NFL Player News

Okwuegbunam (illness) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's matchup against Kansas City.

Okwuegbunam landed on the injury report Thursday as a limited participant, but he upgraded to full participation Friday and is ready to go for the Week 14 divisional matchup. The tight end has been a healthy scratch since Week 5, but he could return to the field in Week 14 with reserve tight end Andrew Beck (hamstring) sidelined. The Broncos could certainly benefit from the addition of Okwuegbunam's size (6-foot-5, 258 pounds) and pass-catching skills on offense, as Denver won't have any wide receivers taller than 6-foot-2 on the field Sunday with 6-foot-4 wideout and No. 1 target Courtland Sutton (hamstring) also ruled out.

Dissly (calf) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Panthers, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Dissly will carry an injury designation into the weekend after he failed to practice Wednesday before upgrading to a limited showing Thursday. Since he was able to conclude Week 14 prep on the practice field, Dissly would seem to have a good chance at playing this weekend, but an official ruling on his status won't come until Seattle unveils its inactive list approximately 90 minutes prior to the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. If Dissly can't go Sunday, Noah Fant would have a clear path to the No. 1 tight end role after splitting reps with Dissly for much of the season.

Wilcox is set to work as Cincinnati's top tight end Sunday against the Browns with Hayden Hurst (calf) ruled out for the contest, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Hurst's first absence of the season paves the way for Wilcox to get some extra attention from star quarterback Joe Burrow. The 26-year-old Wilcox has yet to reach 20 receiving yards in a game over 27 career NFL appearances, so expectations should be tempered despite the favorable circumstances.

Brown doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's matchup against the Bengals, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Brown returned to practice Friday as a full participant after being sidelined Thursday due to an illness. The backup tight end has caught five of 10 targets for 45 yards across eight appearances since joining Cleveland midway through the 2022 campaign.

Hurst (calf) won't play Sunday against the Browns.

Hurst will miss his first game of the season after sustaining the right calf injury late in the Bengals' Week 13 win over the Chiefs. The 29-year-old recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection for the calf and said he expects to return to action in a couple weeks, which suggests he may not be a lock to play in the Bengals' Week 15 game against the Buccaneers either. At least for this Sunday's contest, the Bengals are expected to turn to Mitchell Wilcox to handle most of the reps at tight end.

Njoku (knee) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Bengals, Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official site reports.

Njoku will be back in action after sitting out the Browns' Week 13 win over the Texans with the injury. He'll be playing his first game alongside quarterback Deshaun Watson, who struggled to build chemistry with any of Cleveland's pass catchers in his team debut last week.

Hopkins caught his only target for eight yards during Thursday's 17-16 win against the Raiders.

Hopkins has seen his playing time steadily decrease since peaking during Week 12's game against the Chiefs, and he took the field for only four snaps Thursday compared to Tyler Higbee's 61, suggesting that Higbee has fully recovered from a mild knee issue that he suffered a few weeks ago. Hopkins will likely continue to be used sparingly barring another injury to Higbee.

Higbee secured two of three targets for 11 yards in Thursday's 17-16 victory against the Raiders.

Fantasy managers hoping for a Higbee renaissance with Baker Mayfield taking over for starting quarterback John Wolford early in Thursday's game had to be disappointed after a second straight two-catch game. The veteran tight end has been mired in a slump for three consecutive contests now, posting a 4-25-0 receiving line over that span. With added time ahead of the Rams' Week 15 game against Green Bay, Mayfield will get more acclimated with the Rams' playbook, a potential development that could translate into a slump-busting performance for Higbee.

Gilliam (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's matchup with the Jets, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

Gilliam will miss his first contest of the year Week 14 after he suffered an ankle injury at some point over the last week or so. The fullback doesn't typically see many looks in the Bills offense, so it's unlikely that his absence will carry much of an impact. Considering he's the only fullback on the team's roster, the Bills may need to elevate someone from the practice squad or operate with one of their current running backs in that role versus New York.

Dissly (calf) was a limited participant in the Seahawks' practice Thursday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Dissly popped up with a calf issue on Seattle's injury report Wednesday, thus failing to practice for the first time this season. It's encouraging to see the 26-year-old was able to increase his activity the following day. However, his status on Friday's final injury report will provide a better outlook for his availability heading into Sunday against Carolina. Dissly has seen slightly fewer targets (33) than fellow tight end Noah Fant (46) over 12 games this season, and these two should strike a similar balance when both are available moving forward.