NFL Player News

Graham (knee), who was held to a career-low minus-1 yards in Sunday's loss to the Rams, has seven dropped passes this season, second in the league and most among tight ends.

Graham dropped a pass Sunday that would have went for at least 20 yards. In the last two weeks, Graham has one catch for minus-1 yards on five targets. He still leads tight ends in touchdowns with nine, but his 472 yards ranks 15th and his 8.9 yards per catch is a career low by nearly two yards -- the Seahawks just don't use him much between the 20s. It would be surprising if the Seahawks re-signed him next season at $10 million-plus.

Hewitt (knee) was a limited participant at Thursday's practice, Jay Morrison of Cox Media Group reports.

Hewitt was a non-participant Wednesday, so he is at least trending in the right direction ahead of Sunday's game against the Lions. If he is unable to go, expect Cethan Carter to see increased snaps at tight end.

Graham (knee) was a non-participant at practice Thursday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of SeattlePI.com reports.

Instead of taking his day off Wednesday, Graham was a "full participant" at the walk-through session. Thursday's schedule included an actual practice, though, so the Seahawks allowed the tight end to give his knee a respite. Expect Graham to fit in at least some activity Friday before the team removes his designation entirely.

Vannett (shoulder) put in a full practice Thursday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of SeattlePI.com reports.

Vannett injured his shoulder in last week's blowout loss to the Rams, but he evidently avoided anything serious. He practiced in limited fashion Wednesday, and given his full participation Thursday, he appears to be recovered from the issue at this point. Look for him to take on his usual role providing depth at tight end assuming he avoids any setbacks.

Lewis (shoulder) practiced on a limited basis Thursday.

It amounts to a step forward for the tight end, who was held out entirely for the Jaguars' first practice session of the week. The Jacksonville coaching staff has offered no indication that Lewis' shoulder issue is a major concern, so it seems likely the 33-year-old is just getting some late-season maintenance this week. Expect him to start Sunday's game against the 49ers and take on his usual load of snaps.

Kelce (illness) is slated to miss practice again Thursday, BJ Kissel of the Chiefs' official site reports.

While back-to-back missed practices aren't optimal for the tight end's Week 16 preparations, it's expected Kelce will rally in time to play Sunday against the Dolphins. The Chiefs can clinch the AFC West with a win this weekend.

Bell underwent successful surgery Tuesday to address an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Bell is expected to be in a sling for several weeks before he's cleared to begin rehabbing, but the expectation is that he'll be fully healthy for the start of Organized Team Activities in the spring. The tight end, who was placed on injured reserve last week, finished his first season with the Vikings with three receptions for 19 yards across 13 contests.

Niklas (ankle) was listed as non-participant during Wednesday's practice, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Niklas sustained the ankle injury during Sunday's 20-15 loss to the Redskins, interrupting what had been his best outing of the season (three catches for 41 yards). He'll likely need to practice in some capacity Thursday or Friday in order to gain clearance to play in Sunday's game against the Giants.

Graham (knee) was a full participant at Wednesday's practice, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

The Seahawks have made a habit of holding Graham out of practice on Wednesdays and sometimes Thursdays, but they'll apparently take a different approach with the tight end coming off back-to-back duds. He caught one pass for a loss of one yard over the past two weeks, after averaging 4.8 catches for 46.4 yards and 0.9 touchdowns in his previous 10 games. Graham should bounce back -- at least to some extent -- in Sunday's road game against a Dallas team that has allowed opposing tight ends to post a 68.7-percent catch rate and 7.2 yards per target this season.

Hewitt was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday's injury report with a knee injury, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

It's likely that Hewitt sustained the knee injury at some point during the Week 15 loss to the Vikings. He'll likely need to return to practice Thursday or Friday to have a shot at suiting up for Sunday's game against the Lions.