NFL Player News

Kittle brought in two of three targets for 21 yards in the 49ers' 20-17 loss to the Titans on Thursday night.

Kittle opened the game looking like he'd have no trouble keeping up his momentum from recent games, but his opportunities completely dried up after his third and final target of the night was intercepted in the end zone by Janoris Jenkins with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter. The ultra-talented tight end was surprisingly shut down the rest of the way, leading to his second-lowest reception and receiving yardage totals of the season. Kittle will have a favorable matchup with which to potentially bounce back to his usual numbers in Week 17, as the Texans pay a visit to the 49ers a week from Sunday.

Dafney (ankle) is listed as questionable for Saturday's game against the Browns.

After sitting out last week's win over the Ravens with the injury, Dafney was listed as a limited participant on practice reports issued Tuesday through Thursday to take the questionable tag into the weekend. If he avoids the inactive list, Dafney will likely serve as Green Bay's No. 3 tight end and work primarily as a blocker.

Waller (knee/back) was listed as a non-participant in Thursday's walkthrough, Rachel Gossen of the Raiders' official site reports.

Back-to-back listed 'DNPs' don't bode well for Waller's chances of returning to action Sunday against the Broncos, but he has one more chance to make a practice appearance this week. If he remains out, Foster Moreau (abdomen/thigh) presumably would be in line to head the Raiders' Week 16 tight end corps.

Njoku (knee) doesn't have an injury designation for Saturday's game in Green Bay, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

A mid-week addition to the Browns' injury report, Njoku's reps were capped Wednesday and Thursday, but his knee issue evidently wasn't concerning enough for Cleveland to give him a questionable tag heading into the weekend. After playing 100 percent of the offensive snaps in Cleveland's 16-14 loss to Las Vegas on Monday, Njoku should see a downturn in opportunities with top tight end Austin Hooper (illness) having been restored from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Cleveland has still made liberal use of two-tight end sets when Hooper has been available, so expect Njoku to be on the field for at least half of the Browns' plays.

The Saints placed Hill (illness) on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Hill was one of nine New Orleans players added to the list Thursday, all the result of positive COVID-19 tests, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. If Hill is vaccinated and asymptomatic, he'll be eligible to play Monday against the Dolphins, but the Saints already seem to be proceeding as though neither he nor top backup Trevor Siemian (illness) will be available to return from the list Week 16. That leaves rookie fourth-round pick Ian Book as the likely candidate to start in his NFL debut Monday night in a game that has major playoff implications for both the Saints and the Dolphins.

Ertz (hamstring) doesn't have a designation for Saturday's contest versus the Colts, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Ertz kicked off Week 16 prep with back-to-back limited listings on Cardinals injury reports, only to cap it with a full showing at Thursday's practice. He's thus set to take on an Indianapolis defense that has allowed the most total yards (949) and fifth-most touchdowns (eight, tied with three other teams) to tight ends this season.

Bryant (ankle) practiced fully Thursday and doesn't carry an injury designation into Saturday's game against the Packers, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Bryant opened the week with a pair of limited sessions but upgraded to full participation Thursday and should suit up Saturday. He caught a touchdown last week while Austin Hooper was on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but Bryant's expected to cede the majority of snaps to Hooper and David Njoku against Green Bay.

Oliver (undisclosed) was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Oliver is the 12th member of Baltimore's 53-man roster placed on the list. The backup tight end has eight catches for 65 yards this season but has primarily filled a special-teams role of late. He'll be fighting an uphill battle to gain clearance before Sunday's game in Cincinnati.

Freiermuth (concussion) didn't participate in Thursday's practice session, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Freiermuth remains in the league's concussion protocol after exiting Sunday's win over the Titans, and he was unable to practice for a second straight day. If he's unavailable for Sunday's Week 16 matchup against Kansas City, Zach Gentry and Kevin Rader would be in line for additional work.

Mundt (knee) was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday and returned to injured reserve.

The tight end entered COVID protocols Dec. 15 before being reinstated Thursday. Mundt will still remain on IR for the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL in mid-October.