NFL Player News

Gathers was unable to convert his lone target into a catch during Sunday's 20-17 loss to Washington.

Gathers has not been targeted multiple times in a game since Week 2. That might change following the bye as starter Geoff Swaim deals with a sprained MCL. Should Swaim miss time, the pickings are relatively slim with Gathers and Blake Jarwin tied with two catches and six targets apiece on the season. Keep an eye on Swaim's injury status and Jarwin and Gathers' competition ahead of what should be a difficult Week 9 matchup against Tennessee.

Schreck (knee) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

Schreck's placement on IR effectively ends his 2018 campaign. The second-year vet has endured several knee injuries through the early portion of his career, so it remains to be seen what kind of toll, if any, the latest will have on him moving forward. In a corresponding move, the Bengals promoted tight end Jordan Franks to replace Schreck.

Swaim (knee) is dealing with a sprained MCL, Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Coach Jason Garrett already ruled Swaim out of the team's practices during this week's bye, but he hoped the results of the MRI would indicate Swaim could return in short order, per David Helman of the Cowboys' official site. The team hasn't officially released a timetable regarding Swaim's recovery at this point, but the lengths can vary depending on the grade of the sprain. Blake Jarwin and Rico Gathers could be next in line to receive snaps if Swaim isn't ready to go against the Titans following the bye week.

Brown was signed to the active roster Tuesday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Cleveland had an extra roster spot lying around after dealing Carlos Hyde to the Jaguars last week. Brown checks in as the fifth tight end on the active roster and will likely be contained to a role on special teams.

Derby (foot) was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

Prior to the session, coach Adam Gase told Salguero that Derby's foot was "more sore than anticipated" late last week, which ultimately forced the tight end to miss his fourth straight game in Sunday's 32-21 loss to the Lions. Considering Derby progressed to full practice participation last week, it's discouraging that he was a spectator for both of the Dolphins' sessions to open Week 8. He's likely trending toward another absence Thursday against the Texans.

Gesicki (shoulder) was listed as limited on Tuesday's estimated injury report, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

The fact that Gesicki was on the field in any capacity offers some reassurance that his shoulder injury isn't a significant one, but his status for Week 8 could still be in some jeopardy due to the Dolphins playing on Thursday night. If available for the tilt with the Texans, Gesicki would likely work behind Nick O'Leary, who seems to have emerged as the team's top tight end over the past two games.

Andrews had one reception for an eight-yard touchdown against the Saints on Sunday.

Baltimore only targeted tight ends five times on Sunday but Andrews was able to make his only opportunity count as he found the end zone for the second time this season. Andrews was averaging 3.3 targets per game coming into the Saints game, so it's not unreasonable to expect a slight uptick in volume in Week 8 against the Panthers.

Engram corralled two of four targets for 16 yards and gained 10 yards on his lone carry Monday in the Giants' 23-20 loss to the Falcons.

Making his return from a three-game absence due to an MCL sprain of his right knee, Engram started at tight end and played 52 of the Giants' 64 offensive snaps (81 percent). Despite the hefty workload, Engram wasn't much of a priority in the passing game, with all of Odell Beckham (11 targets), Saquon Barkley (10) and Sterling Shepard (eight) drawing more looks from quarterback Eli Manning. Atlanta's leaky secondary likely had a lot to do with Beckham and Shepard doubling him up in targets, but Engram should carve out more volume in the passing game as he becomes further removed from the knee injury. The fact that Engram saw a significant amount of snaps and didn't experience any reported setbacks should give fantasy owners the confidence to keep him in their lineups for his Week 8 matchup with the Redskins.

Hooper hauled in three of his four targets, while accounting for 48 receiving yards during Monday's 23-20 win against the Giants.

Hooper put forth a performance Monday that more so resembled the player he had been through his first 34 career games, compared to the prolific production he had enjoyed over his previous two outings. The third-year tight end posted per-game averages of 2.2 catches and 27.1 receiving yards for his career prior to Week 5 of this season, when he suddenly exploded for 18 combined catches for 148 yards and a touchdown in matchups against Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. Make no mistake about it. Hooper has become a more integral part of this Falcons passing attack in 2018, with 5.9 targets per game compared to 3.1 per game during his first two professional seasons. Still, expectations should be tempered somewhat, as he may not yet provide consistent TE1 upside with the plethora of weapons that Atlanta sports on the perimeter. Following a Week 8 bye, the Falcons return to action Nov. 4 against a Redskins defense that has allowed the seventh-fewest yards to tight ends this season (267).

Akins played 30 of 64 offensive snaps and was not targeted in Sunday's win over the Jaguars.

If there was ever a week that Akins might break out, it was Week 7 with Ryan Griffin (illness) inactive. Unfortunately for Akins, the Texans relied on the running game, so the coaches opted to use Jordan Thomas, the superior blocker, more than Akins. We suspect the Texans will execute a similar run-first formula Week 8 on Thursday night against the Dolphins, who rank 29th against the run.