NFL Player News

Kolar and David Njoku both started Thursday's preseason game against San Francisco. Kolar finished with one catch for nine yards on eight snaps.

Njoku played just five snaps without seeing a target. Oronde Gadsden, meanwhile, wasn't spotted until the second quarter. Gadsden might be the team's best receiving threat at the position, but there's a real chance that the Week 1 snap counts reflect a preseason depth chart with Njoku and Kolar listed as co-starters. It doesn't look like an especially friendly situation for fantasy managers, with targets potentially split between three TEs in an offense that also uses a fullback at times. Kolar, in particular, isn't likely to see much playing time in clear passing situations, which makes mainstream fantasy relevance unlikely.

Njoku and Charlie Kolar both started Thursday's preseason game against San Francisco. Njoku finished with no targets on five snaps.

They're also listed as co-starters on the preseason depth chart, ahead of pass-catching specialist Oronde Gadsden. It's no secret that offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel puts a premium on TE blocking, and while Njoku has never been considered a standout in that regard, he's at least got a leg up on Gadsden. We'll still need to wait for the regular season to truly understand how McDaniel wants to deploy his tight ends (and FB Alec Ingold).

Kittle (Achilles) visited with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Wednesday and remains ahead of schedule in his recovery with a chance to play Week 1 against the Rams, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

It was deemed an "encouraging" visit, per Schefter, after ElAttrache performed Kittle's surgery on his torn Achilles last season. Kittle has been aiming for a Week 1 return all along, and it appears to be attainable 21 days ahead of the Niners' kickoff with the Rams in Australia.

Reiman (ankle) will not be back for the start of the regular season, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

The tight end might also have to stay on the PUP list when the campaign begins, at which point he would move from active/PUP to reserve/PUP and have to miss the first four regular-season contests. Reiman suffered a season-ending ankle injury four games into 2025 and began training camp on the active/PUP list. The 2024 third-round pick is set to play a supporting role behind starting tight end Trey McBride when he returns.

Hawes drew some praise from Josh Allen for his pass-catching skills Thursday, Alex Brasky of SI.com reports.

"Everyone thinks of Jackson as the blocking tight end," Allen said. "He has some nuance to his receiving game. His hands are better than people give him credit for. He stays quiet, makes plays." Across 17 regular-season appearances last season, Hawes played 487 offensive snaps and was asked to block on 384 of those. On 103 routes, Hawes caught 16 of his 19 targets for 187 yards and three touchdowns. While Allen credited Hawes for his receiving acumen, the tight end isn't expected to be a featured player in the Buffalo passing game this season.

Trigg (toe) did not practice Thursday, Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys' official site reports.

Trigg signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent following the 2026 Draft back in April. He played 32 offensive snaps in the Cowboys' preseason opener and secured four of five targets for 30 yards. Trigg is trying to win a job behind Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford and Luke Schoonmaker at tight end.

The Browns placed Stoll (undisclosed) on injured reserve Thursday.

Stoll inked a deal with Cleveland back in March at the onset of free agency and was expected to fill a blocking role as a depth tight end. He's now going to spend the 2026 season on injured reserve unless the Browns later release Stoll with an injury settlement.

The Browns signed Biber on Thursday.

Biber was let go by Green Bay last week after spending one week with the team. The undrafted rookie will likely just be a camp body to get Cleveland through the summer and preseason.

LaPorta is dealing with a hip injury, and head coach Dan Campbell wouldn't commit Thursday to the tight end being available for Week 1 against the Saints, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

The issue stems from a hit LaPorta took to his hip in practice. At this stage, Campbell doesn't think that LaPorta's injury is serious, but the team will have more information after seeing how the tight end responds to a few days of rest. "I feel like we'll be OK, but I don't know," Campbell said regarding LaPorta's status for the Sept. 13 regular-season opener against the Saints, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com.

Warren (groin) is expected to miss about a week, but his status for Week 1 against the Ravens isn't in any danger, Ian Rapoport of ESPN and NFL Network reports.

Warren won't suit up for Saturday's preseason game against the Falcons, but the groin injury he suffered in practice Wednesday isn't expected to sideline the tight end for an extended period. Once healthy enough to play, the 2025 first-round pick is poised to hold a key role in a Colts passing game that remains without wide receiver Alec Pierce (ankle), who led the team with 1,003 receiving yards in 2025 but is currently on the active/PUP list. Warren ranked second on the Colts with 817 receiving yards during his rookie season.