NFL Player News

Fortson won't practice Wednesday due to a quadricep contusion, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

The Chiefs are coming off a bye, so it's a little concerning to see Fortson appear on the injury report Wednesday. The severity of the quadricep contusion remains unclear, but he'll have two more opportunities to practice before the team needs to make a decision on his availability for Sunday's matchup against Tennessee.

Wilcox played 15 of the Bengals' 50 snaps on offense in Monday's 32-13 loss to the Browns, hauling in his lone target for a three-yard gain.

Wilcox has suited up for all eight of the Bengals' games this season, but his role on offense has been muted while he's served as the No. 2 tight end behind starter Hayden Hurst. The 25-year-old has cleared 50 percent of the Bengals' offensive snaps on just two occasions and has cobbled together a modest 6-47-0 receiving line on the campaign.

Mitchell looks set for increased playing time in the wake of Detroit trading top tight end T.J. Hockenson being traded to the Vikings on Tuesday, Alec Lewis and Colton Pouncy of The Athletic report.

Mitchell is likely still behind Brock Wright (head) for the time being, but with Hockenson no longer entrenched as the No. 1 tight end of the future, the Lions now have every incentive to take an extended look at the rookie fifth-round pick. Mitchell was a big-play threat back in college and averaged more than 17 yards per catch in 2019 and 2020, so his involvement will be worth keeping an eye on. He could emerge on the fantasy radar if he secures a significant pass-catching role with Hockenson out of the mix.

Ferguson caught his only target for a one-yard touchdown in Sunday's win over the Bears.

The rookie tight end was on the other end of a Dak Prescott red-zone toss midway through the second period, giving the Cowboys a 28-7 lead. Ferguson now has two career touchdowns, with both of them coming in the last three games, but with Dalton Schultz looking healthy the Wisconsin product isn't likely to see increased target volume on the other side of Dallas' Week 9 bye.

Hendershot caught both his targets for 15 yards in Sunday's win over the Bears.

Dalton Schultz appeared healthy and posted his best numbers since Week 1, but Hendershot still had a role in the offense. The rookie tight end heads into Dallas' Week 9 bye having caught exactly two passes in three straight games, including his first career TD, but his role isn't likely to expand beyond that as long as Schultz is in the lineup.

Forristall reverted to the Browns' practice squad Tuesday, per the NFL's official transaction log.

Forristall got the bump up to the active roster with David Njoku (ankle) absent from Monday's win over the Bengals. The 24-year-old saw two snaps on offense, while also chipping in on special teams, but he failed to record any stats.

The Vikings placed Smith (ankle) on injured reserve Tuesday.

Smith's move to IR became a foregone conclusion after Adam Schefter of ESPN reported earlier in the day that the 24-year-old will likely be sidelined 8-10 weeks due to the high-ankle sprain he suffered in Sunday's win over the Cardinals. In response to Smith's upcoming absence, the Vikings acquired one of the NFL's better tight ends in T.J. Hockenson, and Hockenson will likely remain atop the depth chart for the rest of the season so long as he's healthy. With that in mind, Smith doesn't look as though he'll be in line for a substantial role if he's able to make it back from IR during the final few weeks of the season.

Wright (head) is expected to take on a more prominent role for the Lions over the rest of the season after Detroit traded top tight end T.J. Hockenson to Minnesota on Tuesday, Justin Rogers of The Detroit News reports.

With Hockenson's departure, the Lions are left with Wright and James Mitchell as their sole options at tight end on the current 53-man roster, though at least one of Garrett Griffin and Shane Zylstra are expected to be elevated from the practice squad ahead of Sunday's game against the Packers. Before he can take claim to Hockenson's vacated snaps, Wright must first clear the concussion protocol after he exited early in the Lions' Week 8 loss to the Dolphins. Over his 17 career games, Wright has tallied 18 receptions for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 23 targets.

Tomlinson failed to record a single target in Sunday's 21-17 win over the Jaguars.

Tomlinson operated as Denver's No. 2 tight end Sunday, but he played just 18 of the team's 61 offensive snaps in the contest. Rookie Greg Dulcich, however, dominated the tight end snap share with 49 snaps on his way to leading the Broncos with 87 receiving yards. Barring an injury to Dulcich, Tomlinson is not a consideration for fantasy rosters as the Broncos head into their Week 9 bye.

Smith is in line to miss 8-to-10 weeks as a result of the high-ankle sprain that he sustained during Sunday's win against the Cardinals, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

With such a lengthy recovery timeline, Smith inevitably will be placed on injured reserve by the Vikings, who replaced him by trading for T.J. Hockenson on Tuesday. The timing perhaps was fortuitous for the team, but Smith himself now will be hard-pressed to see action before the end of the regular season. While he is sidelined, Hockenson and Johnny Mundt will be Minnesota's tight ends for the foreseeable future, although the latter is primarily a blocker.