NFL Player News

Kittle (hamstring) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game at Green Bay, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Kittle promised Wednesday he'd be back this weekend, and while he's living up to his end of the bargain, his fantasy outlook is less promising than usual with Brandon Allen stepping in for an injured Brock Purdy (right shoulder) as the 49ers' starting QB . Allen hasn't started a game since 2021 and has a career completion rate of just 56.7 percent, with 6.1 yards per attempt, 10 TDs and six INTs on 263 passes.

Head coach Mike Macdonald said Friday that Fant (groin), who is listed as questionable for Sunday's game versus the Cardinals, is "trending well," and a decision on his upcoming availability will be made Saturday, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.

Fant has been sidelined for three weeks and two games due to a groin injury, but after he went from no activity Wednesday to limited participation Thursday and full participation Friday, Macdonald's comments indicate the tight end has a decent chance to return to action this weekend. The Seahawks have a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday, so a good portion of the Week 12 slate will be underway once the team posts its list of inactives about 90 minutes prior to the game. AJ Barner would take on most of the tight end reps for Seattle if Fant is inhibited or sidelined.

Russell (foot) is out for Sunday's game against Arizona, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

The Seahawks' No. 4 tight end, Russell has played a total of 32 offensive snaps this season, seeing another 193 on special teams. He hasn't been targeted on offense.

Ferguson (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game at Washington, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Ferguson hasn't practiced since entering concussion protocol in the first quarter of Monday's loss to Houston. His absence for most of the night left more opportunities for both Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford, with Schoonmaker catching six of 10 targets for 56 yards on 53 percent snap share while Spann-Ford caught four of five targets for 32 yards on 49 percent of snaps. Ferguson's next chance to play will be a Thanksgiving home game against the Giants on Nov. 28.

LaPorta (shoulder) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game at Indianapolis, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

After sitting out this past Sunday's victory against the Jaguars due to an AC joint sprain in his shoulder that he suffered one week prior, LaPorta was listed as a full participant on injury reports Wednesday through Friday. Now that his status is confirmed for Week 12, he'll be taking on a Colts defense Sunday that has conceded the fourth-most touchdowns (six) to opposing tight ends in 11 games this season.

Fant (groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Arizona, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Fant missed the past two games, sandwiched around a Week 10 bye, and just returned to practice Thursday as a limited participant. The Seahawks are giving him at least some chance to play ahead of a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday, with rookie AJ Barner on hand to fill in again if needed. Barner drew 11 targets the past two games while playing 91 and 85 percent of snaps, but the big uptick in opportunities yielded just six catches for 42 yards.

Oliver (ankle/wrist) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Bears.

Oliver will sit out a game for the first time this season. T.J. Hockenson is expected to expand his role in his fourth game back from a torn ACL, while Johnny Mundt should see additional snaps in a depth role. Oliver's next chance to suit up will be Sunday, Dec. 1 against the Cardinals.

Hockenson said Friday that he expects his playing time to start trending upward, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

Hockenson has played just under 50 percent of the offensive snaps in each of the three games he's played in since his activation from the reserve/PUP list. With fellow Vikings tight endJosh Oliver battling an ankle injury and ruled out this week, Hockenson has been taking more practice reps in packages he hasn't played in this year. Getting on the field more should lead to a larger route share, which in turn boosts Hockenson's target-volume projection.

Washington secured all three of his targets for 14 yards during Thursday's 24-19 loss to the Browns.

Washington recorded a season-high 42 receiving yards in last week's win over Baltimore, and he tallied three receptions in Thursday's Week 12 matchup against Cleveland, his second-highest mark of the season. Although he wasn't very efficient with his catches, he's now been targeted at least three times in each of Pittsburgh's three games since the team's Week 9 bye.

Freiermuth secured all four of his targets for 59 yards in Thursday's 24-19 loss to Cleveland.

Freiermuth had been held under 20 receiving yards in four of his last five appearances, but he bounced back in Thursday's primetime matchup with a season-high 59 receiving yards. Over the first 11 games of the season, the 26-year-old has secured 35 of 40 targets for 354 yards and three touchdowns.