NFL Player News

Smith is the undisputed top tight end in Tennessee, Jim Wyatt of the team's official website reports.

Smith was the top guy after Delanie Walker suffered season-ending injuries the past two years, handling a 75.3 percent snap share in 2018 (13 games) and 70.8 percent share in 2019 (16 games). Smith's impressive work after the catch helped him produce 12.7 yards per reception and 9.4 per target the past two years, but he's never seen consistent volume in the run-first Tennessee offense, averaging only 3.7 targets in the nine games Walker missed last year. While Walker is now out of the picture, the Titans have shown some affinity for using Anthony Firkser over Smith in obvious passing situations, a role that allowed Firkser to average 2.4 targets over the final nine games last year. Smith has the talent to be a high-end fantasy asset in the right role, but it isn't clear if he'll get enough volume to provide steady production in Tennessee this season. He's entering the final year of his rookie contract and will turn 25 in late August.

Henry and the Chargers didn't reach an agreement on a contract extension before Wednesday's deadline, Jeff Miller of the LA Times reports.

The 25-year-old tight end will play out 2020 with a base salary of $10.6 million under the franchise tag, potentially facing a second tag for $12.7 million next offseason. Despite missing four games with a knee injury early in the season, Henry finished 2019 with career highs for targets (76), receptions (55) and yards (652). He did slow down in December, when he was limited to a 16-165-2 receiving line in five games. The combination of Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert at quarterback isn't ideal, but Henry at least figures to handle a three-down role for the 2020 Chargers, competing for targets with Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler and Mike Williams.

Henry is not expected to sign an extension before the July 15 deadline, Gilbert Manzano of The Orange Country Register reports.

Henry, who already signed his $10.6 million franchise tag tender, didn't sound optimistic about a possible extension before the July 15 deadline saying, "I'm just going to go out there. I get a chance to play this year and do my thing this year. I'm pretty locked in on what I got ahead of me in the 2020 season. That's what I'm locked in for, you know, I don't like to look too far ahead." The starting tight end has run into a slew of different injuries throughout his career, but he has still piled together 1,709 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns despite missing 23 games over the past four seasons.

Knox has been working through drills this offseason that will help him reduce his number of dropped passes in 2020, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports. "I think a big piece of it is going to be his availability and his consistency," head coach Sean McDermott said this week. "Sometimes what you see the first year is the lack of at times consistency, and I think Dawson is aware of that and he's committed to developing to the point where that becomes a strength of his and we're here to help him with it."

Knox had the NFL's worst drop rate (12 percent) among tight end qualifiers in 2019, and his 56 percent catch rate was also remarkably low. Even so, those figures alone don't indicate that Dawson turned in a bad rookie season. To the contrary, he filled a major hole after starter Tyler Kroft suffered a broken foot before the season. Knox finished with a 28-388-2 line, far better than most preseason projections put him down for. He will likely be competing with Kroft -- who returned toward the end of the season -- for the bigger role in Buffalo's offense in 2020, but the former offers the bigger upside if he can win the job outright, or even cause the Bills to think about releasing Kroft in a potential cost-cutting move. Knox is worth watching as he continues to get more familiar with the NFL game -- it's worth noting he started his career at Mississippi as a quarterback -- as well as offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's system.

Njoku is requesting a trade, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Njoku and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, are hoping the Browns will trade their tight end before training camp begins. The 2017 first-round pick made some big plays during his first two seasons, but his consistency never came close to matching his athleticism, and he then missed 12 games in 2019. The Browns signed Austin Hooper in March, and while early reports suggested the team would keep both tight ends, it now appears Njoku has other plans. The Browns exercised his fifth-year option for 2021, which is guaranteed for injury only.

Cager (ankle) will compete for a spot on the Jets' 53-man roster in training camp, Steve Lichtenstein of WFAN Radio reports.

Cager and former first-round pick Josh Doctson could be competing for the same roster spot, so if the undrafted rookie is able to showcase utility on special teams, he could see his chances of sticking with Gang Green increase. The Georgia product missed the final four games of his last season of college due to an ankle injury, from which he's now fully recovered.

Engram (foot) posted a video on his personal Instagram account Monday of himself working on his footwork in a variety of drills, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

Engram was limited to eight games in 2019 due to a left knee injury and later a Lisfranc injury in his left foot, the latter of which required surgery in mid-December. Without the benefit of on-field workouts this offseason, his recovery was reported to be on pace but wasn't entirely known until Monday's post. In April, the Giants picked up the fifth-year option on Engram's contract, keeping him in New York for the next two seasons. For his career, he's averaged 7.1 YPT and scored 12 touchdowns on his 247 targets across 34 contests.

Brown (illness) may be forced to compete with Stephen Carlson for a single depth tight end role, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

In addition to signing Austin Hooper to the most expensive contract for a tight end earlier this offseason, Cleveland invested a fourth-round pick in rookie Harrison Bryant during April's draft. As a result, Brown looks firmly situated behind at least three other options in the team's tight end room, leaving him to tentatively compete for a sole depth role left up for grabs. That said, new coach Kevin Stefanski did utilize multiple tight ends at the highest rate in the league last season (57 percent), per Trotter, so Cleveland could be motivated to utilized a larger than standard amount of players at the position.

Waller (thumb) has been training in Las Vegas with a large group of Raiders teammates, Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Waller appears to have made a seamless recovery from thumb surgery in late December. He's looking to build on his 2019 breakout, but he'll be facing tougher competition for targets after the Raiders added Jason Witten, Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards this offseason. Waller is still a reasonable bet to lead the team in catches and targets, considering he hauled in 76.9 percent of his chances for 9.8 YPT last year. There is a chance he loses some early down snaps to Witten, but it's far from a sure thing.

Ertz could be a candidate for a contract extension this summer, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.

The Eagles picked up Ertz's 2021 team option back in March, setting him up for cap hits around $12.5 million the next two seasons. An extension for a 29-year-old tight end wouldn't be without risk, but it likely would increase the team's flexibility in the short term. Ertz should be fine for training camp, as he said in January that it would take him about one month to recover from the cracked rib and lacerated kidney that he played through late last season.