NFL Player News

Bryant (medical condition) will not play in Saturday's preseason finale against the Chiefs, Doc Louallen of the Browns' official site reports.

Bryant hasn't played in preseason games but has been working diligently at practice on the side with trainers. Jordan Akins has been the primary backup to starting tight end David Njoku and would be considered second on the depth chart even if Bryant was available.

LaPorta has made the most of his first-team reps with quarterback Jared Goff this summer and is projected to be an immediate starter as a rookie, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

LaPorta having emerged as Detroit's top option at tight end is a notion echoed by Kyle Meinke of Mlive.com, who previously suggested that the second-rounder out of Iowa has claimed the starting job and thus should be a featured weapon in the team's passing game in 2023. While it remains to be seen how much volume LaPorta sees out of the gate, the 6-foot-3, 245-pounder has a chance to make a fantasy splash as a first-year pro if things continue to click with him and Goff as the campaign progresses.

Heyward secured both of his targets for 27 yards while rushing four times for 11 yards during Thursday's 24-0 preseason win over the Falcons.

Heyward was targeted twice in each of the Steelers' preseason games this year and was relatively productive overall, securing all six of his targets for 73 yards and a touchdown while rushing five times for 16 yards. Despite his preseason results, the 2022 sixth-rounder will have plenty of competition for work behind starting tight end Pat Freiermuth during the regular season, as Zach Gentry and Darnell Washington are also in the mix for playing time at tight end.

Woods (hamstring) didn't play in Thursday's 27-13 preseason win over Philadelphia.

Dealing with a hamstring injury since the offseason program, Woods has officially missed all of training camp and the preseason. Kylen Granson, Andrew Ogletree and Mo Alie-Cox took snaps with the first-team offense Thursday night -- an arrangement that could continue Week 1 against the Jaguars with Woods looking shaky to play and unlikely to get a ton of snaps even if he does.

Granson caught both of his targets for 25 yards in Thursday's 27-13 preseason win over the Eagles.

Granson's 25 yards were a team high at halftime even though the Colts had their first-team offense on the field for the entire half, six drives. QB Anthony Richardson completed only six of 17 passes for 78 yards, with Granson and WR Michael Pittman being the only players to catch multiple throws from the rookie. Granson nonetheless faces an uphill battle to average more than three or four targets a game, as the Colts likely will start the season with some kind of timeshare at TE when they host the Jaguars on Sept. 10. Andrew Ogletree and Mo Alie-Cox also got snaps with the starters Thursday night, and Jelani Woods (hamstring) might play more than any of them once he's healthy.

Freiermuth wasn't targeted in Thursday's preseason game at Atlanta and finishes the preseason with two catches for 31 yards and a touchdown.

The tight end accounted for only two of 15 targets from QB Kenny Pickett this preseason, but Freiermuth is still a strong candidate to serve as the third option (or even second) in an offense that figures to start Diontae Johnson and George Pickens at wide receiver while using Allen Robinson as the No. 3 and primary slot man. The Steelers also have capable pass catchers in the backfield between Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, giving Pickett quite a few options heading into Week 1 against the Niners.

Freiermuth and the rest of the Steelers' starting offense are slated to play up to three series in Thursday's preseason game at Atlanta, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Freiermuth has logged exactly seven offensive snaps in both of Pittsburgh's exhibitions to date, catching two passes for 31 yards and a TD on two targets. It's tough to expect him to strike again with quarterback Kenny Pickett, but Freiermuth at least will be afforded the opportunity to do so.

Okwuegbunam's future with the Broncos could come down to how he performs in Saturday's preseason finale against the Rams, as special-teams coach Ben Kotwica hinted he is on the roster bubble, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

The Broncos are seemingly set at tight end with Adam Trautman and Greg Dulcich, so Okwuegbunam's route to the the 53-man roster appears to be via special teams. He has apparently logged some good practices over the past week, so his final test may be in Saturday's exhibition game.

Kmet (undisclosed) was practicing in full Thursday, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Kmet left Wednesday's practice early due to an unspecified issue, but Lieser reports Kmet's Thursday practice looked "normal." It sounds like a non-issue for the Bears' top tight end ahead of the 2023 NFL campaign.

Sweeney (undisclosed) was back at the Giants' facility Thursday after suffering a medical emergency Wednesday, Bob Brookover of NJ.com reports.

Details of Sweeney's "medical event' are still unknown, and he is still going through some evaluations. However, "he's good," according to head coach Brian Daboll. It still remains unclear how this will affect Sweeney's potential 2023 campaign, but it's certainly good news that he was present the team's facility Thursday.