Ruckert caught 23 of 29 targets for 179 yards and one touchdown while playing in all 17 games in 2025.

Ruckert set career highs in catches, receiving yards and targets in his fourth NFL season, and the 2022 third-round draft pick scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 2 against the Bills. After signing a two-year, $10 million contract extension with his hometown team in December, the Lindenhurst, New York native is poised to retain the second spot on the Jets' tight end depth chart behind 2025 second-round pick Mason Taylor (neck) in 2026.

The Packers activated Niemann (pectoral) from injured reserve Wednesday.

Niemann was a limited participant in Tuesday's walkthrough and Wednesday's practice. The linebacker's practice consistency is a good sign for his chances of suiting up for Saturday night's wild-card clash with the Bears. The special-teamer would be set to take on a similar role to what he did during the start of the 2025 campaign, which is 50 percent or more of special-teams snaps while operating as a reserve linebacker for the defense.

Smith finished his rookie 2025 season with seven catches for 52 yards on 16 targets while adding four carries for 13 yards. He also notched two kickoff returns for 49 yards and recorded three solo tackles.

Smith didn't make much of an impact on offense, as his longest catch went for 23 yards. In his limited action on that side of the ball, Smith primarily ran deep routes but didn't get much attention from the Jets' underwhelming stable of quarterbacks. The 2025 fourth-round pick should have little trouble holding onto a roster spot in 2026 thanks to his contributions as a gunner on special teams, but Smith would need to develop substantially as a receiver to earn fantasy consideration.

Johnson caught 12 of 18 targets for 197 yards and one touchdown in 12 appearances during the 2025 season.

Johnson briefly stepped up while the Jets dealt with numerous injuries at wide receiver, leading the team in receiving yards in Week 7 and Week 8 while reaching 60 receiving yards in both games. He had just two catches for 10 yards after the Week 9 bye, though, as Johnson dropped down the depth chart following the team's trades for wide receivers Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie. The 27-year-old Johnson will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and will likely have to compete for a roster spot in training camp somewhere.

Curl recorded 122 tackles (79 solo), including 2.0 sacks, five passes defensed, two interceptions and forced a fumble over 17 games in 2025.

The veteran was on a torrid pace to start the year, with 57 tackles (38 solo) through seven games, before settling down to more modest stat lines through the final 10 games. Curl was also on the field for every snap on defense in 12 games, something he'll likely be asked to do again in the wild-card round on Saturday against Bryce Young and the Panthers. Curl will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and given his performance and stability at safety, a reunion with the Rams is certainly a possibility for 2026 (and beyond).

Jacobs said Wednesday that he's feeling the best he has since he suffered a knee contusion Week 11 at the Giants, Weston Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

Jacobs sat out a Week 12 win against the Giants, but he was able to suit up for the ensuing five games, more or less handling his normal workload Weeks 13-16 before earning just four touches Week 17 versus the Ravens and then being a healthy scratch this past Sunday at Minnesota. He's avoided the Packers' practice report entirely this week, setting him up for his typical workload for Saturday's wild-card game in Chicago. Prior to the aforementioned injury, Jacobs averaged 21.1 touches per game over the first nine contests of the campaign.

Jones (illness) did not participate in Wednesday's walkthrough practice, Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union reports.

Jones maintained his usual snap share (47) in the Jaguars' Week 18 win over the Titans, but the 24-year-old will miss the team's first practice heading into wild-card weekend. He'll likely need to practice in some capacity Thursday or Friday to have a chance at playing against the Bills on Sunday.

New Orleans is committed to Shough as the team's starting quarterback for the 2026 season, Katherine Terrell of ESPN reports.

Shough looked impressive in the second half of the 2025 campaign, as he took over for Spencer Rattler (finger) as the team's starting quarterback midway through Week 8's game against the Buccaneers. Across 10 regular-season appearances since, Shough completed 225 of 325 pass attempts for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions while also rushing 45 times for 186 yards and another three scores. He also played three offensive snaps versus Seattle in Week 3 and failed to complete either of his two pass attempts. New Orleans currently holds the No. 8 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but it appears the team considers Shough a potential long-term answer at quarterback and will focus on improving his supporting cast during the coming offseason.

Newsome (shoulder) was a limited participant in Wednesday's walkthrough practice, Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union reports.

Newsome was able to return to last Sunday's game against the Titans after sustaining the shoulder injury, meaning the cornerback will likely play through it for Sunday's playoff game against the Bills. The 25-year-old will have two more opportunities to increase his practice participation in the hopes of dodging an injury designation ahead of Sunday's contest.

Mitchell caught 33 of 74 targets for 453 yards and two touchdowns while rushing once for minus-4 yards in 16 games split between the Colts and Jets.

Mitchell played eight games with each team in 2025 but saw a major uptick in usage after being traded to the Jets, catching 24 of 58 targets for 301 yards and his first two NFL touchdowns with New York. His abhorrent 43.4 percent catch rate (56 catches on 129 targets) through two NFL seasons is a red flag, but subpar quarterback play has certainly contributed to that ugly statistic, though Mitchell has played his part with drops and mental mistakes. The 2024 second-round pick's ability to get open is intriguing, and there's a path to fantasy relevance in 2026 if the Jets improve their QB situation, as Mitchell's favored to hold onto a starting role on the outside, barring the addition of a starting caliber wideout in free agency or the draft.