NFL Player News

Jordan made several big plays during Tuesday's practice session, John Harris of the Texans' official site reports.

Jordan made a couple of nice touchdown grabs, including a snag amongst three defenders. He was also featured in the Texans' two-minute drill. While Houston head coach Lovie Smith may consider Pharaoh Brown the team's starting tight end, Jordan is the superior pass-catching talent and is more likely to be the better fantasy option at the position.

Houston head coach Lovie Smith labeled Brown as "our starting tight end" during Tuesday's post-practice news conference.

Smith feels Brown is the most complete tight end on the team when taking into account his prowess as a blocker, but the coach also talked about his catching skills and said he'll have a "big role." That may be the case for a team expecting to run the ball often, but once passing situations arise, expect Brevin Jordan to be the lead target at the position.

Mundt is the leading candidate for the starting tight end job with Irv Smith (thumb) sidelined for the preseason and possibly early in the regular season, Dane Mizutani of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Mundt will compete with Ben Ellefson, Nick Muse and Zach Davidson, as there wasn't a clear No. 2 tight end before camp began. All three backups are seen as mostly blockers, so the Vikings would likely reduce the tight end's role in the passing game if Smith were to miss regular season games. Still, it's worth watching Mundt's development in the preseason, as offensive coordinator Wes Phillips suggested Mundt has untapped potential as a pass catcher.

Ferguson picked up a hamstring issue during Tuesday's practice, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The seriousness of Ferguson's injury has yet to be revealed, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Dallas exercise caution with its rookie tight end. The Wisconsin product was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft after securing first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2021, when he recorded 46 receptions, 450 yards and three touchdowns over 13 games, all while in a run-heavy offense. Once Ferguson is cleared to play, he'll compete with Sean McKeon and Jeremy Sprinkle (Achilles) for the No. 2 tight end spot behind Dalton Schultz.

Smith underwent thumb surgery Tuesday, but the Vikings are optimistic he will be ready for Week 1, Kevin Seifert of ESPN reports. "We still feel very strongly about our process to get him back," coach Kevin O'Connell noted of the team's top tight end, "and hopefully have him -- barring any setbacks -- available for that opener."

Smith, who missed the entire 2021 season after having surgery to repair a meniscus issue in his right knee, had opened training camp in line to participate fully, but now the 2019 second-rounder seems destined to miss most or all of camp and the preseason. In his absence, Ben Ellefson, Johnny Mundt, Zach Davidson, Nick Muse and Shaun Beyer are available to handle Minnesota's tight end reps.

Freiermuth (hamstring) won't practice Tuesday, Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

The same applies to top back Najee Harris (foot) and wideout Chase Claypool (shoulder), with Lolley indicating that none of the injuries to Pittsburgh's key skill players are considered serious. Next up for tight end reps in Freiermuth's absence are Zach Gentry, Kevin Rader and Connor Heyward.

Smith had surgery on his thumb Tuesday, with coach Kevin O'Connell saying afterward that the tight end should be ready for the start of the season.

This explains Smith's early departure from practice Monday and likely rules him out for most or all of training camp and the preseason. He'll have five and a half weeks to recover before the Vikings host the Packers on Sunday, Sept. 11. Next up on the team's TE depth chart are Ben Ellefson, Johnny Mundt, Zach Davidson and Nick Muse.

Smith missed the end of Monday's practice with a possible injury, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Smith left the session early before returning to the sideline without a helmet. The issue doesn't sound serious, but it'll be worth tracking if the tight end isn't back at practice within the next few days.

Alie-Cox (knee) returned to practice Tuesday, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

He suffered the injury Saturday but is now back at practice three days later. The Colts mostly have used Alie-Cox as a blocker (and sometimes a goal-line threat) to this point in his career, but he could take on a larger role this season with Jack Doyle having retired and the competition for snaps coming from young, untested players (2021 fourth-round pick Kylen Granson and 2022 third-rounder Jelani Woods).

Seals-Jones did not participate in Monday's practice, marking the third consecutive session he's missed, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

It's unclear if Seals-Jones is dealing with an injury, and he certainly has plenty of time to ramp into shape before the season begins, but his absence from practice is notable because he's in a competition for New York's starting tight-end role. The veteran came into camp with a slight inside edge for the gig, but the Giants also brought in ex-Texan Jordan Akins this offseason and selected Daniel Bellinger in the fourth round of the draft, and either player could pull ahead of Seals-Jones on the depth chart with a strong preseason.