NFL Player News

Smith is expected to be released by Atlanta, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Smith performed adequately for the Falcons in his debut season with the team, as in 2023 he secured 50 of 70 targets for 582 yards and three touchdowns across 17 regular-season appearances. Nonetheless, entering his age-29 season, Smith carried a non-guaranteed salary of $6.5 million, with just $2.5 million in dead money, making his release a relatively easy decision. Though Smith was the Falcons' fourth-leading receiver in 2023, that came in part due to former head coach Arthur Smith's tight-end heavy deployment, something that seems likely to change under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. Kyle Pitts now looks primed to enter the 2024 campaign as the clear top option leading Atlanta's TE depth chart.

Allen could be the Rams' No. 1 tight end when the season starts while Tyler Higbee recovers from a torn ACL and MCL, CCameron DaSilva of USA Today reports.

Allen appeared in 15 regular-season games during his rookie season, after he was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 Draft. The Clemson product recorded 10 catches on 11 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown, all coming from Week 12 on, as Allen's role in the offense grew. Higbee does have a chance to be ready by the time the 2024 regular season kicks off, but if his recovery moves slowly, or he suffers any setbacks, Allen may have an opportunity to seize the top tight end role in the Rams offense.

Okwuegbunam (hamstring) signed a one-year deal with the Eagles on Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Okwuegbunam spent the 2023 season in Philadelphia, but he was regularly a healthy inactive. In total, he suited up for only five contests and was on the field for 55 offensive snaps and five special teams snaps. Owuegbunam could see a slight uptick in his role in 2024, but he is very unlikely to make a significant impact on the stat sheet.

Alie-Cox is scheduled for $5.9 million in non-guaranteed compensation for 2024, making him a candidate to be released this offseason, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

He's entering the final year of his contract and will turn 31 in September. Alie-Cox has long been the Colts' best blocking tight end and has 14 touchdowns among his 102 career receptions, so it won't be surprising if he ends up sticking around, possibly via a contract extension or renegotiated contract. Kylen Granson, Will Mallory, Jelani Woods and Andrew Ogletree are all more likely to operate as the team's top receiving threat at tight end in 2024, though it's been a long time since the Colts had a true No. 1 option rather than taking a committee approach to the position.

Smith may be released this offseason, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic.

The Falcons traded for Smith last offseason and then put him in a role that allowed for career highs in targets (70), catches (50) and receiving yards (582), with the TE producing more yards than he had in two seasons combined (2021-22) for New England. His future nonetheless appears uncertain, as Smith will turn 29 in August and has a non-guaranteed $6.5 million base salary for the final year of his contract. The Falcons still have Kyle Pitts under contract and just hired an offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson whose only prior NFL coaching experience was a five-year stint with a Rams team that regularly led the league in use of three-wide formations. The Falcons likely would try to trade Smith before releasing him, and another option would be a contract extension that lowers his 2024 cap hit.

Likely finished his second NFL season with 30 catches for 411 yards and five touchdowns on 40 targets over 17 regular-season games. He added four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown in two postseason games.

Though the tight end's target count dropped from 60 to 40, with most of his looks coming during Mark Andrews' lengthy absence, his counting stats and efficiency both ticked up significantly. Likely bumped his catch rate from 60 percent to 75 and his yards per target from 6.2 to 10.3 while topping his rookie totals for receiving yards and touchdowns. Though Andrews is still a major factor in the Ravens' passing game when healthy, Likely is overqualified to be a traditional No. 2 tight end. Baltimore's wide receiver corps is still a work in progress beyond Zay Flowers, however, so there could be more opportunities for the TEs. Likely has downfield ability and plenty of experience working from the slot (231 of 567 snaps in 2023) so his role could expand during his second year in OC Todd Monken's scheme.

Uzomah (knee) is expected to be released by the Jets this offseason, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports.

The veteran tight end finished the 2023 season on injured reserve after spraining his MCL in Week 13. His signing has proved to be a disaster for Jets GM Joe Douglas, as Uzomah has produced just 29 catches for 290 yards and three touchdowns across 27 contests with the team. Entering the final year of a three-year, $24 million deal, Uzomah is due an $8 million salary in 2024. The Jets can save $5.3 million against the cap by releasing the 31-year-old, leaving behind over $5.9 million in dead money.

Alie-Cox secured 13 of 22 targets for 161 yards and three touchdowns across 17 regular-season games with the Colts in 2023.

Alie-Cox handled his usual depth role with Indianapolis in 2023, as has been usual throughout his six-year NFL career. His yardage total for this past season was the lowest since 2019, but Alie-Cox's occasional red-zone deployment remained steady. The Colts do have a potential 'out' from Alie-Cox's contract this offseason with zero dead cap for the team, so it seems all but guaranteed that the big-bodied tight end will need to either restructure his deal or be cut.

Hooper finished his 2023 campaign with 25 receptions for 234 yards on 31 targets in 17 games.

Hooper saw his playing time dwindle throughout the season as rookie Michael Mayer eventually earned the No. 1 role at tight end, but the latter missed the Raiders' final three contests due to a toe injury, which allowed Hooper to post a 9-80-0 receiving line from Weeks 16-18. It may have been too little, too late for Hooper, however, and the 29-year-old could possibly look to sign elsewhere when he hits unrestricted free agency this offseason.

Knox finished the 2023 regular season with 22 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns over 12 games.

An injured wrist and subsequent surgery caused Knox to miss Weeks 8-12, and by that point, rookie phenom Dalton Kincaid was well on his way to usurping the No. 1 tight end spot. With Kincaid finishing with a 73-673-2 line and having three more years on his contract, Knox seems relegated to a No. 2 role entering next season. Knox is also a decent blocker, so while he should maintain an important role in the offense, it would take an injury to Kincaid for the former to have any meaningful value next season, even in a Josh Allen-led attack.