NFL Player News

Higgins (concussion) caught two passes on three targets for 15 yards during Friday's 42-38 preseason loss to Green Bay.

Friday's exhibition contest was Higgins' first preseason game of the year, and he was given the green light to play after clearing the league's concussion protocol. He saw most of his playing time in the first half, hauling in passes of nine and six yards on drives that both ended in scores for the Cardinals. Higgins is set to enter the regular season as the team's backup tight end to Trey McBride, given that Tip Reiman (ankle) is expected to miss the Cardinals' regular-season opener against the Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Kelce secured his only target for eight yards in Friday's 9-9 preseason tie with the Seahawks.

Kelce was on the other end of starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier's first pass of the night, an eight-yard completion that took the ball to midfield on Kansas City's opening possession. Kelce thus was able to record his only stats of the preseason in the brief cameo, and he'll now turn his attention to a Week 1 Monday night home showdown against the Broncos on Sept. 14 that he'll hope to play with Patrick Mahomes (knee) as his quarterback.

Pitts caught all three of his targets for 59 yards in Friday's 17-12 preseason win over the Dolphins.

Pitts has shown excellent chemistry with QB Tua Tagovailoa during the preseason, accounting for 81 of Tagovailoa's 117 passing yards across parts of two preseason games. It remains to be seen whether Tagovailoa or Michael Penix (knee) will get the starting nod under center for Week 1 against the Steelers. Either way, Pitts is poised to maintain a prominent role on the heels of his 928-yard 2025 regular season.

Kincaid was held out of Thursday's exhibition win over the Steelers.

Kincaid's absence was simply for rest and injury-avoidance purposes, as Buffalo sat out all of its key regular-season starters. Kincaid ended up playing in just one preseason contest, logging nine snaps without seeing any targets. He's slated to be a key target for Josh Allen in the passing game this season and will next take the field in Week 1 versus Houston on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Njoku logged three offensive snaps in Thursday's preseason loss to the Rams and didn't register any statistical output.

Njoku worked behind starter Charlie Kolar and ahead of Oronde Gadsden in the contest. During the exhibition slate, Kolar and starting QB Justin Herbert were on the field together for six snaps, while Njoku logged five snaps with Herbert and Gadsden registered just one. That could be an indication of the pecking order during the regular season as well, as Kolar is considered the superior blocker of the trio and Gadsden the top pass catcher, with Njoku being competent in both areas.

Gadsden participated in eight offensive snaps and did not record any statistics otherwise in Thursday's preseason loss to the Rams.

For the second straight week, Gadsden worked in a reserve role behind Charlie Kolar and David Njoku. While snap counts during preseason play aren't generally reflective of what will happen during the regular season, it could be telling that Gadsden saw only one offensive snap with Justin Herbert on the field during the exhibition slate while fellow tight ends Charlie Kolar and David Njoku logged six and five snaps, respectively, in that scenario. Despite Gadsden's promising rookie campaign last year, he could be looking at a reduced role behind Kolar and Njoku -- both of whom are regarded as better blockers -- in new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel's system.

Kolar caught his lone target for nine yards during the Chargers' 20-18 preseason loss to the Rams on Thursday.

Kolar worked as the Chargers' starting tight end Thursday, hauling in a nine-yard pass from Justin Herbert while playing five snaps (four on offense, one on special teams). Kolar, Oronde Gadsden and David Njoku are the top tight ends on the Chargers depth chart, but it's been Kolar who has been working more with the first-team offense during training camp. Still, Kolar's offensive output figures to be minimal this year, given that his 10 catches across 17 regular-season games with the Ravens last year was a career high for the 2022 fourth-rounder.

Royer (personal) did not play in Thursday's preseason finale against the Patriots.

Royer's absence Thursday means the tight end missed the entirety of the preseason due to a personal issue. The fifth-round tight end out of Cincinnati's current status within the organization is unclear, and it remains to be seen whether he will be a casualty of Sunday's roster cutdown.

Fannin did not play in the Browns' 37-13 preseason win over the Patriots on Thursday.

Fannin and several other Browns starters -- including Deshaun Watson, Quinshon Judkins and rookie wide receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston -- were idle for Cleveland's preseason finale Thursday. Despite shaky quarterback play in 2025, Fannin was able to put together a productive rookie campaign, as he logged 72 catches (on 107 targets) for 731 yards and six touchdowns while adding seven carries for 13 yards and a score across 16 regular-season games. David Njoku is no longer with the Browns, so Fannin is the unquestioned TE1 on the depth chart and could be a go-to target for Watson in the passing game.

The Steelers waived Bell on Friday, Teresa Varley of the team's official site reports.

Bell signed with the Steelers in early May. The tight end was set to be a casualty of Sunday's cutdown day and will now be placed on waivers through Monday. If the 25-year-old goes unclaimed, he will become a free agent able to sign with any franchise's 53-man roster or practice squad.