NFL Player News
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Tyler Conklin TE | DET
Jets' Tyler Conklin: Three straight years of 87 targets
Conklin caught two of three targets for 16 yards in Sunday's 17-3 win over the Patriots. He finishes the season with 61 catches on 87 targets for 621 yards.
Conklin finished with exactly 87 targets for the third consecutive season, and he caught exactly 61 of those passes for the second time in that stretch. After scoring three touchdowns in each of those previous two seasons, Conklin failed to find the end zone in 2023. He'll likely reprise his role atop the tight end depth chart in the final year of his contract with the Jets next season.
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Donald Parham Jr. TE | PIT
Chargers' Donald Parham: Big performance in Week 18
Parham recorded five receptions on six targets for 83 yards in Sunday's 13-12 loss to the Chiefs.
Parham had been inactive for the last three games, initially due to a shoulder injury but then as a healthy scratch. However, he had plenty of opportunity with the Chargers' receiving corps beat up -- both Gerald Everett (knee) and Joshua Palmer (knee) left the game -- and he delivered a career-best yardage performance as a result. He accounted for three catches of more than 15 yards and proved to be one of the team's better offensive threats on the day. Parham is under contract in Los Angeles for the 2024 season, but he has a minimal cap hit, so he will likely have to compete for his roster spot.
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Foster Moreau TE | HOU
Saints' Foster Moreau: Grabs pass late in win
Moreau gathered in his only target for three yards during Sunday's 48-17 win versus Atlanta.
Moreau caught one pass for the third week in a row, though he totaled his fewest receiving yards of any game in which he caught at least one pass this season. The 26-year-old finishes his first campaign in New Orleans with 21 receptions (on 25 targets) for 193 yards and one touchdown across 15 games.
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Juwan Johnson TE | NO
Saints' Juwan Johnson: Catches three passes in finale
Johnson gathered in all three targets for 40 yards during Sunday's 48-17 win versus the Falcons.
Johnson led the Saints' tight ends in receiving yards for the third week in a row, and he finished with 15 catches (on 22 targets) for 178 yards and two touchdowns over that span. This marks an encourgaing ending to a rather up-and-down campaign for the 27-year-old tight end. Across 13 games this season, Johnson tallied 37 receptions (on 59 targets) for 368 yards and four touchdowns, marking a slight downtick from his career-best 2022 season.
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James Mitchell TE | CAR
Lions' James Mitchell: Gains 24 yards
Mitchell caught his only target for 24 yards during Sunday's 30-20 win over the Vikings.
Mitchell logged more than a quarter of the offensive snaps for a third straight game and has now caught a pass in two in a row. With Sam LaPorta (knee) possibly set to miss time and Brock Wright (hip) having yet to return to practice, Mitchell could be next up as the starting tight end ahead of the wild-card round and a matchup with the Rams, who allowed the second-most touchdowns (eight) and the fourth-most receiving yards (987) to tight ends in 2023. While Mitchell has just 13 catches in 28 games over the past two years, the 2022 fifth-round pick was a versatile athlete at Virginia Tech, where Mitchell averaged 16.1 yards per reception and notched five rushing touchdowns on his seven collegiate carries.
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Cole Kmet TE | CHI
Bears' Cole Kmet: Misses most of fourth quarter
Kmet (forearm) didn't return to Sunday's 17-9 loss at Green Bay, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.
Kmet took a big hit on a 27-yard catch in the fourth quarter, and while quarterback Justin Fields threw an incompletion his way three plays later, the tight end was ruled out before the end of the contest. With three catches (on four targets) for 41 yards Week 18, Kmet ended the 2023 campaign with a serviceable 73-719-6 line on 90 targets in 17 games. As the 2020 second-round pick heads into the first year of his four-year, $50 million extension that he signed back in July, his status as an iron man remains intact, as he's played in 67 of a possible 67 games to start his career.
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Cole Kmet TE | CHI
Bears' Cole Kmet: Injures forearm Sunday
Kmet left Sunday's game in Green Bay due to a forearm injury.
Kmet was on the receiving end of a big hit at the end of a 27-yard catch near the start of the fourth quarter. He was targeted by quarterback Justin Fields three plays later but was deemed questionable to return on the Bears' next possession. If Kmet is unable to come back into the contest, he'll end Week 18 with three catches (on four targets) for 41 yards. Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis are the healthy TEs on the active roster.
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Evan Engram TE | DEN
Jaguars' Evan Engram: Draws 13 targets
Engram recorded 10 receptions on 13 targets for 79 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 28-20 loss to the Titans.
Engram led the team in targets and receptions, marking the third time he's been targeted at least 10 times in his last five games. He didn't post a particularly impressive yardage total with the opportunity, though he did manage his fourth touchdown of the season on a 14-yard catch early in the final quarter. Engram ends the season with an impressive 114 receptions and is penciled into a key role with the Jaguars again in 2024.
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Nate Adkins TE | DEN
Broncos' Nate Adkins: Will not return
Adkins will not return to Sunday's matchup with the Raiders due to a hamstring injury, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.
It is not clear how severe Adkins knee injury is at this point in time. While he is sidelined, Lucas Krull will be the only depth option at tight end behind Adam Trautman.
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Sam LaPorta TE | DET
Lions' Sam LaPorta: Likely nature of knee issues revealed
LaPorta is believed to have sustained a hyperextension and a bone bruise in his left knee during Sunday's 30-20 win versus the Vikings, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
In a postgame media session, coach Dan Campbell told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that the Lions will have more info regarding LaPorta's diagnosis Monday, but the likely injuries have since been revealed. Ultimately, it's not as serious as it could have been, per Campbell, but there's a decent chance LaPorta misses time as a result.