NFL Player News

Schreck played four snaps on offense across two regular-season contests with the Bengals in 2019.

Schreck spent the first 11 games of the season on Cincinnati's practice squad, and he was confined to a reserve role upon joining the 53-man roster. The Bengals originally drafted Schreck in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft, so he'll likely continue to be viewed as a developmental project heading into 2020.

Smith hauled in 35 of his 44 targets for 439 yards and three touchdowns across 16 games in the 2019 season.

Smith benefitted from another injury-plagued campaign for Delanie Walker (ankle), posting career-best marks in targets, yards and receptions. He also showed a strong rapport with Ryan Tannehill, racking up more than 50 receiving yards in four of the nine games that the quarterback started. However, plenty of questions remain for the fourth-year tight end heading into the 2020 season, particularly the potential return of Walker. Even if Smith were to remain the starting tight end in Tennessee, he may be an inconsistent performer due to the overall lack of passing volume in the Titans offense.

Hurst caught 30 of 39 targets for 349 yards and two touchdowns in 2019.

Hurst showed significant improvement in Year 2 after a rookie year that was impacted by a foot injury. He commanded the fifth-highest target share on the team at 9.2 percent and proved to be a viable target downfield with an 8.6 aDOT and a 76.9 percent catch rate. While those are promising peripheral numbers, the fact that he was behind Nick Boyle in the pecking order for targets, even down the stretch, is not an encouraging sign. It's fair to argue that Baltimore misused Hurst considering that Boyle had worse advanced numbers in terms of aDOT, catch rate and drop rate, but Boyle isn't going anywhere with his new contract. Mark Andrews will remain the primary target at tight end in Baltimore, and there's a chance the offense funnels more targets to the receivers in 2020 if the team overhauls the position as expected. Hurst still has some upside, but it's too crowded of a tight end room to make him worth spending any sort of significant draft capital in standard redraft leagues.

Kelce (knee) will be held out of practice Thursday due to an illness, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Listed as limited Wednesday due to a lingering knee injury, Kelce now may be laid up for a handful of days as he's caught the flu bug that has hit other Chiefs over the last week-plus. Fortunately, he has a week and a half to return to full health for the Super Bowl, when he'll be facing a 49ers defense that gave up an NFL-low 5.9 yards per target to tight ends this season (including playoffs).

Swaim (concussion/ankle) recorded 13 catches for 65 yards in six games before being placed on injured reserve in October.

The 26-year-old signed a two-year, $6.6 million contract with the Jaguars in the spring, but he barely played more than 50 percent of the offensive snaps before being shut down for good. Jacksonville could save over $3.7 million in cap space by releasing Swaim, so he's certainly not guaranteed to be back in 2020 despite currently being under contract.

Kelce (knee) was a limited practice participant Wednesday.

Kelce experienced a cap on his practice reps in advance of the Chiefs' first two postseason contests due to the same knee issue, only to suit up on game day. With two weeks to prepare for the Super Bowl, he'll have plenty of time to get as close to 100 percent as possible. In the aforementioned matchups, he totaled 13 receptions (on 16 targets) for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

General manager Thomas Dimitroff said Wednesday there are "no updates" on Hooper's contract discussions with the Falcons, Kelsey Conway of Atlanta's official site reports.

Dimitroff's statement is actually an update of sorts, and he also used the term "trudging along" when reporters asked him about the tight end. Hooper enjoyed a breakout season in the final year of his rookie contract, potentially positioning himself as the top tight end available in free agency. However, the franchise tag is arguably a bargain from the Falcons' perspective, as the number -- expected to be around $10.7 million -- comes from a formula based on the five largest salary cap hits for the position group in each of the past five years. It just so happens that most of the league's premium tight ends in recent seasons -- including Rob Gronkowski, Zach Ertz and Travis Kelce -- signed team-friendly extensions that sacrificed upside for security. That reality gives the Falcons some leverage in negotiations, but their dicey cap situation hands the leverage right back to Hooper. Ultimately, the Falcons will have a tough time making other moves unless they allow Hooper to leave or sign him to a long-term deal with a lower cap hit for 2020. As such, the franchise tag likely would be viewed as a bridge for a multi-year contract.

Sternberger appeared in six regular-season games during his rookie season and did not catch a pass while being targeted only once. He did tally three receptions for 15 yards and a touchdown over two postseason games, though.

Sternberger got a late start to his career after missing the first eight games of the season with an ankle injury, and he played mostly a bit role after that. He did end the season on a high note, playing a career-high 28 offensive snaps in the Packers' divisional-round victory and finding pay dirt for the first time in the NFC Championship Game. Sternberger was a third-round pick last season, so while he was quiet as a rookie, he'll surely get more chances to contribute in his second season. He could even be in the mix for a starting spot should the Packers part ways with Jimmy Graham and/or Marcedes Lewis.

Tonyan appeared in 11 regular-season games for the Packers in 2019 and tallied 10 receptions on 15 targets for an even 100 yards and a touchdown.

Tonyan regularly served as the Packers' No. 3 tight end before and after missing five games and most of a sixth with a hip injury suffered in Week 5. While he has caught just 14 passes over 27 games in his two professional seasons, he has shown some play-making ability, scoring twice and averaging 12.6 yards per reception. The tight end position is in flux for the Packers with Jimmy Graham a possible salary-cap casualty and Marcedes Lewis a free agent, so Tonyan could have a chance to play a more prominent role in 2020.

Hesse signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on Monday.

Hesse spent last offseason in Tennessee, and he'll now get another chance to develop within the team's system. The Iowa product will face long odds to compete for a roster spot in 2020.