NFL Player News

Saints head coach Dennis Allen said he hopes to have Johnson (calf) back in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Colts, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Johnson has missed the Saints' last four games after suffering the calf injury during pregame warmups ahead of the team's Week 4 loss to the Buccaneers. While he's been sidelined, the Saints have rotated Foster Moreau, Taysom Hill and Jimmy Graham at tight end, but Johnson will most likely settle in atop the depth chart once healthy. Considering Johnson hasn't practiced in any capacity since suffering the injury, the Saints may want to see him turn in a full session or two before clearing him to play at Indianapolis.

Brown, who was on the field for 23 of a possible 60 snaps on offense, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, caught both of his targets for 51 yards in Sunday's 29-25 win over the Bills.

Brown, who was out-snapped Week 7 by fellow TEs Hunter Henry (30 snaps, two catches) and Mike Gesicki (30 snaps, two catches), now has five catches for 137 yards and a TD in seven games to date. As New England's third option at the position, Brown is off the fantasy radar as long as both Henry and Gesicki are on hand.

Gesicki, who logged 30 of a possible 60 snaps on offense in Sunday's 29-25 win over the Bills, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, caught both of his targets for five yards and a TD in the contest.

Gesicki shared Week 7 TE work with Hunter Henry (30 snaps, two catches) and Pharaoh Brown (23 snaps, two catches), but his second catch of the day (with just 12 seconds left on the clock) was a one-yard game-winning TD. Through seven games to date, Gesicki has caught 17 of his 22 targets for 149 yards and a TD, a rate of production that limits his fantasy value to deeper formats.

Henry, who was on the field for 30 of a possible 60 snaps on offense in Sunday's 29-25 win over the Bills, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, caught two of his three targets in the contest for 27 yards.

Henry had his ankle rolled up on during Week 6 action and headed into the game listed as questionable, but he ended up in uniform Sunday and shared TE work with Mike Gesicki (30 snaps, two catches) and Pharaoh Brown (23 snaps, two catches). With just three catches for 34 yards over his last three outings, Henry profiles as a TD-dependent fantasy dart ahead of this coming weekend's game against the Dolphins.

Smythe was not targeted during Sunday's 31-17 loss to Philadelphia.

Smythe now has gone three consecutive games without recording any receiving yardage, with just one target over that span. Though he played 92 percent of offensive snaps against the Eagles, the early-season days of Smythe being involved in the receiving game now feel like a distant memory. Since starting left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) went down Week 4 against the Bills, it likely isn't a coincidence that Smythe has been forced to operate almost entirely as a blocker. Even in fantasy formats that start two tight ends, managers may want to look elsewhere as the Dolphins take on the Patriots in Week 8.

Washington didn't receive any targets during the Steelers' 24-17 win over the Rams on Sunday.

After Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 7, it seemed likely that Washington would be in line for an increased workload. However, the rookie played just 53 percent of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps, while second-year tight end Connor Heyward was on the field for 86 percent. Washington should continue to see increased playing time while Freiermuth is sidelined, but as Sunday demonstrated, that role may not come with a significant uptick in targets.

Heyward secured two of three targets for 23 yards during the Steelers' 24-17 win over the Rams on Sunday.

Fellow tight end Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve ahead of Sunday's Week 7 matchup, so Heyward continued to have an elevated role in Pittsburgh's offense. It was also encouraging to see him on the field for 86 percent of the offensive snaps, which outpaced rookie Darnell Washington, who played 53 percent of the snaps. Heyward hasn't yet had much fantasy relevance this year, but it's been encouraging to see him have his highest snap counts of the season in the Steelers' last two games.

Hooper caught both of his targets for 18 yards in Sunday's 30-12 loss to the Bears.

The veteran tight end has seen his playing time dwindle due to the rise of rookie Michael Mayer over the Raiders' past couple contests, and Hooper logged only 22 offensive snaps in Chicago on Sunday. Additionally, he has earned just 11 total targets through the first seven weeks of the season.

Mayer caught two passes for 13 yards on four targets in Sunday's 30-12 loss to the Bears.

He once again played ahead of Austin Hooper, as the rookie tight end out-snapped the eight-year veteran 46 to 22, but Mayer's volume was disappointing while wide receivers Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers saw a combined 25 targets from quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Aidan O'Connell. Mayer will look to take better advantage of his recently expanded role against the Lions in Week 8, and he would likely benefit from the potential return of Jimmy Garoppolo (back) under center.

Dissly wasn't targeted in Sunday's 20-10 win over the Cardinals.

Dissly, Colby Parkinson and Noah Fant handled similar workloads in Sunday's divisional win, but Dissly was the only one that failed to receive a target. Through five games, Dissly has caught all six of his targets for 56 yards and no touchdowns.