NFL Player News

Woods is listed as the third or fourth tight end on Indianapolis' first unofficial depth chart of the preseason.

The good news is that Woods is healthy after injuries to both hamstrings cost him the entire 2023 season. The bad news is that he begins camp buried on the depth chart, and he hasn't made a lot of noise in practice. He's the most athletic of the Colts' tight ends and has the upside to emerge with a significant role in the passing game, but the team could continue to split targets between multiple TEs as it did last season.

The Commanders waived Rogers on Tuesday.

Rogers missed all of 2023 due to a torn Achilles' tendon. Despite returning for OTAs and training camp, he will now be on the lookout for a new team in need of depth at tight end should he clear waivers. In his lone season of NFL action in 2022, Rogers played in 11 regular-season games for the Commanders, finishing with five catches on six targets for 64 yards.

Dulcich is listed as the Broncos' No. 2 tight end on the team's initial unofficial depth chart, Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post reports.

Dulcich, who was limited to just two regular-season appearances in 2023 as he dealt with hamstring and foot issues, is listed behind Adam Trautman and ahead of Lucas Krull on Denver's current unofficial depth chart. That said, if Dulcich is able to stay healthy and impress as the preseason progresses, the 2022 third-rounder has the pass-catching upside to carry the most fantasy utility among the team's top TE trio in 2024.

Johnson is listed as a fourth-stringer on the Giants' initial preseason depth chart, but Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News notes that the depth chart at tight end doesn't reflect what reporters have seen during practices.

In other words, Johnson is still in the mix to start, despite being a rookie fourth-round pick who opened training camp on the PUP list with a hip injury. He took a lot of first-team reps his second day after being activated, and subsequent reports suggest that's continued into the second week of training camp, albeit with Daniel Bellinger also involved in the first-team offense. Lawrence Cager (hamstring) and Chris Manhertz also are listed ahead of Johnson on the depth chart, but they're specialized players that would be unlikely to play a lot of snaps even if they technically ended up starting. Johnson is the upside play of the bunch, having run a 4.57 40-yard dash at 6-foot-6, 259 pounds. His impressive showing at the NFL Combine led to a selection early in the fourth round, 107th overall, following a college career at Penn State with no more than 34 receptions or 341 yards in any one season (although he did score seven TDs his final year).

Bellinger is listed as the No. 1 tight end on the Giants' first unofficial depth chart, Dan Salomone of the team's official site reports.

With Darren Waller deciding to retire in the offseason, New York's starting tight end role is up for grabs. It makes sense for Bellinger to work in that capacity given that he was the starter during his rookie campaign before Waller was brought into the fold, but -- despite drawing positive reviews from the team's coaching staff -- he was only modestly productive with 30 receptions for 268 yards and two touchdowns over 12 regular-season games. The Giants drafted Theo Johnson in the fourth round of April's NFL Draft with Waller's then-potential retirement in mind, and he's worked with the first-team offense at times during training camp, so he appears to be the biggest threat to Bellinger attaining the starting role. However, on the the team's initial depth chart, Johnson is listed as fourth at tight end behind Bellinger, Lawrence Cager and Chris Manhertz.

Sinnott is listed as the third-string tight end on Washington's initial preseason depth chart.

It's not shocking given that there haven't been reports of Sinnott working with the starters at training camp, but he's still the Washington tight end with the most potential to make a dent for fantasy purposes, considering the guys listed ahead of him are 33-year-old Zach Ertz and veteran blocker John Bates. Ertz is a strong favorite to enter Week 1 as the team's top pass-catching tight end; the question is how long he'll keep that role after averaging 8.6 and 6.9 yards per catch for Arizona the past two seasons. Sinnott holds a massive athleticism advantage over late-career Ertz -- something he proved at at the 2024 NFL Combine with a 4.68-second 40-yard dash, 40-inch vertical and 126-inch broad jump. The 53rd overall pick had the best vertical jump, broad jump and cone drill (6.82 seconds) among tight ends at this year's combine, and he did it at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, i.e., prototypical size for his position.

LaPorta is dealing with a hamstring injury and will miss a second straight practice Tuesday, Justin Rogers of DetroitFootball.net reports.

The injury is considered minor, but it's safe to assume LaPorta will miss Thursday's preseason game against the Giants even if he feels much better by then. LaPorta didn't miss any games as a rookie last year, making 17 appearances in the regular season and three more in the playoffs.

Whyle is listed as a co-starter at tight end on the Titans' first unofficial depth chart, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

Whyle is entering his second year as a pro and looking to carve out an expanded role after playing only 152 offensive snaps in 2023. His 6-foot-7 frame makes him an intriguing option near the goal line and potentially on third downs. Whyle has also apparently impressed enough on the field to push Chigoziem Okonkwo for his starting role, and this will be a position to monitor for the rest of the preseason.

Durham is being utilized in diversified fashion alongside position mate Cade Otton in offensive coordinator Liam Coen's scheme, Brianna Dix of the team's official site reports.

Durham is being split out wide within several of Coen's personnel groupings, a development that dovetails well with the new coordinator's guiding principle of utilizing a plethora of methods to keep defenses off balance. Durham is seemingly a strong candidate to threaten as either a decoy or the intended target, considering he averaged 11.6 yards per reception on his five regular-season catches as a rookie in 2023 and recorded 126 catches and 21 touchdowns during a 36-game college career at Purdue. Scott Smith of the team's official site reports Durham seems much more comfortable over the first two weeks of his second training camp, noting the talented tight end feels the offseason work he put in taking hold and the game slowing down for him as a whole despite the fact he's learning a new offense.

Kraft (pectoral) passed his physical Monday and has been removed from the active/PUP list, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Kraft is ready to retake the practice field for the first time in training camp, and potentially even to be available for Saturday's road preseason game against the Browns. The second-year pro suffered a pectoral tear during the offseason, and now that he's healthy, Kraft will get a chance to compete for tight end reps with fellow 2023 draft pick Luke Musgrave, while Ben Sims and Tyler Davis figure to mix in as reserve options. Kraft impressed when tasked with a starting workload last season, so he and Musgrave could both realistically push for significant roles.