NFL Player News

Mayer (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Bears, Paul Gutierrez of Raiders.com reports.

Mayer didn't practice this week, so his next chance to see game action will arrive Sunday, Oct. 5 against the Colts. In Mayer's absence, fellow TE Ian Thomas is in line to serve as Brock Bowers' top backup Sunday, with Albert Okwuegbunam and Carter Runyon representing possible Week 4 practice-squad elevations.

Fant (concussion) didn't practice Friday.

With 'DNPs' Thursday and Friday in the books, Fant has one more chance to practice before the Bengals release their final injury report of the week Saturday. If the tight end is unable to gain clearance to play Monday night against the Broncos, Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson and Cam Grandy would be available to handle TE duties. Of that group, Gesicki profiles as the upside fantasy play Week 4.

Parkinson (shoulder) is questionable to play in Sunday's contest against the Colts, Adam Grosbard of The Orange County Register reports.

Parkinson has been limited at practice throughout the week due to his preexisting shoulder injury that he sustained in Week 1, but head coach Sean McVay said Friday that he expects the tight end to play in Week 4. Parkinson has caught both of his targets for a loss of six yards over two games this season.

Waller (hip) remained limited at practice Friday, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Following back-to-back limited practices, Waller is trending toward a return to action Monday night against the Jets, with Furones noting that in such a scenario, the tight end would likely be eased in on certain packages in which he can be featured. In any case, Saturday's final injury report will reveal whether Waller carries a Week 4 designation, but in terms of his initial fantasy viability, a wait-and-see approach is probably in order.

Higbee (hip) is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest versus the Colts, Adam Grosbard of The Orange County Register reports.

After Higbee showed up on the injury report Thursday as limited due to a hip issue, coach Sean McVay said Friday that it isn't a concern, and that the tight end was slated for a veteran rest day, per Grosbard. Nevertheless, Higbee's status is worth confirming ahead of Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff along with position mate Colby Parkinson (shoulder), who also is listed as questionable.

FitzPatrick (groin) was a full participant at practice Friday, Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV reports.

FitzPatrick was limited at practice to open the week due to an apparent groin issue, but he now appears to be a full go for Sunday Night Football in Dallas. The tight end has caught all three of his targets for 14 yards and a touchdown over three games this season.

Kraft (knee/elbow) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game at Dallas, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

He tweaked his knee during practice last Thursday but ended up playing 88 percent of snaps in a 13-10 loss to the Browns. With no injury designation this time around, Kraft figures to continue in his near-every-down role. His per-target efficiency is elite by TE standards for a second straight year, but it still seems difficult for any one Green Bay pass catcher to average more than 5-to-6 looks per game.

Likely (foot) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Chiefs after being deemed a full practice participant Friday.

That Likely upgraded to full participation bodes well for his chances of making his regular-season debut this weekend, but coach John Harbaugh fell short of predicting that Friday, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, with the coach saying, "He looks good to me. We'll just have to see if it's the best thing for us on Sunday, and we haven't really decided that yet." If Likely is in uniform against Kansas City, he'd bolster a TE corps that also includes Mark Andrews (who logged a 6-91-2 line on six targets Week 3) and Charlie Kolar, a scenario that doesn't ensure high volume for Likely out of the gate.

Johnson (toe) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Chargers

The Giants listed a slew of pass catchers on the Week 4 injury report, but all have been cleared to play in Jaxson Dart's first NFL start. Malik Nabers (shoulder) and Wan'Dale Robinson figure to continue leading the way, but it's possible a few more targets shift toward Johnson and/or Darius Slayton (calf) with a new QB taking over.

Loveland (hip) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Las Vegas, after returning to practice Friday as a limited participant.

For fantasy purposes, Loveland's absence is mostly worth tracking from the perspective of how it might boost snap/route shares for other pass catchers in the Chicago offense. Cole Kmet has been in a near every-down role so far, with Loveland merely working as the No. 2 tight end in multi-TE formations. That won't necessarily be the case all year, but it figures to persist Week 4 if Loveland does ends up playing.