NFL Player News

Johnson has more competition for snaps after the Saints signed fellow tight end Jimmy Graham on Tuesday.

The Saints certainly have an interesting TE room, featuring a converted wide receiver (Johnson), a 36-year-old who was out of football last year (Graham), a part-time quarterback (Taysom Hill), a guy who battled cancer earlier this offseason (Foster Moreau) and a TE with 63 NFL starts to his name (Jesse James). Of course, Graham and James will need to fight for their roster spots, whereas Johnson, Moreau and Hill have larger contracts with considerable guarantees. There's still hope for Johnson to build on his 2022 breakout and perhaps see 5-6 targets per game after averaging 4.1 last year, but the crowded position group doesn't exactly help his fantasy outlook.

Schoonmaker (foot) may eventually be cleared for training camp but doesn't currently have a return timeline, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The Cowboys recently placed Schoonmaker on the non-football injury list due to plantar fasciitis that predates his time in the NFL. It's unclear if they knew about it when making him a second-round pick in April, but the team at least seems optimistic he'll be ready at some point this summer. Even if he's back by Week 1, the missed time in camp impacts Schoonmaker's rookie-year fantasy outlook, hurting his chances to eclipse second-year pros Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot in a TE room that no longer has Dalton Schultz.

Knox (lower leg) participated in Wednesday's training camp practice, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports.

Knox dealt with a leg issue during last month's minicamp, but he's evidently good to go for training camp. The 26-year-old approaches the coming season as the Bills' presumed top tight end, but the addition of rookie first-round selection Dalton Kincaid means that Knox now has some legitimate competition for snaps and targets in the team's passing offense. The looming potential of a timeshare at tight end likely limits Knox's fantasy ceiling in 2023 compared to a season ago.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Fant was placed on the active/PUP list Wednesday due to a knee concern, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

Carroll relayed that Fant "had a little work done" on the knee in question, so it's unclear if the tight end underwent a procedure or merely was focusing behind the scenes on work with the Seahawks' training and medical staffs. Fant is able to practice and/or play at any point in the preseason, but in the meantime, Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson will handle most of the top-level tight-end reps for Seattle.

McDonald (undisclosed) was removed from the Packers' active/non-football injury list Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Just five days after going on the active/NFI list, McDonald has passed his physical. Now that the undrafted rookie out of Florida State is healthy, he will be competing for a spot in an unproven yet crowded tight end room in Green Bay. He's currently listed sixth on the Packers' depth chart, so it seems like the best-case scenario is for him to make the practice squad.

Long (undisclosed) was placed on the active/PUP list Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Long's injury and recovery timeline is unclear; however, his placement on the active, as opposed to reserve, PUP list suggests his issue may be minor. The 2021 third-round selection was dealt to the Rams in March as part of the Jalen Ramsey trade, and he figures to compete for the No. 3 tight-end spot behind Tyler Higbee and Brycen Hopkins, once Long can prove he is healthy.

Uzomah (leg) passed his physical Wednesday and was reinstated from the active/PUP list, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Now that the tight end has been activated, he's eligible to take part in practices. The 30-year-old recorded a 21-232-2 receiving line in 15 games with the Jets last season. Heading into his second season in New York, Uzomah is once again slated to work behind Tyler Conklin, who hauled in 58 passes in 2022.

LaPorta has already climbed the depth chart and is line to be the Lions' top tight end at the beginning of the regular season, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The second-round pick worked with backups early in spring practices, but offensive coordinator Ben Johnson confirmed Wednesday that LaPorta has quickly "earned the right" to be in the first-team huddle. LaPorta's rise up the depth chart happened before the start of contact practices, which means a lot can change before Week 1. Even so, the uninspired list of tight end alternatives in Detroit suggests LaPorta is probably the best man for the job. The other options are Brock Wright, James Mitchell and Shane Zylstra -- a trio that formed a committee last season after the Lions traded T.J. Hockenson to Minnesota. As rare as it's been for rookie tight ends to make a fantasy impact, LaPorta is an excellent prospect and has a big opportunity ahead of him.

The Seahawks placed Fant (undisclosed) on the active/PUP list Wednesday for the start of training camp, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

The team provided no indication that Fant dealt with an injury or underwent surgery this offseason, but that doesn't necessarily mean nothing happened. The tight end could also be dealing with something minor that cropped up recently before the start of training camp, in which case Fant should be back on the field in short order. His competition for snaps looks much the same as last season, with Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson also returning to Seattle.

The Cardinals placed Ertz (knee) on the active/PUP list Wednesday.

The 32-year-old tight end is coming back from late-November surgery to repair the ACL and MCL in his left knee. Even if Ertz makes it back for the start of the season, he may end up in a smaller role than what he's accustomed to, as the Cardinals presumably want to give 2022 second-round pick Trey McBride at least a decent chunk of snaps and targets at tight end. Ertz can be activated from the PUP list to practice at any time this summer, and he can still attend meetings and work out at the team facility while he's ineligible for practice.