NFL Player News

Hurst was a limited participant at practice Wednesday due to a groin injury, Jay Morrison of The Athletic reports.

In the Bengals' Week 2 loss to the Cowboys, Hurst was on the field for 57 of 70 snaps on offense and caught five of his seven targets for 24 yards. With a limited showing Wednesday, the tight end's status is now worth monitoring as Sunday's game against the Jets approaches. With Drew Sample out with a knee injury, Mitchell Wilcox and Devin Asiasi are next up for reps at tight end behind Hurst.

Asiasi (quadriceps) was a full participant during Wednesday's practice, Jay Morrison of The Athletic reports.

Asiasi has yet to play this season due to a lingering quadriceps issue, but he appears healthy ahead of Week 3. The Bengals are likely to place Drew Sample (knee) on injured reserve soon after news dropped that he'll miss a couple months, so Asiasi figures to compete with Mitchell Wilcox for the primary backup spot behind Hayden Hurst.

Knox was held out of Wednesday's practice with a foot injury, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

Knox didn't appear to be limited in a 41-7 win over the Titans on Monday, finishing with five targets and a 69 percent snap share in a game where he and other starters were pulled in the fourth quarter. However, he was seen at one point visiting with trainers while the Buffalo defense was on the field. He'll have two more chances to practice before a Week 3 contest in Miami, with Tommy Sweeney and Quintin Morris the options to fill in as Buffalo's starting tight end if Knox doesn't end up playing.

Bryant (thigh/thumb) doesn't have an injury designation for Thursday's game against Pittsburgh, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Bryant practiced fully Wednesday, setting him up to play on a short week. The No. 2 tight end has drawn four targets in both of the Browns' first two games of the season.

Coach Zac Taylor said Tuesday that Sample (knee) will have surgery soon and will be out a few months, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Sample suffered the right knee injury during Sunday's Week 2 matchup against the Cowboys. He'll likely head to IR, leaving the Bengals with only two healthy tight ends -- Hayden Hurst and Mitchell Wilcox. Devin Asiasi (quadriceps) has yet to suit up this year, and it's unclear when he'll make his season debut.

Uzomah (hamstring) was limited at practice Wednesday, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Uzomah didn't play in Week 2 and was deemed a game-time decision for Week 3 by coach Robert Saleh on Monday. However, the Jets probably won't have a good sense of what direction the tight end is trending until seeing how he progresses throughout practice this week. If Uzomah is eventually ruled out for the contest against his former team, Tyler Conklin, who caught six of nine targets for 40 yards during Sunday's win over the Browns, would serve as the team's top tight end again.

Knox caught four of five targets for 41 yards in Monday's 41-7 victory over the Titans.

Knox was more involved in Buffalo's game plan in Week 2, garnering three more targets than the week before, including a couple looks in the red zone. The fourth-year tight end figures to get more involved in the Bills' offense as the season goes on after he caught 49 passes for 587 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021. Knox will remain a solid fantasy option at tight end moving forward, especially if he continues to see looks close to the end zone.

Morris hauled in his lone target for a six-yard gain in Monday's 41-7 win over the Titans.

The second-year player out of Bowling Green missed the Bills' season-opening win over the Rams with a hamstring injury, but Morris served as the No. 2 tight end behind Dawson Knox in Week 2 while Tommy Sweeney was a healthy inactive. Though Morris ended up playing 28 of the Bills' 68 offensive snaps (41 percent), expect the usage gap between him and Knox (47 snaps, 69 percent) to remain wider in more competitive contests. Morris remains an intriguing prospect, but not one who will warrant much attention so long as Knox is available.

Gilliam logged two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown on three targets in Monday's 41-7 win over the Titans.

Gilliam put the Bills on the board with 9:07 left in the first quarter, when he reeled in an 11-yard pass from Josh Allen for a score. After inking a two-year extension in August, Gilliam has more job security than most fullbacks around the league, but that doesn't mean he'll be a focal point of the offense. The three targets were a career-high total for Gilliam, who hasn't played more than 42 percent of the Bills' offensive snaps in any of his 18 games across the past two seasons.

Hudson recorded two receptions for 23 yards on three targets in Sunday's 19-16 win over the Panthers.

The pair of receptions were Hudson's first since the 2020 campaign, when he recorded a 3-41-0 receiving line on seven targets over 11 games for the Buccaneers. Rookie Daniel Bellinger remains the Giants' top tight end, but with snap shares barely north of 50 percent in both of his first two games, he's not necessarily entrenched atop the depth chart. Even if Hudson ends up poaching more snaps from Bellinger, the 27-year-old is still expected to primarily serve as a blocker whenever he's on the field.