NFL Player News

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.

Tonges signed a reserve/future contract with the 49ers on Tuesday.

Tonges spent last season on San Francisco's practice squad and is now set to return to the team. The 24-year-old hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since 2022.

Woerner finished the 2023 regular season with three receptions on as many targets for 32 yards in 17 games as a backup for the 49ers.

Woerner spent the majority of his season either sitting behind starter George Kittle or helping pave ways for San Francisco's rushing attack in heavy packages. The Georgia product's three receptions actually marked an improvement over the zero he tallied over 17 games in 2022. After playing out all four years of his rookie contract, Woerner will now become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his professional career.

Kittle caught two of three targets for four yards in Sunday's 25-22 overtime loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.

Kittle was dealing with a minor toe injury early in the practice week carrying over from the win over the Lions in the divisional round, but he was able to start and see the field for most of the Super Bowl. That's where the positive news ends for the star tight end, who didn't record his first reception until San Francisco needed a fourth-down conversion late in the game. Underutilization has been a theme with Kittle at times, as his role will fluctuate despite his skill level remaining elite. That said, the 30-year-old produced his first 1,000-yard campaign since 2019 as the 49ers offense hit a crescendo in 2023 under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Kittle may be frustrating to roster when his hands are tied in low-usage games like Sunday's, but he remains a top option at a shallow fantasy position heading into next season.

Kelce recorded nine receptions (on 10 targets) for 93 yards in Sunday's 25-22 overtime victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.

Kelce was held nearly silent in the first half, as he had only one catch on one target for one yard. However, he came alive in the final two quarters to help the Chiefs to a comeback Super Bowl victory. His biggest play of the game came on the final drive of regulation, when he shook free of Fred Werner and picked up 22 yards to give Harrison Butker a short field-goal attempt to tie the game. Kelce had a relatively underwhelming regular season, but he posted no fewer than 70 receiving yards in each of Kansas City's four postseason games while also tallying three touchdowns in the same span.