NFL Player News

LaPorta caught two of three targets for 13 yards in Sunday's 20-16 loss to the Buccaneers.

LaPorta was targeted on only three of Jared Goff's 55 passes, as the second-year tight end has played a secondary role early in 2024 after an outstanding rookie regular season in which LaPorta compiled 889 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. The emergence of wide receiver Jameson Williams has cut into LaPorta's opportunities, as Williams has 20 targets compared to eight for LaPorta heading into a Week 3 road game in Arizona.

Bowers brought in all nine targets for 98 yards in the Raiders' 26-23 win over the Ravens on Sunday.

Bowers tied Davante Adams for the team lead in receptions while checking in second to his teammate in receiving yards and targets. The athletic tight end also had the Raiders' second-longest reception of the day -- 27 yards -- and he recorded his final three grabs on a key game-tying drive midway through the fourth quarter. Bowers has already drawn 17 targets from Gardner Minshew over his first two NFL games and parlayed 15 of them into catches, validating the fantasy buzz that surrounded him throughout the summer.

Kittle (cramps) returned to Sunday's contest in Minnesota, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Kittle needed a cart to get to the locker room during the third quarter, at which point it was reported he was getting an IV due to cramping, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Now that he's back in the game, Kittle will be looking to build upon a 6-70-1 line on seven targets.

Kittle (undisclosed) was carted to the locker room during Sunday's contest at Minnesota, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Kittle seemingly has a chance to return, as the CBS broadcast relayed that the tight end is getting an IV due to cramping, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic and Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. In the meantime, the 49ers will entrust TE duties to Eric Saubert and Jake Tonges.

Hudson (knee) is active for Sunday's game at Kansas City.

Hudson managed just one limited session (Thursday) during Week 2 prep due to a knee injury, and his doubtful designation on the Bengals' last practice report Friday forecast that he'd be unavailable. Having said that, the Bengals are keeping him active, which Jay Morrison of ProFootballNetwork.com speculates may be because Hudson is the team's emergency long snapper.

Martin-Robinson (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Jets.

Martin-Robinson made the Titans' 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent, but he has been a healthy scratch for the first two games of the regular season. His next chance to suit up will be Week 3 against the Packers on Sept. 22. The Titans will roll with Chigoziem Okonkwo, Josh Whyle and Nick Vannett as the three tight ends for Sunday's contest.

Swinson (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Chargers, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Swinson is a healthy inactive for a second straight week, and his next chance to suit up will be Week 3 against Las Vegas. The Panthers elevated tight end Feleipe Franks from the practice squad to the active roster Saturday, and for Sunday's contest, he will be the fourth tight end behind Tommy Tremble, Ja'Tavion Sanders and Jordan Matthews.

Engram suffered a hamstring injury in pregame warmups and won't play Sunday against the Browns.

Engram was not among the team's initial inactives for the contest and wasn't on the Jaguars' Week 2 injury report, but he'll end up sitting out Sunday after suffering the untimely injury. Luke Farrell and Brenton Strange are left as Jacksonville's available tight ends.

Tremble (hamstring/back) is active for Sunday's game against the Chargers, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

As expected, Tremble will make his 2024 season debut despite being listed as questionable. Hamstring and back issues cost Tremble the season opener, and while he returned to practice this week, he still hasn't logged a full session since suffering the injuries, suggesting he may be on a snap count versus Los Angeles. Rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders played 71 percent of Carolina's offensive snaps versus the Saints and figures to maintain a sizable role. However, Ian Thomas (calf) remains on IR, leaving plenty of opportunities for Tremble to make an impact. The Notre Dame product caught 23 of 32 targets for 194 yards and three scores across 16 regular-season appearances in 2023.

Ferguson (knee) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Saints.

Ferguson's absence for the Week 2 matchup comes as little surprise considering he was unable to log any practice activity Wednesday through Friday after suffering an MCL sprain and bone bruise in his left knee during the Cowboys' 33-17 win over the Browns this past Sunday. Luke Schoonmaker is likely to step in as the Cowboys' starting tight end Sunday, though he probably can't be counted on to take on as much involvement in the passing game as Ferguson usually handles after producing a modest 8-65-2 receiving line on 15 targets over 348 offensive snaps as a rookie last season. Ferguson will hope to get back on the practice field in some fashion during the upcoming week with the aim of returning to action next Sunday versus the Ravens.