NFL Player News

Hurst (calf) has been downgraded to out for Saturday's game against the Patriots.

Hurst was initially deemed questionable for the contest after practicing in a limited capacity this week, but he's now slated to miss his third straight game. In his continued absence, Mitchell Wilcox is in line to start at tight end for the Bengals on Saturday, an assignment that led to him securing all three of his targets for 34 yards and a touchdown in the team's Week 15 win over the Buccaneers.

Uzomah caught his only target for 30 yards in Thursday's 19-3 loss to the Jaguars.

Chris Streveler briefly gave the Jets some life on offense after replacing the ineffective Zach Wilson under center in the third quarter, but Streveler underthrew a wide open Uzomah. The veteran tight end did well to work back to the ball and secure the catch, but he would have had a long touchdown for a second consecutive week had Streveler hit him in stride.

Conklin caught all four of his targets for 34 yards in Thursday's 19-3 loss to the Jaguars.

Conklin finished second on the team in receiving yards behind Michael Carter's 44, as Zach Wilson threw for only 92 yards before being benched well into the third quarter. The offense moved better after Chris Streveler replaced Wilson, but Jets pass catchers will be tough to trust in Week 17 against the Seahawks unless quarterback Mike White (ribs) is cleared to return.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Thursday that Fant (knee) is likely to play Saturday at Kansas City, despite being listed as questionable for the contest, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.

Fant takes a designation into the weekend after being listed as a non-participant on practice reports issued Tuesday and Wednesday before upgrading to limited activity Thursday. Assuming Fant is cleared ahead of Saturday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff, he'll likely continue to be involved in a three-headed timeshare with Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson, though the Seahawks often deploy two-tight end formations. Fant and Dissly have both played at least 40 percent of the offensive snaps in every game this season.

Engram secured seven of eight targets for 113 yards in the Jaguars' 19-3 win over the Jets on Thursday night.

Engram comfortably paced the Jaguars in receptions, receiving yards and targets, continuing what has been a remarkable late-season breakout. The veteran tight end now has two 100-yard efforts in the last three games, putting together an elite 26-337-2 line on 33 targets over that span. Given his emergence and the Jaguars' ongoing postseason push, Engram figures to once again play a critical role in a Week 17 road matchup against the Texans a week from Sunday.

Smythe (quadriceps) was a limited participant during practice Thursday.

Smythe has now been limited during each of the first two practices to begin Week 16 prep. The 27-year-old was also limited with quad and knee injuries last Tuesday before working his way back in full before Saturday's loss to Buffalo. While it's unclear if he's dealing with the same quad issue Week 16, Smythe will have another practice to increase his activity before the Dolphins have to assign him an official status for Sunday's game against the Packers.

Ferguson (concussion) is questionable for Saturday's game against the Eagles, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

After stringing together three consecutive capped sessions due to the concussion he sustained back in Week 14 versus Houston, Ferguson is now in danger of missing a second consecutive game when the Cowboys host Philadelphia on Saturday. If the rookie isn't afforded the green light this weekend, then Peyton Hendershot should operate as the team's No. 2 tight end behind starter Dalton Schultz.

Jackson (knee) is out for Saturday's game against the Cowboys.

Jackson sat out the first nine games of the season while on the reserve/PUP list with a knee injury, and he has yet to record a catch since being activated ahead of Week 11. While the nature of this new knee issue is unclear, it's likely the 25-year-old would have been ruled inactive Week 16 anyways after No. 1 tight end Dallas Goedert was activated from IR on Tuesday. Expect Jackson to provide depth behind Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra when healthy moving forward.

Fortson (elbow) will not play in Saturday's game against the Seahawks.

Fortson did not participate during Week 16 prep while dealing with a subluxed elbow, which could keep him sidelined for multiple games. While there's still no timeline for the 27-year-old's return, his next opportunity to play will come versus Denver on Sunday, Jan. 1. With Fortson sidelined, Kansas City could be left short handed behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray if veteran tight end Blake Bell (hip) is not activated from IR before Saturday.

Granson didn't practice Thursday due to an ankle injury.

According to Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan Indianapolis, Granson was also a spectator Wednesday, when the Colts held an unofficial workout following last Saturday's 39-36 overtime loss to the Vikings. Despite the lengthier turnaround for Week 16, Granson hasn't yet moved past the ankle issue, but he'll have two more opportunities to practice leading up to Monday's game against the Chargers. If he's available to play Monday, Granson will be catching passes from his third different quarterback of the season, as interim head coach Jeff Saturday named Nick Foles the team's new starting signal-caller earlier this week.