NFL Player News

Kittle (ankle) will practice fully Thursday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Coach Kyle Shanahan noted that Kittle's absence from practice Wednesday was simply a result of the tight end dealing with some ankle soreness. Kittle's return to a full session Thursday puts him firmly on track to play in Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Packers.

Kittle was held out of practice Wednesday due to an ankle injury, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

Kittle broke a bone in his ankle Week 9 at Arizona, resulting in back-to-back absences. Upon his return Week 12 against the Packers, he's been his usual self in the offensive scheme en route to a 42-528-3 line on 55 targets across seven games. The sudden appearance of 'ankle' and Kittle's subsequent DNP are somewhat worrisome, but the development also may be maintenance-related with the season on the line Sunday. His activity level Thursday and Friday will give a better sense of his odds to play in the NFC Championship Game against the Packers.

Kelce (knee) was limited at practice Wednesday.

James Palmer of NFL Network previously noted that Kelce was dealing with a hamstring issue, but the Chiefs only referenced the tight end's knee injury on Wednesday's practice report. In any case, we expect Kelce -- who logged an impressive 10-134-3 stat line in his team's divisional-round win over the Texans -- to be a go for Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Titans, though it's possible he may be officially listed as questionable for the contest.

Conklin finished with eight receptions for 58 yards over 15 regular-season games in 2019.

Conklin worked as the No. 3 right end behind Kyle Rudolph and rookie Irv Smith. The 24-year-old Conklin averaged 18.4 offensive snaps per game, running routes on 67.6 percent of those snaps. Since Rudolph and Smith are both under contract in 2020, Conklin won't warrant fantasy attention heading into next season.

Kelce (knee/hamstring) is expected to practice Wednesday, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.

Kelce continues to contend with a bruised knee, but a hamstring injury has been added to his list of health concerns, per Palmer. In any case, it's a good enough sign that Kelce is taking the practice field in his first chance to do so, with his activity level to be confirmed on Wednesday's injury report.

Coach Pete Carroll said Dissly is recovering well from the torn Achilles he suffered in Week 6, Andy Patton of USA Today reports. "He's killing the rehab. [Dissly] is doing great," Carroll said. "But, it's a long process, it's going to be some tough work for him."

Dissly suffered a season-ending injury for the second time in his two-year career when he tore his Achilles in Week 6. In the tight end's rookie campaign, he sustained a torn patellar tendon. Dissly beat that expected recovery timeline and showed no ill effects in his return to action, recording 23 receptions for 262 yards and four touchdowns over six games. He was one of Russell Wilson's top targets, and he was a weekly fantasy starter. A torn Achilles usually takes around a year to recover from, so it'll be tough, albeit possible, for him to return for Week 1 of the 2020 season. The Seahawks will likely retain pending RFA Jacob Hollister, who recorded 41 catches for 349 yards and three scores, and Ed Dickson (knee) still has another year on his contract after sitting out the entire 2019 campaign. If Dissly can get back to 100 percent, he'll likely be the No. 1 tight end, but there's no guarantee he gets to that point by Week 1, if at all.

Smith caught 36 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games this season.

The rookie second-round pick ended up played a sizable role for the Vikings during his debut campaign with 620 offensive snaps, and he also put up similar numbers to top tight end Kyle Rudolph (39 catches for 367 yards and six touchdowns). Rudolph figures to enter training camp atop the depth chart, but Smith could carve out a larger role in the passing game in 2020.

Dillon signed a reserve/future contract with the Vikings on Monday.

Dillon cracked Minnesota's initial 53-man roster but was waived after playing seven offensive snaps in the season opener. The 22-year-old spent the rest of the season on the practice squad and will now have a full offseason with the team.

Scarff signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on Monday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

With the Ravens' season ending earlier than expected, they're gearing up for the offseason by signing their practice-squad players. Scarff is a run-blocking tight end, but he has an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster in 2020 since Mark Andrews, Hayden Hurst and Nick Boyle will all be under contract next season.

Hudson finished the 2019 season with two receptions (five targets) for 26 yards over nine games.

The athletic tight end was one of the stars of preseason but, come the regular campaign, he saw minimal action from scrimmage except for his first two games. Hudson logged 21 and 49 snaps, respectively, in Weeks 8 and 9, the first pair of contests for which he suited up. However, he logged no more than seven snaps on offense in any game the rest of the way, while also putting in a handful of snaps on special teams each week. Hudson is an exclusive-rights free agent this offseason, and he therefore projects to return in 2020 and potentially compete for the third tight end role with Antony Auclair.