NFL Player News

The Buccaneers signed Hudson from their practice squad on Tuesday, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

Hudson has impressed on Tampa Bay's practice squad all season, and will now have a shot to make his NFL debut. The undrafted rookie has some opportunity for targets with O.J. Howard (ankle) on injured reserve, but is unlikely to see a significant offensive workload behind Cameron Brate, Alan Cross and Antony Auclair.

The Titans placed Smith (knee) on injured reserve Tuesday, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

Smith suffered a season-ending MCL injury in the Week 14 win over the Jaguars, but coach Mike Vrabel had maintained optimism as recently as Monday that the tight end could avoid such a fate. The Titans' decision to move Smith to IR a day later implies follow-up scans weren't as promising as the team had hoped. Smith should be ready to go for the start of the 2019 campaign, but a Tennessee squad already short on quality pass-catching options will now find itself down another key body for the final three contests of this season. Anthony Firkser and Luke Stocker are expected to handle most of the reps at tight end the rest of the way, with the former likely to see the greater involvement of the two in the passing game.

Akins is capable of playing both slot and wide receiver if the Texans need that. "Jordan's a very versatile guy. There's no doubt about that. Obviously, he's a tight end, but you saw him [Sunday] - he lined up out wide, he lines up in the slot, he lines up in the backfield. Very smart guy, can do a lot of different things," said coach Bill O'Brien.

Akins' ability to play off the line of scrimmage could come in handy for the Texans, who are dealing with injuries to Keke Coutee (hamstring) and DeAndre Carter (concussion) as they prepare for Week 15 against the Jets on Saturday.

Vannett hauled in his only target for 12 yards in Monday's win over the Vikings.

Vannett picked up a first down with his catch early in the first quarter, but Wilson didn't throw his way the rest of the contest. In the last four games, Vannett has five catches on six targets for 55 yards and no touchdowns.

Anthony Firkser is likely to see an increased role with Jonnu Smith and Delanie Walker both sidelined, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

Speaking at Monday's press conference, coach Mike Vrabel said of Firkser, "I think we have to get Anthony in there more, regardless of who is healthy." While MyCole Pruitt and Luke Stocker will be available to play, they have both made negligible contributions in the passing game. That leaves Firkser -- who has recorded at least three receptions in each of his last four games -- as the most likely candidate to fill in as the primary receiving option at the position on Sunday against the Giants.

Seals-Jones compiled three receptions (on five targets) for 31 yards during Sunday's 17-3 loss to the Lions.

A breakout candidate before the season, Seals-Jones has been at the behest of below-average quarterback play. Working as the Cardinals' No. 1 tight end for much of the year, he's rarely put up more than Sunday's yardage total, doing so four times in the previous 12 games. Overall, his catch rate is merely 50 percent -- 30 receptions on 60 targets -- and he's scored just one TD in 2018, so there are plenty of more desirable TE options out there.

Saubert registered two receptions for 15 yards during Sunday's 34-20 loss to Green Bay.

With Logan Paulsen (knee/ankle) ruled out, Saubert garnered three of nine tight end targets, establishing a career-high with two receptions against Green Bay's No. 7 pass defense (225.0 yards allowed per game). Saubert has fielded 14.1 percent of Atlanta's offensive snaps this season, but that figure stands to increase substantially should Paulsen remain on the shelf for an extended period of time. Still searching for his first touchdown as a pro, Week 15 doesn't present much reason for optimism going up against an Arizona defense that's allowed just three tight end touchdowns all year (tied for fourth fewest).

Higbee caught his only target for nine yards during Sunday's 15-6 loss to Chicago.

Now two outings removed from a respectable three-game stretch consisting of 11 receptions for 128 yards and a score, there's little to be excited about with Higbee's fantasy outlook moving forward. His 27 offensive snaps were also fewer than fellow tight end Gerald Everett's 36, and Everett is the superior receiving threat.

Everett caught four of seven targets for 29 yards during Sunday's 15-6 loss to Chicago. He also played 36 of 63 offensive snaps.

This was the first time all season that Everett played more than fellow tight end Tyler Higbee, as the former was on the field for just 27 offensive snaps. The playing time has been trending this way for a few weeks, and with Los Angeles struggling offensively and playing from behind Sunday, it's not surprising that Everett was on the field more -- he's the more dangerous receiving threat. The second-year player out of Southern Alabama still has a long way to go to be a reliable fantasy asset, though.

Coach Dan Quinn said Hooper (knee) has a chance to play Week 15 against the Cardinals, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

Hooper injured his knee toward the end of Sunday's 34-20 loss to Green Bay, ultimately catching four of six targets for 37 yards across 55 snaps (78 percent). The Falcons believe he avoided a long-term injury, but there's still no guarantee he'll be ready for Week 15. No. 3 tight end Eric Saubert is left as the team's only healthy player at his position, with Logan Paulsen (knee/ankle) coming off a Week 14 absence.