NFL Player News

Curtis (knee) is out for the remainder of Friday's preseason contest at Pittsburgh.

The severity of the injury is unknown at this point, but it will at least keep Curtis off the field for the rest of the game. In his absence, fellow undrafted rookie free-agent tight end Connor Hulstein may see an uptick in snaps.

Tonges did not record any stats in Thursday's 41-17 preseason win against the Chargers.

Tonges only played 18 snaps during Thursday's contest, and the ball was never thrown his way. He currently projects to start at tight end for the 49ers come Week 1 in the event that two-time All-Pro George Kittle (Achilles) is not available. However, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Kittle still has a real chance to suit up in that Week 1 matchup in Australia against the Rams, a development that would leave Tonges with a significantly smaller role.

Mayer did not play in Thursday's 22-20 preseason loss to the Texans.

Mayer has fully recovered from the nose injury that plagued him in early August, but the tight end remained sidelined during Thursday's contest. The 2023 second-rounder joined fellow tight end Brock Bowers on the sideline Thursday, and it appears unlikely he will play any more snaps until the regular season commences.

The Colts signed Galbreath to a contract Friday.

Galbreath was waived by the Steelers in early August. The tight end was likely brought in to bolster competition within the corps and provide depth for the preseason due to the absence of Tyler Warren (groin). Galbreath is a second-year player out of South Dakota who has not yet participated in an NFL regular-season game.

Waller won't play in Friday's preseason contest at Jacksonville, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Waller officially signed with the Panthers on Monday, at which time coach Dave Canales told Mike Kaye of ESPN.com that the tight end wasn't likely to practice fully at Wednesday's joint session with the Jaguars. Carolina thus is easing the 33-year-old into the mix with his new squad, but once Waller is up to speed he'll join Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans and Ja'Tavion Sanders as the players at the position available to QB Bryce Young.

Klein caught three of four targets for 31 yards in Thursday night's 22-20 preseason loss to the Raiders.

Klein's second career preseason game was similar to his first, as the tight end accumulated exactly 31 receiving yards again. The second-round rookie was targeted three more times than against the Chargers, catching two more passes. Klein logged 31 total snaps, playing 33 percent of the Texans' offensive snaps as well as 35 percent of the special-teams volume as a blocker.

The Rams have expanded Ferguson's route tree this summer now that he's more comfortable with the playbook in his second season, Nate Atkins of The Athletic reports.

Ferguson has been one of the biggest playmakers at Rams camp, and with Puka Nacua dealing with a groin injury that has forced him to miss multiple practices, Ferguson is getting more reps and targets with Matthew Stafford. After being used as a part-time field-stretcher at tight end as a rookie, Ferguson has seen reps out wide, in the slot and attached to the line during training camp. With little experienced pass-catching depth behind Nacua and Davante Adams, the Rams are looking for a third piece in the passing offense, and Ferguson appears to be running with the opportunity. He's gaining steam in fantasy football as a late-round option.

Kolar and David Njoku both started Thursday's preseason game against San Francisco. Kolar finished with one catch for nine yards on eight snaps.

Njoku played just five snaps without seeing a target. Oronde Gadsden, meanwhile, wasn't spotted until the second quarter. Gadsden might be the team's best receiving threat at the position, but there's a real chance that the Week 1 snap counts reflect a preseason depth chart with Njoku and Kolar listed as co-starters. It doesn't look like an especially friendly situation for fantasy managers, with targets potentially split between three TEs in an offense that also uses a fullback at times. Kolar, in particular, isn't likely to see much playing time in clear passing situations, which makes mainstream fantasy relevance unlikely.

Njoku and Charlie Kolar both started Thursday's preseason game against San Francisco. Njoku finished with no targets on five snaps.

They're also listed as co-starters on the preseason depth chart, ahead of pass-catching specialist Oronde Gadsden. It's no secret that offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel puts a premium on TE blocking, and while Njoku has never been considered a standout in that regard, he's at least got a leg up on Gadsden. We'll still need to wait for the regular season to truly understand how McDaniel wants to deploy his tight ends (and FB Alec Ingold).

Kittle (Achilles) visited with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Wednesday and remains ahead of schedule in his recovery with a chance to play Week 1 against the Rams, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

It was deemed an "encouraging" visit, per Schefter, after ElAttrache performed Kittle's surgery on his torn Achilles last season. Kittle has been aiming for a Week 1 return all along, and it appears to be attainable 21 days ahead of the Niners' kickoff with the Rams in Australia.