NFL Player News

Higbee caught both his targets for five yards and his first career touchdown during Sunday's loss to San Francisco.

Through eight games since Los Angeles' bye week, Higbee has garnered just 22 targets and turned them into an underwhelming nine receptions, 79 yards and the single touchdown. While his tertiary role in the passing attack doesn't currently move the fantasy needle, the Rams selected him with a fourth-round pick, so Higbee is a player to watch in deep keeper/dynasty settings.

Duarte (coach's decision) is inactive for Saturday's game against the Bills.

The hybrid tight end will be inactive for the seventh consecutive week Saturday as he continues to struggle to find a role in the Dolphins offense. Dion Sims and MarQueis Gray figure to see the bulk of the work at tight end Saturday.

Amaro (coach's decision) is inactive for Saturday's Week 16 tilt versus the Jaguars.

The pass-catching tight end will thus take a seat once again, leaving the positional duties to starter Delanie Walker and backup Philip Supernaw.

Derby (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Chiefs.

With both Derby and Virgil Green out this week, Jeff Heuerman is currently the Broncos' top healthy tight end, while Henry Krieger-Coble was promoted to the team's active roster Friday for depth purposes.

Hooper (knee) has been ruled out of Saturday's game against the Panthers.

Hooper was held out of practice all week after suffering a knee injury last Sunday, so it's no surprise that he won't be available in Week 16. Fortunately, the rookie's knee injury isn't thought to be a long-term issue. However, with him sidelined Saturday, Levine Toilolo appears in line for a start at tight end, with Joshua Perkins and D.J. Tialavea the remaining options behind him.

Uzomah will be the Bengals' starting tight end Saturday against Houston, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

Uzomah hasn't played in five weeks but his return comes just in time for Cincinnati. The team's top two tight ends, Tyler Eifert (back) and Tyler Kroft (knee/ankle), are both out, leaving Uzomah and Ryan Hewitt as the only available players at the position. Uzomah has 17 receptions for 193 yards in eight games played this season.

Kroft (knee/ankle) has been ruled out for Saturday's matchup with Houston, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

Kroft was held out of practice during the week and the severity of his injuries remain unclear. He hasn't been targeted by quarterback Andy Dalton in over five weeks, but he could have conceivably seen a larger role with Tyler Eifert also sidelined in Week 16. C.J. Uzomah and Ryan Hewitt will be left to handle the tight end duties on Saturday for Cincinnati.

Ertz secured both of his targets for 33 yards in Thursday's 24-19 win over the Giants.

Coming off a three-week stretch where he totaled 25 receptions on 36 targets for 271 yards and a touchdown, Ertz came back down to earth against a tough Giants defense. Despite the one-game downturn, the fourth-year pro has followed up a career-best 2015 campaign with solid numbers of 63 receptions for 644 yards and two touchdowns over just 12 games this season. He'll look to finish things off on a high note when Philadelphia faces off with the Cowboys in their New Year's Day season finale.

Hooper (knee) isn't expected to be available for Saturday's game in Carolina, Kelsey Conway of the Falcons' official site reports.

The extent of Hooper's activity through Thursday was work on a side field, including jogging and ladder drills. Consequently, head coach Dan Quinn likely considered the Falcons were preparing with one less day in Week 16, and Hooper wasn't a candidate to be ready. With Hooper likely out of the picture, Matt Ryan will lean on Levine Loilolo, Joshua Perkins, and practice-squad addition D.J. Tialavea at tight end Saturday.

Head coach Dan Quinn said Thursday that Hooper (knee) likely won't take the field Saturday at Carolina, Kelsey Conway of the Falcons' official site reports.

After jogging on the side at Tuesday's unofficial session, Hooper proceeded to focus on rehab rather than practice Wednesday. As of Thursday, he was still contained to work on a side field, performing ladder drills, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Aside from keeping up his conditioning, Hooper appears poised to land on the inactive list this weekend, as intimated by Quinn on Thursday. Expect clarification on Hooper's availability upon the release of Friday's injury report, but an absence would leave Levine Toilolo and Joshua Perkins as Atlanta's only healthy tight ends in the penultimate week of the regular season.