NFL Player News

Barner's teammate Noah Fant (groin) has been ruled out for Sunday's game at San Francisco, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Fant previously missed a Week 9 loss to the Rams in which Barner played 91 percent of snaps and caught four of seven targets for 27 yards. It was Barner's first time with more than 48 percent snap share or three targets in an NFL game, with his role being larger than what Fant handles when healthy. Fant now is missing another game after a Week 10 bye, but Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald told Dugar on Friday that he doesn't expect the veteran tight end to be placed on injured reserve.

Ferguson (illness) was a full practice participant Friday, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Ferguson will be fine for Monday's matchup with Houston, having missed just one practice due to an illness. The real concern for fantasy is QB play, after Cooper Rush threw for 45 yards last week in his first start of the season.

Head coach Sean McVay said Friday that Higbee (knee) is "a couple weeks away" from making his return, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports.

Higbee's making progress in his recovery from a torn ACL and MCL suffered in last season's playoffs, but his return to game action is still multiple weeks in the future. Once he's cleared to come off the reserve/PUP list, Higbee presumably will require a ramp-up period in practice before he's ready to make his season debut. Davis Allen has taken over as the Rams' top tight end in recent weeks, leapfrogging Colby Parkinson on the depth chart.

Fant (groin) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Fant missed Seattle's final game before a Week 10 bye and now will sit out at least one more contest after failing to practice this week. With fourth-string tight end Brady Russell (foot) also ruled out, the Seahawks will rely on AJ Barner and Pharaoh Brown, likely giving the former most of the snaps and routes. Barner played 91 percent of snaps in a 26-20 loss to the Rams in Week 9, catching four of seven targets for 27 yards in his first career game with more than three targets or 48 percent snap share.

LaPorta (shoulder) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Jacksonville.

LaPorta didn't practice at all this week after making an early exit from Sunday's 26-23 win at Houston. Coach Dan Campbell said Monday that the tight end is day-to-day, which suggests there's some shot he'll return Week 12 at Indianapolis (Nov. 24) or Week 13 against Chicago (Nov. 28). As for this week's game, Brock Wright figures to get most of the snaps in single-TE formations, with Shane Zylstra joining him in two-TE sets. LaPorta's absence could also free up a few extra snaps for depth WRs Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond.

Woerner (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Broncos.

Woerner was originally concussed in Week 7 against the Seahawks but returned to the game and played each of the following three contests for Atlanta. Perhaps he reported new symptoms earlier this week. Ross Dwelley should fill in as the Falcons' TE2 behind Kyle Pitts.

Oliver (wrist/hand) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Titans, Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Oliver had his practice reps capped Wednesday and Thursday, but he has the green light to suit up Sunday. T.J. Hockenson is Minnesota's best pass-catching tight end, but Oliver has racked up 110 receiving yards and a touchdown over the last two games while contributing in a blocking capacity as well.

LaPorta (shoulder) isn't practicing Friday, Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News reports.

LaPorta hasn't practiced at all this week and thus seems unlikely to play Sunday against the Jaguars. He suffered an AC joint sprain in his shoulder during last week's win over the Texans, leaving Brock Wright as Detroit's top tight end for the fourth quarter.

With Dalton Kincaid (knee) ruled out for Week 11 against the Chiefs, Knox is expected to take on an elevated role Sunday.

With Kincaid dealing with the injury last Sunday against the Colts, Knox played a season-high 70 percent of the offensive snaps and matched his season bests in targets (three) and catches en route to a 2-40-0 receiving line. Knox doesn't have much upside in terms of catches and yards, but he's a trusted red-zone weapon for Josh Allen and is worthy of consideration at tight end for needy fantasy players.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Friday that Kincaid (knee) won't play Sunday against the Chiefs, Alec White of the team's official site reports.

Kincaid, who suffered a knee injury during Buffalo's win over the Colts this past Sunday, thus will target a potential return to action following the team's Week 12 bye, when the Bills host the 49ers on Dec. 1. In Kincaid's absence this weekend, Dawson Knox is slated to work as the top tight end and could see his most involvement in the passing game of the season thus far.