NFL Player News

The Colts selected Warren in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 14th overall.

Warren was a standout player at Penn State who didn't truly break out until his senior season. He had 49 catches for 606 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first three seasons and then exploded for 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. Penn State also got him involved in the run game in '24 with 26 rushes for 218 yards and four touchdowns en route to winning the Mackey Award. It's rare for a college tight end to command that type of share in the offense; he drew 31.6 percent of Penn State's targets. He had plenty of manufactured touches that won't translate in the NFL, but Warren is able to pull off just about any function that an NFL offense can conceive. He's 6-foot-6 and 256 pounds, which signals he can play all three downs. Fantasy managers may have some concerns about the immediate production with Indianapolis' current quarterback situation. It's not exactly apples to apples, but managers had similar concerns with Brock Bowers going to the Raiders last season.

The Bears selected Loveland (shoulder) in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 10th overall.

Loveland becomes the first tight end off the board and the highest drafted tight end since the Falcons took Kyle Pitts fourth overall in 2021. The Michigan product is a nice fit in Chicago. He is a complete player at the position, with an ability to make plays in the passing game while also contributing in-line on blocking assignments. Loveland's stats aren't as gaudy as fellow first-round tight end prospect Tyler Warren's, but that's why context matters. Penn State made Warren the focal point of its passing attack, while Michigan did not have the passing game in place in 2024 to get much production out of Loveland, who finished his junior season with 56 catches for 582 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games. Cole Kmet is still on the roster, but the Bears using the 10th overall pick on Loveland is a sign that he is going to be involved early and often. Loveland can become a reliable option up the seam for Caleb Williams, though he'll have plenty of competition for targets with DJ Moore and Rome Odunze commanding huge shares. Lastly, Loveland's shoulder injury that kept him from testing at the combine is not expected to affect his availability for training camp.

Willis signed his exclusive rights free-agent tender with the 49ers on Tuesday.

Willis is now officially set to return for to San Francisco for the 2025 campaign after having been tendered earlier in the offseason. The tight end didn't make a catch in 10 regular-season games last season and will compete for a backup spot behind George Kittle.

Kittle is not at team facilities for the start of San Francisco's voluntary offseason workout program, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Kittle and the 49ers have engaged in conversations about a new extension this offseason, though Michael Silver of The Athletic reports that the two sides remain far apart. The tight end is heading into the final season of the five-year, $75 million contract he inked with San Francisco in August of 2020 and is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Kittle is an integral piece of the 49ers' passing game, especially with Deebo Samuel having been traded to the Commanders and Brandon Aiyuk (knee) recovering from right ACL and MCL tears. Until a new deal for quarterback Brock Purdy is ironed out, San Francisco may not have the flexibility to move forward with other contract discussions.

Fisk signed his exclusive rights free-agent tender with the Chargers on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

The 26-year-old tight end from Stanford will now remain in Los Angeles after spending his 2024 campaign with the Chargers. Fisk played a career-high 198 offensive snaps over nine regular-season contests last year, catching seven of his eight targets for 39 yards. He's also contributed on special teams, logging 151 special-teams snaps over his two years in the NFL. With Fisk returning to the Chargers, he's expected to compete for a depth spot in the tight end corps during the team's offseason activities.

Head coach Andy Reid told reporters Monday that Wiley (knee) is "doing well," Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

Wiley tore his ACL during practice early in November 2024, limiting him to just seven regular-season appearances. In those contests, the TCU product played 88 offensive snaps and caught his only target for seven yards. While Reid did not provide a precise timetable for Wiley's return, the 24-year-old may be on track to return for the start of Kansas City's 2025 campaign.

The Texans signed Smith to a one-year contract Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Smith hooked on with Houston's practice squad last September and ended up getting signed to the team's active roster in December. The veteran tight end played in five total regular-season games and didn't see a target on offense, though he did catch one pass for two yards in the Texans' playoff loss to Kansas City. Smith figures to again be buried on Houston's depth chart when the team's tight-end corps is healthy, though Brevin Jordan is recovering from a torn ACL and Cade Stover fractured his collarbone in the team's wild-card win against the Chargers in January.

Tonges re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year, $1.03 million contract Thursday.

It's the value of the exclusive rights tender for Tonges, who appeared in 16 regular-season games last season but saw just 34 snaps on offense. He played 232 snaps on special teams, and that figures to be where he'll fit in next season, should he make the 53-man roster.

Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said, "I never know what's going to happen" when reporters asked him Tuesday if Andrews would stay with the team for 2025, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

DeCosta also called Andrews a "warrior" and said he's "a great player... and we're in the business of keeping as many great players as we can." It's not quite the endorsement coach John Harbaugh gave earlier this offseason, which may signal a willingness to listen to trade offers. The Ravens kept Andrews on the roster through mid-March when a $4 million roster bonus kicked in, ending any speculation that he might be released after losing a fumble and dropping a game-tying pass in a playoff loss at Buffalo in January. Other factors working against Andrews include his contract (one year remaining), age (30 in September) and the presence of fellow tight end Isaiah Likely, but most signs point to Andrews playing at least one more season for the Ravens. That said, it won't be surprising if he's part of a draft-day trade.

The Packers signed FitzPatrick to a contract on Monday, NFL.com reports.

FitzPatrick entered the offseason as a restricted free agent but wasn't tendered by Green Bay, and he now re-signs with the team. Across nine regular-season appearances with the Packers in 2024, the tight end secured his only target for two yards. He contributed as a blocker on the majority of his 69 offensive snaps.