NFL Player News

Kelce recorded six receptions on seven targets for 38 yards in Saturday's 31-13 win over the Raiders.

The Chiefs were able to keep the ball on the ground in the victory, which suppressed the production of Kelce. He did manage a 15-yard reception late in the second quarter, and he was tackled at the one-yard line before Isiah Pacheco punched in a touchdown late in the game. Despite the slow close to the regular season, Kelce recorded 110 receptions, 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns across 17 games on the campaign.

The Patriots elevated Sokol from the practice squad Saturday for Sunday's game against the Bills.

Sokol will be elevated for the second game in a row to end the 2022 regular season. The 27-year-old was brought up ahead of the Week 17 game against Miami and played 10 offensive snaps in place of Jonnu Smith (concussion), though Sokol did not see a target against the Dolphins. With Smith remaining out Week 18, Sokol should once again serve as New England's only other available tight end behind starter Hunter Henry.

Smith (ankle) was activated off injured reserve Saturday.

The trade-deadline addition of T.J. Hockenson has limited the impact of Smith's inevitable return, but the multi-year starter is still a perfect complement in two-tight end sets and likely could be a factor in the Vikings' playoff push. Prior to suffering the ankle injury in Week 8, Smith tallied 22 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns as arguably the team's third option behind Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.

The Commanders activated Rogers (knee/ankle) from injured reserve Saturday.

Rogers landed on IR with knee and ankle injuries following the Week 10 contest versus Philadelphia. The undrafted rookie was then designated to return to practice Dec. 28, and he'll now be available for Sunday's regular-season finale versus Dallas. Rogers has caught five of six targets for 64 yards across 10 games this season, and it's likely he'll continue to slot into a supplemental role alongside Cole Turner and John Bates while Logan Thomas serves as the team's primary receiving tight end.

The Rams signed Pinkney off the practice squad Saturday ahead of Sunday's game against the Seahawks.

Pinkney was elevated from the practice squad for the third time this season ahead of the Week 17 loss to the Chargers. The 25-year-old has played just one of his 38 snaps on offense across three appearances, so it's likely he'll continue to serve as a core special-teamer while seeing extremely limited opportunities behind top tight ends Tyler Higbee and Brycen Hopkins in Week 18.

Smith (concussion) was downgraded and will not play Sunday against the Bills.

That's now two consecutive games Smith will miss after suffering a concussion Week 16 against the Bengals. Expect Hunter Henry to see more work with the veteran tight end unavailable. The 28-year-old tallied five receptions and 52 yards in last week's win over the Dolphins with Smith sidelined.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell intimated Friday that Hockenson and other key starters on offense and defense may not play the entirety of the Vikings' Week 18 game in Chicago, Joe Nelson of SI.com reports. "We've got a pretty clear cut plan with how we want to go about the whole game, but we're going to go in with the expectation of our guys going and try to get off to a good start and play good football," O'Connell said.

Minnesota is assured no worse than the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs regardless of how this weekend's games transpire, but since the Vikings will need a win over the Bears plus a Cardinals win over the heavily-favored 49ers to climb to the No. 2 seed, O'Connell may not have much incentive to expose key players to an injury heading into the wild-card round. While Hockenson and all of the Vikings' other starting skill-position players look poised to play at least one series, the uncertainty of whether they'll play much beyond that makes it tough to reliably project any in Week 18 season-long or DFS lineups.

Fant (knee) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Rams, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Fant was a limited practice participant Thursday and Friday after resting up Wednesday. He's been playing through the knee injury for a few weeks, but it might explain why Colby Parkinson benefited more after Will Dissly went on injured reserve with his own knee injury last week. In the 23-6 win over the Jets, Fant handled his typical snap share (62 percent) but saw only three targets.

The Packers list Deguara (calf) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Lions.

Heading into a win-or-go-home matchup with the Lions in the regular-season finale, the Packers will have all members of the 53-man roster available aside from potentially Deguara, who is tending to the calf injury. After failing to practice Thursday on account of the injury, Deguara at least managed to take a step forward Friday by practicing on a limited basis. When available, Deguara has handled a small role as a depth tight end, never playing more than 50 percent of the offensive snaps in a given week while drawing two or fewer targets in 15 of his 16 appearances on the season.

Smith (concussion) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Bills after practicing in a limited fashion Thursday and Friday, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Smith, who didn't play in the team's Week 17 win over the Dolphins, but he'll have a chance to suit up this weekend. If available, Smith would likely work as the No. 2 option behind fellow tight end Hunter Henry, rendering Smith an unreliable fantasy option. In 14 games to date, Smith has caught 27 of his 38 targets for 245 yards and has yet to record a touchdown.