NFL Player News

The Seahawks are slated to release Dissly, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.

Per the report, the move will free up $6.97 million in salary cap space for Seattle. Dissly, who is coming off a 2023 regular season in which he recorded 17 catches on 22 targets for 172 yards and a touchdown over 16 games, will look to catch on elsewhere as a depth tight end.

The Panthers plan to release Hurst (concussion) before March 16, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Hurst's release will come just one season into the three-year, $21.75 million contract he inked with Carolina last offseason, due to the veteran tight end reportedly declining to take a pay cut. Across nine regular-season appearances in 2023, Hurst recorded a 18-184-1 receiving line before suffering a season-ending concussion, and post-traumatic amnesia, Week 10. Hurst said after the season that he'd been medically cleared, and as an experienced and proven veteran, he should get sizable attention on the open market as long as teams aren't concerned about his health.

The Texans and Schultz agreed to terms on a three-year, $36 million contract extension on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Schultz will stick around with C.J. Stroud for the foreseeable future on a new deal that includes $23.5 million in guarantees, per Rapoport. Had he not been re-signed Schultz would've arguably been the top tight end of this free agency cycle, and keeping the pass-catching corps that Stroud found success with as a rookie intact makes complete sense for Houston. Across 15 regular-season games in 2023, Schultz secured 59 of 88 targets for 635 yards and five scores.

The Jets are releasing Uzomah (knee) to clear $5.3 million in cap space, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The 31-year-old tight end caught 29 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns in 27 games after signing a three-year, $24 million contract with the Jets in March of 2022. Uzomah finished the 2023 season on injured reserve with an MCL injury, and he'll likely have to compete for a backup job if he wants to continue his NFL career.

Zylstra (knee) re-signed with the Lions on Monday.

Zylstra spent the entirety of the 2023 campaign on IR with a knee injury suffered during training camp, but he should be considered healthy with his return to the team. The 27-year-old last suited up in 2022, when he made 11 receptions (on 15 targets) for 60 yards and four touchdowns across 13 contests. He'll likely be competing for a depth role in the Lions' tight end corps in 2024.

Waller still hasn't decided whether he will return to the Giants for the 2024 season or retire, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports.

Early Friday, news emerged that Waller had contemplated retirement during the offseason but ultimately decided to return. However, the veteran tight end subsequently texted the Post to explain that, despite those reports, he is undecided about retirement. New York gave up a third-round draft pick to acquire Waller from the Raiders in March of 2023, and it's safe to assume that the organization was expecting to get more than one season out of him when making that deal. If Waller does decide to retire, it would be a significant blow to the Giants' air attack, as he ranked second on the team with 52 catches and 552 receiving yards last season despite playing in only 12 games.

Washington announced the release of Thomas on Friday, saving the team roughly $6.5 million in cap space.

Thomas' release leaves the Commanders with about $1.7 million in dead cap space. The veteran tight end is heading into his age-33 season but logged a solid bounce-back effort in 2023, having secured 55 of 79 targets for 496 yards and four scores across 16 regular-season games. A proven contributor capable of moving the chains on offense, Thomas should garner real interest on the free agent market, though he's not guaranteed a chance at a true starting role at this point in his career. Washington also released veteran tackle Charles Leno in a cap-saving move Friday.

Waller thought about retiring earlier this offseason, but he'll continue playing football and isn't expected to be a cap casualty, Paul Schwartz and Ryan Dunleavy of the NY Post report.

A midseason hamstring injury cost Waller five games in 2023, his first year with the Giants and third straight season missing at least five contests. He has three years remaining on his contract but no salary guarantees, with the Giants able to add around $11.6 million in 2024 cap space by declaring the tight end as a post-June 1 cut (or waiting until June to trade him). It sounds like player and team want to give things another shot in New York, hoping Waller can stay relatively healthy for the first time since 2020 even though he'll turn 32 in September. He was on pace to catch 85 passes for 923 yards through seven games in 2023 before the hamstring injury derailed his season Week 8. Waller missed the next five games and then played less than two-thirds of snaps on offense in each of the final four weeks of the season.

Rams general manager Les Snead confirmed Wednesday that Higbee (knee) has had surgery to address a torn ACL and MCL, but a timetable for his return is still uncertain, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Higbee suffered ligament damage to his right knee during the Rams' wild-card playoff loss to the Lions on Jan. 14, after taking a low hit on the offense's final drive. The timing of his injury puts his status for Week 1 of the 2024 season in serious doubt, and likewise makes him an unlikely candidate to be cleared for the start of training camp in late July. Behind the 31-year-old veteran on the depth chart are Davis Allen, Hunter Long (knee) and Brycen Hopkins, all of whom now look like candidates to begin the 2024 season in expanded roles, barring other additions to the tight-end room.

The Falcons will release Smith, Terrin Waack of the team's official site reports.

Per the report, the move, which had been expected, will save the Falcons $6.5 million towards their salary cap. In his lone campaign with Atlanta, the 28-year-old hauled in 50 of his 70 targets for a career-high 582 yards and three TDs in 17 games, while logging action on 58 percent of the team's offensive snaps in 2023. In the wake of Smith's looming departure, Kyle Pitts remains atop the Falcons' tight end depth chart, with John FitzPatrick and Tucker Fisk also under contract for the 2024 season.