NFL Player News

Brown (foot) is active for Sunday's game against the Chiefs.

Brown was a late addition to the Patriots' injury report Saturday with a foot injury, though the issue doesn't appear serious enough to force him out for Sunday's contest. Brown has split his time between backup tight end duties and special teams, and has caught all eight of his targets for 174 yards and a touchdown over 13 games this season.

Waller (hamstring) is active for Sunday's game against the Saints, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Waller was activated from injured reserve Saturday and will now take the field for the first time since Week 8. It's unclear whether he'll be on a snap count, though reports from practice earlier this week suggest he was running a full route tree. Assuming Waller is ready to go at full capacity, he should play a significant role in the Giants' passing attack, as he managed at least seven targets in five of eight contests prior to suffering the hamstring injury.

FitzPatrick (coach's decision) will not play in Sunday's game versus the Panthers.

FitzPatrick's absence will mark his third game missed in four weeks. As a result, Tucker Fisk will be bumped up to No. 4 on Atlanta's tight end depth chart.

The Falcons elevated Fisk from their practice squad Saturday, Scott Bair of the team's official site reports.

Atlanta has a relatively healthy set of tight ends available for Sunday, led by Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith, so Fisk may play primarily on special teams. This is his third elevation of the season, and he logged 19 offensive snaps along with 23 special-teams snaps without accumulating any stats over his prior two contests. If the Falcons want to have Fisk active on gameday again beyond this week, they'll need to sign him to the active roster.

LaPorta recorded five receptions on six targets for 56 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 42-17 win over the Broncos.

LaPorta had a typical performance from an opportunity and yardage perspective, but he found the end zone three times to deliver a standout effort. He didn't tally his first reception until the last play of the first quarter, but he then went on to record touchdowns in each of the final three quarters of the game from 19, three and 10 yards, respectively. LaPorta won't continue to maintain the touchdown efficiency he displayed Saturday night moving forward, but he has impressively found the end zone nine times in his first 14 games as a pro. LaPorta also has three-plus catches in all but one of his games this season, proving himself a high-floor player in addition to some big outings.

Waller (hamstring), who is officially listed as questionable, is expected to play Sunday against the Saints, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Waller was activated from injured reserve Saturday, so the expectation is that he will play for the first time since Week 8. Nevertheless, his status won't become official until shortly before the Giants kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET. If he does suit up, Waller will bolster a pass-catching corps that is currently led by Darius Slayton and Wan'Dale Robinson.

Wright exited Saturday's game against the Broncos with a groin injury and is questionable to return.

Wright suffered the injury in the first half of the game and was not targeted prior to his exit. The severity of the issue is currently unclear.

The Broncos signed Krull to their 53-man roster Saturday, Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post reports.

Krull had already been elevated to the practice squad three times this season, so it was necessary for Denver to sign him to the active roster in order for him to suit up Saturday. He caught the first pass of his NFL career last week against the Chargers, gaining 35 yards on the play. Krull's spot on the team has arrived with Greg Dulcich (hamstring) on injured reserve, though Dulcich has been designated to return and could be back as soon as next week.

Hockenson caught six passes for 63 yards on seven targets in the 27-24 overtime loss to the Bengals on Saturday.

Hockenson was highly efficient and turned in a solid game for his fantasy investors, but it was easy to overlook his contributions in a game where he was overshadowed by Jordan Addison (six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns on six targets) and Justin Jefferson (seven catches for 84 yards on 10 targets). Addison seemingly remains behind Hockenson in the overall target rotation, though, so Hockenson is a good bet to rank higher in the team receiving category when the Vikings play against Detroit in Week 17.

Brown has been deemed questionable for Sunday's game against the Chiefs due to a foot injury.

Brown wasn't listed on the Patriots' injury report until Saturday, so it's unclear when the foot issue cropped up. The veteran tight end regularly logs about half of New England's offensive snaps, but his work as a pass catcher has been limited. Over his past five games, Brown has totaled just one catch on one target for four yards.