NFL Player News

Kittle (ankle) will be a limited participant in Tuesday's practice, David Lombardi of SFStandard.com reports.

Kittle sat out all three of the 49ers' practices last week due to a left ankle sprain before ultimately missing this past Sunday's 42-38 win over the Bears. His return to the field Tuesday would seem to give Kittle a decent chance of returning for Saturday's regular-season finale versus the Seahawks. In Kittle's absence against Chicago, Jake Tonges played 69 percent of the offensive snaps and produced a useful 7-60-1 receiving line on nine targets.

The Cardinals signed Fairweather to the active roster from the Cowboys' practice squad, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Fairweather has spent the entire 2025 regular season on the Cowboys' practice squad but now finds himself as tight end No. 5 on the Cardinals' active roster. The team took the opportunity to upgrade its depth at tight end, releasing Messiah Swinson from the practice squad in another Tuesday move.

Higgins didn't haul in his only target during Sunday's 37-14 loss at Cincinnati.

After racking up a career-best 7-91-0 line on eight targets Week 16 against the Falcons, Higgins fell back to earth this past Sunday, notching no catches for the third time in 16 games this season. Because he routinely is a distant second to Trey McBride in the TE pecking order in Arizona, Higgins doesn't hold much sway in an offense that also has seen WR Michael Wilson emerge as one of QB Jacoby Brissett's favorite targets over the last seven games -- Wilson has 80 targets to McBride's 73 during that span. Higgins' recent eight-target performance aside, he has only nine total targets in the other six contests in that stretch, keeping him firmly out of fantasy consideration heading into Sunday's road matchup with the Rams.

Ferguson secured two of four targets for 54 yards and a touchdown during Monday's 27-24 loss to the Falcons.

Midway through the third quarter, Ferguson was able to get wide open in the end zone and secure a 27-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford, starting a series of 21 unanswered points for the Rams. Colby Parkinson had significantly more snaps compared to Ferguson (51 to 32), and turned them into a respectable seven targets and six catches for 53 yards, but it's clear that Ferguson possesses a big-play ability that has helped him earn touchdowns in the past two contests. Davis Allen failed to record a target and Tyler Higbee (ankle) is still on injured reserve, but Parkinson's presence limits the upside of the upward-trending Ferguson heading into the regular season finale against the Cardinals in Week 18.

Allen failed to draw a target during Monday's 27-24 loss to the Falcons.

Monday's contest felt like a shift in the dynamic of the tight end grouping for the Rams, with Colby Parkinson leading the group with seven targets and six catches for 53 yards, while Terrance Ferguson broke through with two big catches, including a 27-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter. Allen's 27 snaps on offense were the lowest he's recorded since Week 13 against Carolina, and Parkinson's 51 snaps marked the first truly significant separation in snap share for the trio of tight ends since Tyler Higbee (ankle) went on injured reserve. Given Parkinson's emergence and Ferguson's big-play ability starting to emerge in the past two weeks, Allen's arrow seems to be trending down heading into the regular-season finale against the Cardinals in Week 18.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Washington underwent surgery Tuesday to address a broken forearm and won't be available for Sunday's game against the Ravens, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Tomlin was reluctant to say whether Washington's surgery would keep him sidelined for a potential playoff run, but Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays that the Steelers aren't expecting the tight end back for the postseason even if Pittsburgh clinches the AFC North title with a victory over the Ravens. The Steelers appear set to head into Week 18 with Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward as their available options at tight end. Washington concludes his third NFL season with 31 catches for 364 yards and a touchdown on 43 targets over 16 appearances.

The Panthers signed Dwelley to the practice squad Tuesday.

Dwelley appeared in 11 games with the Lions this season before being cut earlier this month. Across those 11 appearances, Dwelley caught two of five targets for seven yards. He gives Carolina depth at tight end after Ja'Tavion Sanders suffered a season-ending broken ankle in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks.

Parkinson corralled six of seven targets for 53 yards in Monday's 27-24 loss to the Falcons.

Parkinson bounced back nicely from a two-catch stinker against his former club in last Thursday's loss to the Seahawks. The 26-year-old did have to watch backup TE Terrance Ferguson (2-54-1) vulture a touchdown for the second week in a row, but Parkinson's larger target share makes him the preferred fantasy option. Parkinson will look to add to career-best marks of 39 receptions, 372 yards and six touchdowns against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Pitts secured two of three targets for 16 yards in the Falcons' 27-24 win over the Rams on Monday night.

Pitts came into the night in the midst of a productive stretch where he'd recorded at least six receptions and 57 yards in four straight contests, but he endured a notable downturn on what was a quiet night for the air attack overall. Taken in the context of Kirk Cousins throwing for only 126 yards on 13 completions, Pitts' modest numbers are a bit more understandable, and he'll look to improve on what is already a career-best 82-870-5 line in the Week 18 home matchup against the Saints on Sunday.

Fant was held without a catch on one target in Sunday's win over the Cardinals, while playing 16 offensive snaps.

Fant has been playing through an ankle injury, and he's taken a back seat to Mike Gesicki on passing downs. He hasn't had a multi-catch game since Week 11 against the Steelers.