NFL Player News
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Noah Fant TE | NO
Seahawks' Noah Fant: Ruled out of Sunday's game
Fant (hand) won't return to Sunday's game in Arizona, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.
Fant left the contest late in the first quarter and has being tended to by team trainers on the bench before Seattle ruled him out. In Fant's stead, Will Dissly should serve as the top tight end, with Colby Parkinson and Brady Russell also chipping at the position. Coach Pete Carroll said after the game that Fant cracked a bone in his hand, per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.
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Sam LaPorta TE | DET
Lions' Sam LaPorta: Clarity to come regarding knee injury
Coach Dan Campbell said after Sunday's 30-20 win against the Vikings that the Lions will have more information regarding the knee injury that forced LaPorta out of the contest on Monday, Tim Twentyman of the team's official site reports.
LaPorta appeared to hyperextend his knee on a five-yard catch in the second quarter, forcing him to the sideline tent and eventually requiring a cart to get to the locker room. Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Campbell added, "It's not as bad as it looked, but it's not good news." That may mean LaPorta is in danger of missing the wild-card round, at the very least, but with win-or-go home games from here on out, any sort of absence could mean his season is over.
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George Kittle TE | SF
49ers' George Kittle: Dealing with back spasms
Kittle won't play Sunday against the Rams due to back spasms.
The 49ers ruled out Kittle right around Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, meaning he'll join quarterback Brock Purdy (coach's decision) and running back Christian McCaffrey (calf) as top skill-position players not available to the team Week 18. Kittle will turn his focus to getting healthy for San Francisco's playoff opener in the divisional round on Saturday, Jan. 20 or Sunday, Jan. 21.
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MyCole Pruitt TE | PIT
Falcons' MyCole Pruitt: Leaves with injury
Pruitt exited in the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Saints with a calf injury and is questionable to return, Terrin Waack of the Falcons' official site reports.
The Falcons' No. 3 tight end hauled in his lone target for a 17-yard gain prior to leaving with the injury. If Pruitt is done for the day, the Falcons would be left with Tucker Fisk and John FitzPatrick as depth options behind Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith.
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Tyler Higbee TE | LAR
Rams' Tyler Higbee: Officially out Sunday
Higbee (shoulder) is inactive for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.
After he was unable to practice in any fashion this week, Higbee carried a doubtful designation into the regular-season finale. He'll unsurprisingly sit out Sunday, but if he's able to take a step forward in practice activity during the upcoming week, Higbee could be available to play in the Rams' road playoff game Jan. 13 or 14 in the wild-card round. Davis Allen is expected to serve as Los Angeles' starting tight end Sunday, with Brycen Hopkins working as his understudy.
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Tyree Jackson TE | WAS
Giants' Tyree Jackson: Won't play Week 18
Jackson (coach's decision) is Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site for Sunday's game against the Eagles, Dan reports.
Jackson was signed to the Giants' active roster Saturday, but will not suit up for the team's regular-season finale. Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger will serve as the two tight ends for New York for Week 18.
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Luke Musgrave TE | GB
Packers' Luke Musgrave: Returning to action Sunday
Musgrave (kidney) is active for Sunday's game against the Bears, Mike Spofford of the Packers' official site reports.
Musgrave officially has completed his recovery from the lacerated kidney that has sidelined him since he suffered the internal injury back in Week 11 against the Chargers. Considering he had his practice reps capped the last two weeks, there's a chance he's somewhat inhibited in his return to action, especially with how fellow rookie tight end Tucker Kraft has fared in Musgrave's stead. In any case, Musgrave has another chance to add to his first-year line of 33-341-1 on 45 targets in 10 appearances.
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Cole Kmet TE | CHI
Bears' Cole Kmet: Active as expected Week 18
Kmet (knee) is active for Sunday's game against the Packers.
Early Sunday reports indicated Kmet was strongly trending toward active status, and that's now been made official. Kmet was also in uniform in Week 17 against the Falcons and on the field for 13 snaps, but he theoretically stands to have a better chance at a normal workload Sunday after managing to practice in full Friday. Robert Tonyan, Kmet's backup, could still see a slightly elevated snap count against his old Packers squad if Kmet is limited in any way.