NFL Player News

Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said Monday tight end Troy Niklas suffered a high ankle sprain Week 5 at Denver, according to the team's official website. Niklas will undergo an MRI.

Niklas has one catch for 16 yards through four games.

Patriots tight end Timothy Wright, acquired via trade right before the season, entered Week 5 with four catches for 35 scoreless yards. He exploded against the Bengals for five catches, 85 yards and a touchdown.

Wright caught each of his targets and proved dangerous down the seam, as he showed on a 17-yard, first-quarter score. The Patriots used two tight ends often Sunday night, and the formation paid big dividends. Wright and Rob Gronkowski combined for 11 catches, 185 yards and two scores.

Wright visits the Bills in Week 6.

Chiefs second-year tight end Travis Kelce found the end zone for the third straight game Week 5 at San Francisco. In the first quarter, Kelce took a quick screen 2 yards for the score. He caught two of three targets for 15 yards.

Kelce is on a bye Week 6.

As long as Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce can keep finding the end zone, as he did for the third straight game in Week 5 against the 49ers, Fantasy owners will have nothing to worry about.

Kelce had a pretty ineffective game overall Sunday, finishing with just 15 yards on two catches. However, he racked up seven Fantasy points thanks to his third touchdown of the season. He now has 41 Fantasy points on the season, 18 of which have come thanks to his touchdowns.

Kelce is not totally dependent on finding the end zone for Fantasy relevance, but is the difference between him being a solid Fantasy option and a must-start one. He is on pace for nine-plus touchdowns this season, a total only 11 tight ends have topped in one of their first two seasons. At this point, you cannot take Kelce out of your lineup, but he might be in line for some ugly lines if he is kept out of the end zone. 

After he left in the first half Week 5 against Tampa Bay with a sprained shoulder, Saints tight end Jimmy Graham's availability for the next few weeks is in question. Because the Saints have a bye in Week 6, it's possible he won't miss any games, but that's obviously a best-case scenario.

We should know more in the days ahead, but if you own Graham in Fantasy, your only choice is to wait it out. You're not going to find an adequate replacement on the waiver wire, and though you may be a little disappointed with his rate of touchdowns so far, his role in the Saints offense is such that he could go for multiple scores any given week.

Making a trade, whether for a replacement tight end or to unload Graham, is putting the cart before the horse. I wouldn't advise either unless you get an offer you can't refuse. Even with this injury, I expect Graham to perform like a first-rounder the rest of the way, so dealing him for less than that would be selling him short.

If he does miss time, Benjamin Watson is the likely in-house replacement, and he might be one of your better choices if Dwayne Allen, Jordan Reed, Niles Paul and Jared Cook are all off the board.

Through two games, Zach Ertz looked exactly like the star-in-the-making everyone hoped for in the offseason. After another pedestrian performance in Week 5, however, the young Eagles tight end is much tougher to pin down.

Ertz has managed 96 passing yards over the last three games combined, a far cry from the 163 yards he racked up in the first pair of games. A big shift has been the lack of big plays -- he is averaging just 10.7 yards per reception over the last three, compared to 23.3 prior.

At this point, the first two games look a bit more like the outlier, especially since the Eagles' passing game has lacked for big plays recently. Ertz certainly has the talent to make an impact, but consistency remains an issue for the second-year pro. Focus on playing him when the matchup is in his favor, rather than penciling him into the lineup every week.  

The Jets receivers had an incredibly hard time putting anything together Week 5.

Offensively, the Jets were a mess in the passing game. Geno Smith was benched after an awful half, and Michael Vick wasn't much better. Both players combined for just 60 passing yards.

The biggest performance in the passing game was by Jeremy Kerley. Kerley gained 24 yards on three receptions. He led the team in receiving yards. Jace Amaro finished second, gaining 19 yards on three catches. Both Jeff Cumberland and Greg Salas hauled in two passes for 12 yards. David Nelson had one reception for 9 yards.

The group will hope for more Week 6 against the Broncos. 

Wide receiver Victor Cruz and tight end Larry Donnell had been quarterback Eli Manning's favorite targets during his resurgence the last few weeks, the former coming off back-to-back 100-yard games and the latter coming off a three-touchdown performance Week 4 at Washington. But both became afterthoughts Week 5 against Atlanta as Manning worked other receivers into the mix.

Preston Parker led the way with 61 yards on three catches, but the ones hogging all the looks were Odell Beckham, who was making his NFL debut after missing the first four games with a hamstring injury, and Rueben Randle, who led the team with 10 targets. Each scored a touchdown in the contest.

Of course, neither had even 50 yards through the air on a day when Manning threw for just 200, but they were more involved than Cruz, who had three catches for 22 yards, and Donnell, who went without a catch. Cruz at least had the targets, finishing second behind Randle with six.

All it really means for Fantasy owners is that, particularly with Beckham getting involved, Cruz and Donnell may not be as reliable as you presumed coming into the week. You're probably starting them anyway, but not without considering your alternatives.

Given the abundance of targets on an offense that doesn't figure to be particularly pass-heavy, the problem is knowing who will step up when. If you believe Donnell's story, he sat himself for his three-touchdown performance against the Redskins only to start himself in this one. 

The Texans received minor contributions from several role players in a Week 5 loss to the Cowboys.

Alfred Blue took a backseat to a healthy Arian Foster and as result, he was limited to 16 yards on five carries. In the passing game, Ryan Griffin, Garrett Graham and Keshawn Martin each caught one pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick. Griffin logged eight yards, while Martin had seven yards and Graham only had three in a 23-20 overtime defeat.

Cardinals quarterback Logan Thomas was forced into action Week 5.

Thomas replaced starter Drew Stanton after Stanton left the game in order to be evaluated for a concussion. Thomas entered in the third quarter, and struggled initially. After starting things off with four straight incompletions, Thomas hit Andre Ellington down the field for a big play. Thomas fit the ball in a tight window, and Ellington took the ball 81 yards for the score. It was Thomas' only completion during the game. He finished 1 for 8, with 81 yards and a score. 

Thomas will take on Washington Week 6 if Stanton is unable to go.