NFL Player News

Swaim reeled in his two targets for 10 yards while playing 34 of the Cardinals' 68 snaps on offense in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Steelers.

Swaim finished with exactly two receptions for the third time in four games, but he's unlikely to see his profile on offense expand in any dramatic way with second-year tight end Trey McBride having locked down the top spot on the depth chart after a string of impressive receiving performances. In fact, Swaim may be more likely to see a downturn in playing time coming out of Arizona's Week 14 bye, as rookie sixth-round pick Elijah Higgins has made a case for more reps at tight end after recording 20-yard-plus receptions in both of the past two contests. Given that Swaim is 30 years old and set to reach free agency this offseason, the 3-10 Cardinals may not be incentivized to hand him snaps at the expense of Higgins.

Turner played seven of the Commanders' 55 snaps on offense and hauled in his lone target for a two-yard reception in Sunday's 45-15 loss to the Dolphins.

While the second-year player profiles as a strong pass catcher and has run routes on 60.3 percent of his offensive snaps this season, he's not seeing enough playing time behind fellow tight ends Logan Thomas and John Bates to make much of a splash in the box score. Through his 11 appearances this season, Turner has yet to find the end zone and has recorded more than one reception on just two occasions.

Bates failed to corral his lone target while playing 25 of the Commanders' 55 snaps on offense in Sunday's 45-15 loss to the Dolphins.

Bates has now been held without a reception over Washington's past two contests, after having previously produced a 7-48-0 receiving line on nine targets over the preceding five games. The third-year player continues to see snap shares over 40 percent most weeks, but he looks as though he'll function mainly as a blocker on the field while Logan Thomas operates as Washington's top pass-catching tight end.

Akins played 12 of the Browns' 71 snaps on offense and recorded a six-yard reception on his lone target in Sunday's 36-19 loss to the Rams.

Akins technically drew a start Sunday after the Browns opened their first possession with a three-tight end set, but the 31-year-old still ranked comfortably behind David Njoku (59) and Harrison Bryant (31) in snaps on the day. While he spent the previous five seasons in Houston, Akins showed some occasional prowess as a pass catcher, but he's unlikely to produce splashy receiving lines in Cleveland so long as Njoku and Bryant are both available.

Wilcox hauled in his lone target for a 12-yard reception while playing 12 of the Bengals' 73 snaps on offense in Monday's 34-31 overtime win over the Jaguars.

The 12 receiving yards were a season-high total for Wilcox, which speaks to the muted role he typically holds in the Bengals' passing attack. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Wilcox is valued as a blocker and is a core contributor on special teams, so he should continue to remain active on game days even while he rarely contributes as a pass catcher.

Dwelley (ankle) did not practice Wednesday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Dwelley's absence from the practice field Wednesday was expected, as he suffered a right high-ankle sprain in Sunday's win over Philadelphia and is expected to miss some time. The veteran tight end has worked primarily on special teams this season, and he's logged more than four offensive snaps just once since Week 5. As such, his likely absence against Seattle this coming Sunday shouldn't have a significant impact on San Francisco's offensive game plan.

Vannett (concussion) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.

Vannett has been dealing with the aftermath of a concussion presumably suffered Week 11 against the Packers, and he's been held out of each of the Chargers' past two games. Though it's not clear if he's cleared the NFL's five-step concussion protocol, the tight end's limited practice session Wednesday is a positive sign of progress after he logged a trio of DNPs during prep last week. Vannett is behind Gerald Everett, Donald Parham and possibly Stone Smartt in Los Angeles' tight end pecking order, and he hasn't logged more than 20 percent of the team's offensive snaps in any of the three games in which he's played thus far.

Stoll was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice due to a knee injury.

While Dallas Goedert (forearm) has been sidelined, Stoll has started each of the last three games. Despite playing more than half of the Eagles' offensive snaps in two of those three contests, Stoll has managed just two catches for 17 yards on four targets while Goedert has been out of the lineup. Goedert opened Week 14 prep as a full participant and is tentatively expected back this Sunday against Dallas, so Stoll will be in store for a role reduction if he's able to overcome his own health concern.

Higbee (neck) was a non-participant Wednesday's walk-through session, Bridget Condon of NFL Network reports.

Higbee had a concussion check this past Sunday against the Browns, and while he wasn't placed in the protocol, he instead came out of the game with a neck stinger. With an absence under his belt to begin Week 14 prep, he has only two more chances to mix into drills this week before the Rams potentially make a ruling on his availability for Sunday's contest at Baltimore.

Strange (toe) was a nonparticipant during practice Wednesday, Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union reports.

Strange was unable to suit up Monday against the Bengals, and the rookie tight end continues to be sidelined as the team turns its focus toward Week 14. The Penn State product will have another opportunity to get back on the field Thursday, which he may need to make happen if he's going to suit up Sunday against the Browns.