NFL Player News

Adrien Robinson hasn't separated himself from the Giants' other tight ends, and the team "probably" will go with a committee approach, reports The Star-Ledger.

"I think the jury is still out on who the No. 1 tight end is, I think it'll probably be tight end by committee," general manager Jerry Reese said on WFAN. "But there are some really good tight ends, some athletic, big guys who can run and catch the ball.

"Adrien Robinson and Larry Donnell are a couple of young guys who have been on the squad for a couple of years, but have had some injury stuff going on with them. We expect them to be healthy and to be able to pick up the slack here."

Daniel Fells, Xavier Grimble and Kellen Davis are the other tight ends on the roster.

Richard Rodgers, a 6-4, 257-pound rookie out of California, "might have the inside track" to be the Packers' starting tight end, ahead of Brandon Bostick and Andrew Quarless, reports ESPN.com. At least once every offseason practice, Rodgers "made an eye-catching play in the passing game."

Coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers, who got more reps due to Quarless' absence, was "very productive." The report said Rodgers must show "he can be an effective blocker once the pads come on in training camp, but at this point he might be in the lead."

Giants tight end Larry Donnell was taken by an ambulance to a hospital on Wednesday after succumbing to a heat-related problem, the team announced. Donnell is believed to have practiced in full according to the Newark Star-Ledger and was by his locker when the media had access to the team. 

Jimmy Graham's fight to be labeled as a receiver instead of a tight end for franchise tag purposes began Tuesday, NFL Network reported.

Graham believes he's a wide receiver because he lines up away from the traditional tight end spot 67 percent of the time.

But the Saints have always considered Graham a tight end and believe he's exactly that despite the way they use him. The Saints say Graham works with the tight end group in meetings, regularly lines up where tight ends play on the field and even lists himself as a tight end on his Twitter page and official website. 

If he's ruled as a tight end then his franchise tag value would be at around $7 million for 2014. If he's ruled as a receiver he'd get about $12 million for 2014. A settlement is not expected to happen, meaning that the results from the two-day meeting will determine Graham's position.

Jace Amaro is still having some growing pains typical of a rookie moving into a new scheme in the pros, but the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Jets tight ends coach Steve Hagen said Amaro's making progress and is being challenged to play in a number of spots. 

"He's lined up everywhere," Hagen said. "He's lined up flexed out, hand down, out by himself (on the) single-receiver side, on the three-receiver side, on the two-receiver side. We use him everywhere we can use him. So we have asked him to do a lot, and we expect him to do a lot. He's asking that of himself, and he's delivering, too. It's been fun to watch him."

Hagen did warn the media that Amaro has work to do as a blocker, saying he can't just play as a receiver. The coach thinks Amaro can learn that role. 

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Friday that he expects second-year tight end Travis Kelce to be ready for the start of training camp. In fact, Reid thinks they might "be able to get a little bit out of Kelce" next week.

Kelce missed his rookie year after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee. He'll compete for playing time once he's on the field. 

Cardinals rookie tight end Troy Niklas suffered a broken hand and will be out until training camp, reports the team's official website.

The report said he got his hand caught in a jersey during practice last week.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Thursday that second-year tight end Travis Kelce, who missed his rookie year after having microfracture surgery on his knee, should be ready for training camp.

"Yeah. He's getting close," Reid said. "He's been working his tail off."

Kelce has the chance to push Anthony Fasano for the starting job this season if healthy.

Jets rookie tight end Jace Amaro is learning on the fly during OTA workouts, reports ESPN.

On Wednesday, Amaro had a forgettable practice with three drops and "looked lost at times in the offense." Coach Rex Ryan was watching.

"All you've got to do is look at Jace," Ryan said. "Jace had like three drops today. And I'm like wait a second, he did catch 106 balls right? But, he had three drops and that's where clearly a guy is thinking so much that all of a sudden you lose the focus on what Job 1 is: catch the football."

Amaro was clearly disappointed after practice.

"It’s been fun out there, but I have to make sure I get better," Amaro said. "Today, just have to make sure you're getting better at routes. I'm just overthinking a little too much on the plays and stuff like that."

Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar didn't practice Monday with a sore back. ESPN reports he sat out because of that, not because of a knee issue from last week's practice.