NFL Player News

The Saints signed Welch to the active roster from the practice squad Saturday, Ross Jackson of WWL Louisiana reports.

With Audric Estime (thigh) moved to IR in a surprise move, the Saints gained an open spot on the 53-man roster. Welch will be the No. 3 tight end due to Oscar Delp (hamstring) being ruled out and will likely participate almost exclusively on special teams and in 13-personnel sets, if he plays at all in the team's Week 1 matchup with the Lions.

Mayer signed a three-year, $45 million contract extension with the Raiders on Saturday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.

The deal includes $30 million guaranteed, and the $15 million APY ranks fourth among current tight ends. Mayer has operated as the Raiders' TE2 for the past couple of seasons, but the fourth-year pro is expected to operate in an expanded role Sunday against the Dolphins in the absence of Brock Bowers, who is expected to miss at least one or two games after undergoing a meniscus trim procedure Tuesday. Mayer finished the 2025 regular season with 35 catches (on 50 targets) for 328 yards and a touchdown across 13 games.

Kraft and the Packers reached an agreement on a four-year, $75 million contract extension worth up to $92 million Saturday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The deal includes a $26.5 million signing bonus, making Kraft the NFL's highest-paid tight end and under contract with the Packers through 2030, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Kraft was one of the most productive tight ends through the first half of the 2025 regular season before his campaign abruptly ended in Week 9 due to a torn ACL. He's not on the injury report for Sunday's regular-season opener against the Vikings, and the 2023 third-rounder is expected to be one of the top targets for Jordan Love in the passing game, alongside fellow tight end Jonnu Smith and wide receivers Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden.

Farrell secured both of his targets for 19 yards in the 49ers' 27-7 win over the Rams in Week 1.

With George Kittle still working his way into game shape off last season's torn Achilles and Jake Tonges going down with a knee injury in the second quarter, Farrell ended up playing 46 of 65 offensive snaps and ran 19 pass routes to Kittle's 17. With Tonges looking at an extended absence, Farrell is going to see more action as the TE2.

Higbee secured both of his targets for 12 yards in the Rams' 27-7 loss to the 49ers in Week 1.

Higbee played just 12 offensive snaps and ran only five routes on 28 dropbacks by the Rams. He was well behind both Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson in terms of playing time and routes at tight end for Los Angeles. Higbee would need an injury ahead of him to gain fantasy relevance.

Ferguson failed to haul in his lone target during the Rams' 27-7 loss to the 49ers in Week 1.

The lone pass Ferguson saw from Matthew Stafford was on fourth-and-5 midway through the fourth quarter, which easily sailed over the second-year tight end and out of bounds. Ferguson's 31 snaps on offense were ahead of Tyler Higbee (12) but behind Colby Parkinson (41), so Ferguson's role in the Rams offense figures to mostly be as a run blocker in 12- and 13-man personnel. The Rams will host the Giants in Week 2 on Monday, Sept. 21.

Parkinson caught one pass (on two targets) for six yards during the Rams' 27-7 loss to the 49ers in Week 1.

Parkinson was on the field for 47 of the Rams' 61 offensive plays (77.0 percent), which was ahead of fellow tight ends Terrance Ferguson (31 snaps), Davis Allen (21 snaps, head) and Tyler Higbee (12 snaps). However, Parkinson was unable to convert that extra playing time into offensive production, with the 2020 fourth-rounder being used more as a blocker, with Higbee leading the position group with two catches on as many targets for 12 yards. Parkinson saw an uptick in involvement in the passing game as the 2025 season progressed, but he's off to a slow start to the 2026 campaign. The Rams will make their home debut Week 2 on Monday, Sept. 21 against the Giants, whose defense ranked in the top-10 in fantasy production against tight ends in 2025.

Delp (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Lions.

Delp didn't practice at all this week after initially suffering the injury last month. The third-round rookie will have to wait to make his regular-season debut. Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant will handle tight-end duties for New Orleans.

Stowers (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game versus the Commanders.

Stowers is about two-and-a-half weeks removed from picking up a hamstring injury, but his ability to log three straight limited sessions this week has put him in position to make his pro debut Sunday. Ultimately, his status will become known, one way or another, about 90 minutes before a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.

Kacmarek (calf) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game at Las Vegas, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

The rookie third-round pick upgraded to full practice participation Friday after being limited earlier in the week. Greg Dulcich is Miami's top receiving threat at tight end, but Kacmarek could play a lot of snaps as a blocker and see a few targets here and there.