NFL Player News

LaPorta (shoulder) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game at Indianapolis, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

After sitting out this past Sunday's victory against the Jaguars due to an AC joint sprain in his shoulder that he suffered one week prior, LaPorta was listed as a full participant on injury reports Wednesday through Friday. Now that his status is confirmed for Week 12, he'll be taking on a Colts defense Sunday that has conceded the fourth-most touchdowns (six) to opposing tight ends in 11 games this season.

Fant (groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Arizona, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Fant missed the past two games, sandwiched around a Week 10 bye, and just returned to practice Thursday as a limited participant. The Seahawks are giving him at least some chance to play ahead of a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday, with rookie AJ Barner on hand to fill in again if needed. Barner drew 11 targets the past two games while playing 91 and 85 percent of snaps, but the big uptick in opportunities yielded just six catches for 42 yards.

Oliver (ankle/wrist) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Bears.

Oliver will sit out a game for the first time this season. T.J. Hockenson is expected to expand his role in his fourth game back from a torn ACL, while Johnny Mundt should see additional snaps in a depth role. Oliver's next chance to suit up will be Sunday, Dec. 1 against the Cardinals.

Hockenson said Friday that he expects his playing time to start trending upward, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

Hockenson has played just under 50 percent of the offensive snaps in each of the three games he's played in since his activation from the reserve/PUP list. With fellow Vikings tight endJosh Oliver battling an ankle injury and ruled out this week, Hockenson has been taking more practice reps in packages he hasn't played in this year. Getting on the field more should lead to a larger route share, which in turn boosts Hockenson's target-volume projection.

Washington secured all three of his targets for 14 yards during Thursday's 24-19 loss to the Browns.

Washington recorded a season-high 42 receiving yards in last week's win over Baltimore, and he tallied three receptions in Thursday's Week 12 matchup against Cleveland, his second-highest mark of the season. Although he wasn't very efficient with his catches, he's now been targeted at least three times in each of Pittsburgh's three games since the team's Week 9 bye.

Freiermuth secured all four of his targets for 59 yards in Thursday's 24-19 loss to Cleveland.

Freiermuth had been held under 20 receiving yards in four of his last five appearances, but he bounced back in Thursday's primetime matchup with a season-high 59 receiving yards. Over the first 11 games of the season, the 26-year-old has secured 35 of 40 targets for 354 yards and three touchdowns.

Whiteheart secured his only target for 29 yards in Thursday's 24-19 win over the Steelers in Week 12.

Whiteheart, who was elevated from the practice squad, was surprisingly on the receiving end of Cleveland's longest play. He managed to make a twisting, juggling catch in the snowy conditions on the first play of a drive that led to the Browns taking a lead. Whiteheart was moved to the active roster with Geoff Swaim (concussion) inactive.

Akins caught three of four targets for 38 yards in Thursday's 24-19 win over Pittsburgh in Week 12.

Akins continued a renaissance in a Jameis Winston-led offense. The outing was his fourth in the last five games in which he was targeted four times. The lone blemish Thursday was a drop on a play that looked like he had a clear path to the end zone if he secured the ball. David Njoku remains the clear No. 1 at tight end, but he had an off night in the wind and snow of Cleveland, leading him to haul in just one of his five targets.

Njoku brought in one of five targets for nine yards and caught a two-point conversion pass in the Browns' 24-19 win over the Steelers on Thursday night.

Njoku's inefficient night could have been much better had he reeled in a would-be touchdown pass from Jameis Winston early in the fourth quarter that hit the veteran tight end right in the hands before slipping away. Njoku partly made up for it with a leaping two-point conversion grab two plays later following a Winston touchdown run. Njoku's reception total tied a season low, while his yardage total was his sparsest of the campaign. However, he should have nowhere to go but up in a Week 13 road matchup against the Broncos on Monday night, Dec. 2 as long as the weather is better than the blizzard-like conditions Thursday's contest was primarily played in.

Fant (groin) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

This marks Fant's first notable on-field work since Oct. 30 as he recovers from a groin injury that has sidelined him for Seattle's last two games. He may have to log a full practice Friday in order to emerge from Week 12 prep without a designation. In any case, if Fant is inhibited or sidelined Sunday against the Cardinals AJ Barner would be the biggest beneficiary among Seahawks tight ends.