NFL Player News

The Jets signed Firkser to a contract Tuesday, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.

After being let go by the Patriots during training camp last August, Firsker caught on with the Lions' practice squad in October. He appeared in the Lions' final five games of the season, including their three playoff games after Sam LaPorta injured his knee in Week 18. Firkser's ability to play both tight end and fullback could give him a leg up on tight ends Kenny Yeboah and Zack Kuntz to make the 53-man roster.

Calcaterra is considered to be the leading candidate for the No. 2 spot at tight end with the Eagles in 2024, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Calcaterra has impressed in the early going at Philadelphia's training camp, distancing himself from the pack as the top reserve option behind Dallas Goedert at tight end. The 25-year-old reeled in all four of his targets for 39 yards over 15 contests with the Eagles in 2023 and he'll look to carve out a more substantial role on the offense in his third year in the league.

The Steelers signed Sokol to a contract Tuesday, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.

The move corresponds with Pittsburgh cutting wide receiver Marquez Callaway. Sokol was a member of the Patriots' practice squad in 2023 and appeared in the final three games of the regular season, playing 14 snaps on offense and six snaps on special teams. Sokol will look to crack the Steelers' 53-man roster as a depth tight end behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.

Cager has not participated in training camp due to a hamstring injury, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Head coach Brian Daboll noted before practice Tuesday that Cager will be out indefinitely while working through his hamstring injury, per John Fennelly of USAToday.com. Following the retirement of Darren Waller, Cager has spent the offseason competing for a depth spot at tight end behind presumptive starter Daniel Bellinger. Cager played in 11 regular-season games with the Giants in 2023, finishing with four catches for 36 yards and one touchdown while playing 94 snaps on offense and 138 snaps on special teams.

Trautman (abdomen) has been participating in training camp.

Trautman is past an abdominal issue that hampered him during the offseason, allowing him to compete for slotting on the Broncos' tight end depth chart ahead of Week 1. Greg Dulcich and Lucas Krull are also in the mix, and while Trautman is a strong blocker, his upside as a receiver is limited after he produced a 22-204-3 line in 17 regular-season contests with Denver in 2023.

Johnson took a majority of first-team reps at Monday's practice, Gabriel Trevino of NJ.com reports.

It's a bit surprising given that Johnson is a rookie fourth-round pick and was just activated from the active/PUP list a day earlier after missing the first few days of training camp with a hip injury. On the other hand, there's not much reason to slow-play his development when the likely alternative at tight end is third-year pro Daniel Bellinger, who struggled with blocking the past two seasons while getting just 63 targets on 512 routes (12.3 percent). Johnson never reached even 350 receiving yards in a season at Penn State, but he has prototypical speed (4.57 combine 40) and size (6-foot-6, 259 pounds) for an NFL tight end.

Johnson (knee) jogged and worked off to the side during Monday's practice, John Hendrix of SI.com reports.

Johnson was first spotted at training camp Friday, and while he hasn't progressed to sprinting or anything along those lines, his presence on the field less than a month and a half after foot surgery suggests the rehab process is going well. He seemingly suffered the injury during June minicamp, with reports at the time calling the tight end uncertain for Week 1. That's probably still accurate, as he remains on the active/PUP list with six weeks to go until the Saints' season opener against Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 8.

The Bengals activated All (knee) from the active/non-football injury list Sunday.

All has been recovering from a torn ACL suffered last October, and he opened training camp on the active/NFI list on July 20. The rookie fourth-round pick out of Iowa will now be cleared to practice for the first time after finally passing a physical examination. All logged 21 catches for 299 yards and three touchdowns over just seven games during his final collegiate season. He will look to ramp up in time for the Bengals' first preseason game Saturday, Aug. 10 versus Tampa Bay.

The Giants activated Johnson (hip) from the active/PUP list Sunday, Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports.

Johnson sat out the beginning of training camp due to a hip injury, but with his activation he'll log his first practice as a pro Sunday. New York selected Johnson in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the knowledge that Darren Waller could hang up his cleats, which proved to be the case when Waller announced his retirement in June. Johnson will consequently have an opportunity in camp to compete with Daniel Bellinger for the Giants' starting TE role for the 2024 campaign.

Williams is dealing with AC sprain that occurred on a diving catch attempt during practice, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin indicated Saturday that Williams will be out for "days," so the tight end could miss numerous practices and may not be ready for Pittsburgh's first preseason contest Aug. 9 versus Houston. Williams got into 13 regular-season contests with the Steelers last year but didn't log any catches and played primarily on special teams.