NFL Player News

Latu (neck) didn't participate in Tuesday's walkthrough.

The Alabama product played a season-high 19 offensive snaps in Sunday's win over the Raiders, but it now appears he sustained a stinger in the process. Latu likely needs to upgrade to limited practice either Wednesday or Thursday to have a chance at suiting up for the Week 16 matchup against the Commanders on Saturday.

Ruckert signed a two-year, $10 million extension with the Jets on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The fourth-year pro from Ohio State has agreed to a new deal that keeps him with the Jets through the 2027 season. Ruckert has played a reserve role for most of his NFL career, catching 55 of 75 targets for 427 receiving yards and one touchdowns across 55 games. His role in the Jets' offense could grow following Wednesday's extension, though he's still expected to remain the top backup behind Mason Taylor.

Oliver recorded an 18-yard catch on his lone target in Sunday's 34-26 win over the Cowboys.

After making a splash in the Vikings' 31-0 win over the Commanders in Week 14 with a pair of touchdown grabs, Oliver was held quiet Sunday despite Minnesota clearing the 30-point threshold once again. Even with top tight end T.J. Hockenson available, Oliver continued to see ample playing time, as he was on the field for 34 of the Vikings' 55 snaps on offense. Even if that playing-time trend holds through the Vikings' final three games of the season, Oliver will remain a touchdown-dependent fantasy option at tight end with limited appeal.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Njoku (knee) is not in line to practice Wednesday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Njoku wasn't able to practice prior to being ruled out for Cleveland's loss to the Bears in Week 15, but Stefanski indicated he and the rest of the Browns' injured players are "trending in the right direction" for Sunday's contest against Buffalo, per Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. If Njoku manages to gain clearance in time to return to action Week 16, he'll resume operating as the No. 2 tight end behind rookie Harold Fannin.

Calcaterra hauled in his lone target for a four-yard reception while playing 37 of 69 offensive snaps in Sunday's 31-0 win over the Raiders.

Though he saw ample playing time behind top tight end Dallas Goedert in the blowout win, Calcaterra was deployed primarily as a blocker, as he ran just six routes on the afternoon. That's been par for the course for Calcaterra throughout the season; he's logged double-digit snaps in all but one of his 12 appearances but has just six catches for 52 yards on nine targets.

Manhertz went without a target while playing four of the Giants' 68 snaps on offense in Sunday's 29-21 loss to the Commanders.

Manhertz has suited up for all 14 of the Giants' games this season but has seen more playing time on special teams than offense in recent weeks. Even on the occasion the reserve tight end takes the field with the offense, he's almost exclusively deployed as a blocker. Manhertz has drawn just one target all season, which came back in Week 3.

Mayer failed to record a single target in Sunday's 31-0 loss to the Eagles.

Mayer was not involved in Raiders' passing attack Sunday, as the tight end was held without a catch for the second time this season. The 24-year-old played just eight of the Raiders' 42 offensive snaps in the blowout loss, while starter Brock Bowers was on the field for 38 snaps. Barring an injury to Bowers, Mayer cannot be trusted for fantasy purposes. Next up for the Raiders is a Week 16 matchup against the Texans.

FitzPatrick caught three of four targets for 18 yards in Sunday's 34-26 loss to the Broncos.

FitzPatrick finished Week 15 with yet another underwhelming performance despite leading all Packers tight ends in offensive snaps and posting season highs in targets, catches and yards. Teammate Luke Musgrave, however, was the better fantasy option, recording four receptions on six targets for 52 yards. Based on his limited production, FitzPatrick should remain far off the fantasy radar as the Packers get set to visit the Bears in Week 16.

Musgrave caught four of six targets for 52 yards in Sunday's 34-26 loss to the Broncos.

Musgrave reached season highs in targets, receptions and yards Sunday, as the 25-year-old tight end was a much bigger part of the Packers' offensive attack against the Broncos. With that said, the veteran played 52 percent of Green Bay's offensive snaps while fellow tight end John FitzPatrick had a 70 percent snap share. Even with Musgrave's spike in targets over the past two weeks, he remains difficult to trust for significant fantasy production heading into a Week 16 matchup against the Bears.

Yankoff (ankle) did not practice Tuesday, Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C. reports.

Yankoff hurt his ankle Sunday against the Giants and apparently remains bothered by the issue. He'll almost certainly need to practice in some capacity by Thursday to have a chance of suiting up Saturday against Philadelphia. The Commanders are already shorthanded at tight end with Zach Ertz (knee) done for the season, so John Bates and Ben Sinnott are currently the team's only healthy players at the position.