NFL Player News

Coach Dennis Allen revealed after Sunday's 16-10 preseason loss to the 49ers that Holker sprained his ankle in pregame warmups, John Hendrix of Sports Illustrated reports.

It was previously reported that Holker sustained an injury in warmups, and Allen clarified the nature of the rookie tight end's issue. Holker will try to recover in time to suit up for New Orleans' preseason finale against the Titans on Sunday, Aug. 25.

Holker tweaked something in warmups for Sunday's preseason game against the 49ers and won't play as a result, Saints sideline reporter Jeff Nowak reports.

This is a disappointing development for Holker, who had been in line for plenty of playing time in the preseason with starting tight end Juwan Johnson (foot) recovering from surgery. Holker will try to recover in time to face the Titans in the Saints' preseason finale next Sunday.

Taula (undisclosed) was activated from the Buccaneers' active/non-football injury list Sunday after passing his physical, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Taula began training camp on the NFI list due to an unspecified injury. He appears to be over whatever was ailing him, and he'll ramp up his participation in practice this week to gear up for Friday's preseason finale against the Dolphins.

Head coach Brian Callahan said Sunday that Whyle remains in concussion protocol but could return to practice later in the week, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

It's not clear when Whyle sustained the concussion, as he did not suit up for the Titans' 16-15 win over the Seahawks on Saturday. Whyle is competing against Nick Vannett and Thomas Odukoya for the backup tight end job behind starter Chigoziem Okonkwo.

Stover was targeted once in Saturday's preseason game against the Giants.

Stover had a quiet afternoon after shining a week ago. He and Dalton Keene played 22 snaps behind the top two tight ends, Dalton Schultz and Brevin Jordan. Stover and Keene are angling for the third spot on the depth chart, while Teagan Quitoriano (calf) has been unavailable.

Welch could be in line for increased practice reps with teammate Giovanni Ricci expected to miss multiple weeks with a knee injury.

Multiple Browns tight ends are now dealing with injuries, including presumptive starter David Njoku (undisclosed) and Zaire Mitchell-Paden (undisclosed). It therefore wouldn't be surprising to see Welch get extended playing time during their preseason finale at Seattle on Saturday.

Wilcox departed Sunday's practice early due to an apparent calf injury, Mike Kadlick of CLNSMedia.com reports.

Wilcox was getting increased reps with top tight ends Hunter Henry (undisclosed) and Austin Hooper (undisclosed) dealing with injuries of their own, so the Patriots' TE room is currently short of bodies. Rookie Jaheim Bell ended up getting a long look in Sunday's practice session and caught a touchdown from three different quarterbacks, per Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. It's unclear how much time Henry, Hooper or Wilcox are expected to miss with their respective injuries.

Hooper (undisclosed) didn't practice Sunday, Mark Daniels of MassLive.com reports.

Hooper suffered an injury during practice Saturday, per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. The Patriots' tight-end room is now dealing with injuries to each of its top three options, as Hunter Henry also sat out Sunday due to an undisclosed issue and Mitchell Wilcox departed early with an injury. Rookie Jaheim Bell consequently ended up with increased reps during the session.

Whyle entered league concussion protocol Sunday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

It's not clear when Whyle suffered the head injury. In any case, it means he's probably not going to see the field during Tennessee's preseason finale and will likely have to wait until Week 1 of the regular season to suit up again.

Conklin didn't play in Saturday's 15-12 preseason win over the Panthers.

Conklin has been rested thus far in the preseason along with the Jets' other starting skill players on offense. The Jets haven't gotten much production from the tight end position in Conklin's absence during the exhibition slate, so the 29-year-old tight end seems safely locked into the top spot on the depth chart heading into the 2024 regular season, which will commence after the Jets round out their preseason Saturday, Aug. 24 against the Giants.