NFL Player News

Andrews is among the Ravens' key starters not expected to see action in Friday's preseason opener against the Eagles, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

As Zrebiec points out, coach John Harbaugh has approached the exhibition slate with caution over the past two years, and that doesn't seem likely to change this time around. In the case of Andrews, the star tight end is a proven veteran who had injury issues last season, so it makes sense to limit his exposure to preseason snaps ahead of Week 1.

The 49ers released Thomas (hamstring) on Friday.

Thomas inked a one-year deal with San Francisco back in June and appeared set to provide the team with valuable veteran depth behind top tight end George Kittle, so it's somewhat surprising to see him be released two weeks into training camp. A hamstring injury had kept Thomas out of practice for roughly the last week, but unless he's reached an injury settlement, his release indicates a clean bill of health. Thomas will now look for an opportunity elsewhere in the league, likely as a backup or rotational option for another team.

Mallory (hamstring) was back practicing Friday, Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star reports.

Mallory's hamstring injury from the Colts' 2023 season has lingered over to preparation for this upcoming year, but he's now moving in the right direction with a return to practice. The capacity that the 6-foot-4 tight end was able to participate in Friday was not disclosed, which leaves his availability for Sunday's preseason game against Denver up in the air.

Jordan (undisclosed) is slated to miss Houston's Week 1 preseason game against the Steelers, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Jordan had been deemed healthy so far during training camp, but an undisclosed injury will take him out of Houston's preseason opener. The 6-foot-3 tight end finished out the 2023 season with 17 grabs for 219 yards and two touchdowns, and more information on his preseason injury should be released in the coming days.

LaPorta (hamstring) didn't see action in Thursday's preseason opener against the Giants, the Detroit News reports.

The Lions opted not to play their key skill players in the contest, but LaPorta has been dealing with a hamstring injury, so he probably wouldn't have played Thursday even if they had. The star tight end's next chance to see game action is Aug. 17 against the Chiefs, but he'll need to get some practice time in before then for that to occur.

Henry didn't play in Thursday's preseason opener versus the Panthers, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.

Per Zack Cox of the Boston Herald, Henry suited up Thursday but did not play, so it's possible that the tight end could be managing a minor injury. In any case, while there's plenty of snaps up for grabs in the Patriots' crowded WR corps, Henry's standing as the team's top TE appears secure ahead of Week 1.

Matthews caught all three of his targets for 48 yards during Thursday's 17-3 preseason loss to the Patriots.

The Panthers are desperate for a tight end that can be a vertical threat, and they may have found a hidden gem in the former Eagles wideout. Matthews (19 snaps) played behind rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders (24 snaps) during Thursday's contest, but Matthews outperformed him, as Sanders failed to even see a target. With Carolina's tight-end corps being one of the weakest units in football over the last few seasons, Matthews could find his way onto the team's 53-man roster if he continues to impress.

Stephens has had a strong training camp so far and is pushing for the No. 2 spot on the Cowboys' tight end depth chart, Jon Machota and Saad Yousef of The Athletic report.

Jake Ferguson is locked into the starting job, but after that the Dallas depth chart is unsettled. Luke Schoonmaker was a second-round pick in 2023 but has had trouble staying healthy to begin his career and is already battling a groin issue in camp. Peyton Hendershot (shoulder) has shown flashes as a pass-catching option but is also not 100 percent healthy. That's opened up reps for Stephens, a converted wide receiver who was an undrafted free agent in 2023 but made a good early impression last year before suffering a torn ACL in the preseason that cost him the entire campaign. Fully recovered from the knee injury, Stephens has seen reps with the first-team offense and looks capable of providing solid depth behind Ferguson.

Hockenson (knee) isn't likely to be ready for Week 1 and could miss anywhere from three to seven regular-season games, ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler reports.

While previous reports perhaps came off as more optimistic, Hockenson has always faced an uphill battle to be ready for the start of the season after suffering ACL and MCL tears on Dec. 24. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said last week that Hockenson is, "very well ahead of maybe where some of the medical folks thought he would be," but also cautioned that, "a timeline exists and we're going to try to stay true to that." Hockenson remains on the active/PUP list after two weeks of training camp, and it won't come as any surprise if he heads into the regular season on the reserve/PUP list, which would rule him out for the first four games. In the meantime, TE snaps and targets seem to be up for grabs between Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt and Robert Tonyan (back).

Bellinger caught one of two targets for seven yards in Thursday's 14-3 preseason win over the Lions.

Bellinger wasn't heavily involved but neither was rookie fourth-round pick Theo Johnson, who wasn't targeted Thursday. Tyree Jackson was the Giants' most productive tight end Thursday with two catches for 34 yards, but Bellinger and Johnson have been splitting first-team reps in practice and remain on track to lead the position come the regular season. New York's next preseason game will be in Houston next Saturday.