NFL Player News

Smythe (ankle) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game at Washington, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Smythe should be fine to handle his usual role, which typically entails a lot of playing time but not many targets. He's been targeted on just 25 of 234 routes this season, with 10.7 percent being the second-lowest figure among TEs with 200-plus routes and fifth lowest among those with 100-plus. Teammate Tyreek Hill, meanwhile, has drawn targets on a league-high 37.7 percent of routes -- 6.2 percentage points ahead of any other wide receiver (Keenan Allen - 31.5 percent).

McBride (groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game in Pittsburgh, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

In the same week in which the Cardinals waived veteran tight end Zach Ertz (quadriceps), McBride himself managed just two limited practices (Thursday and Friday) and now has an injury designation ahead of Week 13 action. McBride's status will be clarified about 90 minutes before Sunday's 1.00 p.m. ET kickoff, and if he's deemed active, he'll look to continue his rapport with quarterback Kyler Murray, which has amounted to 20 catches (on 25 targets) for 234 yards and no touchdowns over the last three contests.

Schultz (hamstring) wasn't spotted at practice Friday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Given that Schultz didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday, either, the tight end appears to be trending toward missing Sunday's game against the Broncos. If Schultz is unavailable this weekend, Brevin Jordan and Eric Saubert would be in line to handle the Texans' TE reps in Week 13.

Tremble (hip) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers.

Tremble played more than three-fourths of Carolina's offensive snaps the past two weeks with Hayden Hurst in concussion protocol, only to suffer an injury of his own toward the end of last week's loss to the Titans. With Hurst out again and Tremble also expected to sit, Ian Thomas and Stephen Sullivan are set up to take most of Carolina's tight end snaps. Neither Thomas nor Sullivan has much of a track record of converting playing time into targets, though the same can be said of Tremble.

Hurst (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

Hurt will miss a third straight game, and with fellow tight end Tommy Tremble (hip) listed as doubtful, it looks like Ian Thomas and Stephen Sullivan will be Carolina's top tight ends. Thomas has plenty of experience as an NFL starter but has never done much in terms of drawing targets or putting up big receiving numbers even when he gets a lot of playing time.

Goedert (forearm) returned to practice Friday, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

This marks Goedert's first participation of any kind since suffering a forearm fracture in the Week 9 win over Dallas. It remains to be seen if he's a full or limited participant and whether the Eagles give him a real chance to play Sunday against the 49ers.

McBride (groin) will practice Friday, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

McBride was a limited participant Thursday after being held out from Wednesday's session. Coach Jonathan Gannon said an upcoming Week 14 bye won't impact any decisions on the tight end's availability for a game in Pittsburgh this Sunday. Meanwhile, the team waived 33-year-old TE Zach Ertz on Thursday, answering any questions about whether the veteran's eventual return from a quad injury might impact McBride's rather large role in the offense.

Fant caught three of four targets for 43 yards in Thursday's 41-35 loss to the Cowboys.

This was Fant's best performance since Week 4. It has been an underwhelming season for the 2019 first-round pick, who has now produced 22 receptions for 304 yards and no touchdowns through 12 games.

Ferguson secured six of eight targets for 77 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys' 41-35 win over the Seahawks on Thursday night.

The talented tight end finished second in receptions, receiving yards and targets on the night for the Cowboys, and his 12-yard scoring grab with 4:37 remaining put Dallas ahead for good in the see-saw affair. Ferguson's productive night snapped a three-game stretch of lackluster numbers, during which the second-year pro had failed to eclipse four catches and 35 yards in any one game. Ferguson's touchdown grab also snapped a two-game drought in that department, and he'll look to put together a successful encore in a Week 14 Sunday night matchup versus an Eagles team he posted a season-best 7-91-1 line against on back in Week 9.

Dissly (hip) is active for Thursday night's game against the Cowboys.

The tight end missed Monday's practice, returned as a limited participant in Tuesday's session and then participated in full Wednesday. Dissly played 16 offensive snaps and caught one pass for 21 yards in the Seahawks' Week 12 loss to the 49ers. The sixth-year pro has 10 catches for 108 yards and no touchdowns in 2023.