NFL Player News

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.

Uzomah (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh expects Uzomah to play, even after the tight end sat out Friday's practice. The Jets will turn to Joe Flacco as their quarterback for the season finale, and while Flacco will likely throw plenty of short passes, Tyler Conklin stands to benefit more than Uzomah among New York tight ends.

The Saints list Hill (back) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

Hill and fellow tight end Juwan Johnson (quadriceps) are both taking questionable tags into the weekend, though the two fill wildly different roles in the New Orleans offense despite being listed as position mates. While Johnson serves as the Saints' top pass catcher at the position, Hill is a more versatile weapon for New Orleans, with most of his opportunities of late coming as the de facto top backup to starting running back Alvin Kamara. If Hill is cleared to play through his back issue, he'll likely be in store for a handful of carries behind Kamara and could see some occasional reps as a goal-line or short-yardage quarterback.

The Saints list Johnson (quadriceps) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

New Orleans will tentatively enter the weekend with just one healthy tight end (Adam Trautman), as Taysom Hill (back) is also listed as questionable for the season finale. Considering both Johnson and Hill closed the week with a pair of limited practices, there's a good chance the Saints could have both players available to fill their usual roles. Johnson has been the Saints' top pass-catching tight end this season, as he enters the Week 18 contest with 41 receptions for 487 yards and seven touchdowns on 64 targets across his 15 appearances.

Tomlinson (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's season finale against the Chargers, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

Tomlinson has been hindered in practice by an ankle injury. With Eric Saubert (knee) also questionable, the Broncos could be shorthanded at tight end behind Albert Okwuegbunam in the season finale.

Saubert (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's season finale against the Chargers, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

A knee injury has cut into Saubert's practice reps. Fellow tight end Eric Tomlinson (ankle) is also questionable, leaving Albert Okwuegbunam as the clear No. 1 tight end for Denver in the season finale.

The Vikings waived Muse on Friday, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press reports.

Muse played exclusively on special teams across 10 appearances with the Vikings this year but has been waived to make room for Irv Smith (ankle), who's expected to be activated from injured reserve ahead of Sunday's game against Chicago. Per Tomasson, Muse will be a candidate to join Minnesota's practice squad if he clears waivers.