NFL Player News

Franks (calf) has no injury designation ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Seahawks, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

Franks practiced in a limited capacity Thursday due to a calf injury, but he upgraded to a full go Friday, suggesting he's moved past the issue in time to play Sunday. Now fully healthy, the 27-year-old is expected to contribute on special teams while playing a depth role in Atlanta's tight-end corps in Week 14.

Bates (ankle) has been ruled out ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Titans, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

The 26-year-old logged consecutive DNPs to begin the Browns' week of practice and is now in line to miss his second game in a row due to an ankle injury. While Bates is sidelined again Sunday, Cleveland's tight-end room will likely consist of Blake Whiteheart, David Njoku and Harold Fannin.

Njoku (knee) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game against the Titans, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Njoku has often been listed with knee injuries on Browns practice reports since he hurt his knee in Week 16 of last season, but he's missed only one game (Week 7) of the current campaign. He's mostly been silent in five appearances since then, tallying a 9-69-2 line on 11 targets, as opposed to rookie Harold Fannin's 19-215-2 line on 31 targets during that same span. Njoku likely will continue to play second fiddle to Fannin in Week 14.

Coach Sean McDermott said Friday that Kincaid (hamstring/knee) will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Bengals, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Kincaid last suited up Week 10 at Miami, as a hamstring injury has sidelined him the last three games. A knee injury was added to the practice report this week, and he even was seen sporting a knee brace on his left leg at Thursday's session, per Matt Parrino of The Syracuse Post-Standard. McDermott also noted Friday that he wants to see Kincaid be "functional" in the Bills' final Week 14 practice in order to clear him to return, so his activity level Friday likely will be key in that regard.

Dwelley caught his only target for four yards in Thursday night's 44-30 win over Dallas.

Dwelley was limited to just one catch for the second week in a row while operating as the team's starting tight end with both Sam LaPorta (back) and Brock Wright (neck) on injured reserve. Dwelley doesn't present as an appealing fantasy option moving forward outside of the deepest formats.

Firkser caught his only target for seven yards in Thursday night's 44-30 win over the Cowboys.

Firkser was officially added to the active roster prior to Week 13, and he has now combined to catch both of his targets for an uninspiring 11 total yards over the last two weeks. With Sam LaPorta (back) and Brock Wright (neck) both on injured reserve, Firkser and Ross Dwelley will likely continue to operate as the team's primary options at tight end moving forward.

Ferguson secured five of seven targets for 58 yards and caught a two-point conversion pass in the Cowboys' 44-30 loss to the Lions on Thursday night.

The talented tight end finished a distant third in receiving yards for the Cowboys on the night, but Ferguson turned in another productive performance he rounded out with his one scoring grab. Ferguson now has three consecutive five-catch efforts and at least 50 receiving yards in three of the last five contests heading into a Week 15 home matchup against the Vikings on Sunday night, Dec. 14.

Franks (calf) was a limited participant during Thursday's practice session, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

The tight end was not listed on Wednesday's report after suffering the injury during Sunday's loss to the Jets. It's unclear if Franks aggravated the injury or if his limited participation was just a precaution, but Atlanta does have one more practice Friday ahead of this Sunday's matchup with Seattle. Franks has played far more on special teams than offense in 2025.

Fisk (ankle) did not practice Thursday, Eric Smith of the Chargers' official website reports.

Fisk is dealing with an apparent ankle injury to open the week, forcing him to sit out the team's first practice ahead of Week 14. The tight end will have two more chances to return to practice prior to Monday night's matchup against the Eagles.

Barner (knee/shoulder) practiced fully Thursday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Barner followed up Wednesday's limited session with all activity one day later, clearing him to continue serving as the Seahawks' No. 1 tight end. In such a role, he's put together a respectable 37-359-4 line on 46 targets in 12 games to date.