NFL Player News

Pruitt (knee) did not participate in Wednesday's practice, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reports.

Pruitt was limited in practice Tuesday due to a knee issue, and he appears to have now taken a step backward in his recovery. If the veteran No. 3 tight end is unable to play during Saturday's wild-card road game against the Ravens, his absence will deplete Pittsburgh's depth behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that Otton (knee) is "trending in the right direction" and would have been a limited participant Wednesday if the team had held a normal practice, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

The Buccaneers held a walk-through session rather than a more strenuous practice, and they'll presumably list Otton as a limited participant on their first official injury report of the week. He missed the final three games of the regular season due to the knee injury, allowing Payne Durham to step in as the starter while Devin Culp took on some of the passing-down snaps. An every-down player when healthy throughout his NFL career, Otton might have a somewhat lesser role if he makes it back for Sunday's wild-card matchup with Washington.

Kincaid didn't play any snaps during Sunday's 23-16 loss to the Patriots.

Though Kincaid wasn't inactive for the regular-season finale, the Bills ended up holding out the second-year tight end and a number of other key players since they had already secured the AFC's No. 2 seed heading into the day. Since his return from injury Week 15, Kincaid's playing time has hovered below 50 percent of offensive snaps over his last three appearances, so additional rest could leave him ready to handle an increased role in Sunday's wild-card round game against the Broncos. Across 13 regular-season appearances in Year 2, Kincaid secured 44 of 75 targets for 448 yards and two touchdowns.

Yankoff (hamstring) was designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday.

Yankoff has been on IR since early November but will have a chance to return to action during the Commanders' playoff run. The UCLA product will now be able to practice with the team and could be added to the 53-man roster ahead of Sunday's game against the Buccaneers if he is healthy enough to play.

Hooper finished the 2024 regular season with 45 catches (on 59 targets) for 476 yards and three TDs in 17 games.

Though Hooper spent his first season with New England working in a tight-end time share that tilted in favor of Hunter Henry (66/674/2 in 16 games), he managed to string together steady enough production down the stretch to maintain a modest but reliable floor in deeper fantasy formats. Hooper is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but it's possible that the Patriots could look into bringing the 30-year-old back in 2025.

Mayer caught all four of his targets for 21 yards in Sunday's 34-20 loss to the Chargers.

He concluded the 2024 season with 21 receptions for 156 yards on 32 targets across 11 games. Mayer appeared in the Raiders' final eight contests of the season after missing Weeks 4 through 9 due to personal reasons, and his return was highlighted by a seven-catch, 68-yard performance Week 14 at Tampa Bay. The 2023 second-rounder selection's fantasy ceiling was limited by the emergence of fellow tight end Brock Bowers, who set multiple rookie records en route to a 112-1,194-5 receiving line on 153 targets in 17 games. Mayer has two years remaining with the Raiders on his own rookie contract, but given Bowers' dominance and the fact that Las Vegas' current regime didn't draft Mayer, the Notre Dame product could be a valuable trade candidate this offseason.

Granson caught one of four targets for seven yards in Sunday's 26-23 win over the Jaguars.

Granson was unable to get much going Sunday, earning four targets for the second straight week. The 26-year-old tight end finished the season with just 14 catches on 31 targets for 182 yards and no touchdowns. Granson is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so the one-time fourth-round draft pick could be headed to a new locale in 2025 unless the Colts re-sign him to a new deal.

Quitoriano (calf) was a full participant in practice Tuesday.

The tight end, who had his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve opened earlier in the day, took a big step in the right direction ahead of Saturday's wild-card matchup with the Chargers. Quitoriano was placed on IR in late November with what was originally believed to be a knee injury, though it was listed as a calf issue on Houston's Tuesday injury report. The 2022 fifth-round pick played on 96 offensive snaps in 2024 and did not catch a pass.

The Bears signed Murray to a reserve/future contract Tuesday, Scott Bair of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Murray will head to Chicago ahead of the 2025 campaign after spending time with both the Cardinals' and Giants' practice squads in 2024. The tight end has yet to make his NFL debut after going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Calcaterra caught two of his four targets for 10 yards in Sunday's 20-13 win over the Giants.

The Eagles rested most of their starters in Week 18 with the second seed in the NFC locked up. However, they gave starting tight end Dallas Goedert the chance to knock off some rust after a four-game absence due to a knee injury, so Calcaterra didn't have the same workload boost as most of the team's backups. Thanks to more missed time from Goedert throughout the year, Calcaterra finished his third professional season with career highs in catches (24), yards (298) and touchdowns (one).