Brandon Pettigrew will likely be the only healthy tight end on the roster for the Lions in Week 7 at home against the Saints. He's expected to have an expanded role in the passing game, according to MLive.com.

"He's more than capable (of catching passes)," head coach Jim Caldwell said."And if that does indeed happen, I think he'd relish the opportunity to fill in in that area. He's big and he's got some speed, and he's a hard worker who has been performing extremely well for us."

Pettigrew has been more of a blocking tight end as of late with Fauria and Ebron on the roster. He has only five catches for 40 yards on the season.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham told reporters he's unsure if he'll play Week 7 at Detroit because of a nagging shoulder injury, according to ESPN. Graham told reporters Friday he believes his status will come down to the coach's evaluation during pregame warmups.

Graham suffered a shoulder sprain Week 5 against Tampa Bay but returned to practice for the first time as a limited participant on Thursday. He was a limited participant on Friday as well and has been officially ruled as questionable. If he's unable to play on Sunday, the team will likely turn to Josh Hill and Benjamin Watson for all the tight end targets against the Lions.

Jets rookie tight end Jace Amaro, who had 10 receptions his last time out, took a step backward Thursday night with a pedestrian performance in a Week 7 loss to New England.

Amaro caught a 9-yard pass on the opening drive of the game and made a 12-yard reception late in the third quarter. After his fellow tight end Jeff Cumberland scored a touchdown, Amaro was unable to come down with the game-tying two-point conversion with 2:31 remaining in the game. He was targeted five times and finished with three grabs for 22 yards in a 27-25 defeat. He has 234 receiving yards through seven games.

The Jets will host the Bills in Week 8.

You're probably not all that motivated to start Giants tight end Larry Donnell Week 7 at Dallas. He has all of one catch for 6 yards the last two weeks combined. But with Victor Cruz lost to a season-ending knee injury, the Giants need to find some new targets for quarterback Eli Manning. And Donnell has already shown he's capable of an expanded role, having averaged 6.3 catches for 59.0 yards with four touchdowns over the first four weeks.

Better yet, he might be Manning's best choice for this particular matchup. The Cowboys rank a modest 12th against the pass, allowing 227.5 yards per game, but they've given up the third-fewest Fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Meanwhile, they've given up the most Fantasy points per game to tight ends.

Certainly, if you have Julius Thomas, Rob Gronkowski, Greg Olsen, Martellus Bennett and maybe Jordan Reed and Antonio Gates, you wouldn't give a player like Donnell a second thought. But otherwise, he might be your best choice at tight end despite his production the last two weeks.

The following offensive players have received the green light for the Jets Week 7 at New England: Tight end Jace Amaro (knee), Eric Decker (hamstring), Chris Johnson (ankle) and David Nelson (ankle).