NFL Player News

Kittle finished without a catch on one target in Friday's preseason game against the Chargers.

Kittle and the starters played a couple drives and moved the ball with ease against Los Angeles' second-stringers. The tight end's only target was uncatchable, but he nonetheless proved his health after battling a groin injury earlier this summer. Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey provide QB Brock Purdy with a fantastic group of pass catchers heading into a tricky Week 1 matchup at Pittsburgh.

Kittle (groin) is in uniform ahead of Friday's preseason game against the Chargers, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

With starting quarterback Brock Purdy expected to get some run in the 49ers' exhibition finale, he'll welcome back the team's top tight end for the first time this preseason. Kittle has been dealing with an adductor strain since Aug. 10, but he was able to mix into drills Monday and now will be available to San Francisco's offense along with wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

Hurst wasn't targeted in Friday's preseason game against the Lions.

Hurst played most of the snaps with the first-team offense on the first two drives but nonetheless finishes the preseason with only one target (a five-yard catch) on QB Bryce Young's 24 pass attempts. While his role as the team's top receiving TE appears safe, Hurst is probably no better than the third or fourth option in Frank Reich's passing game heading into a Week 1 contest in Atlanta.

Gesicki (shoulder) isn't expected to play in Friday's preseason game in Tennessee, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Gesicki thus won't see any exhibition action with his new team, partly due to the mild shoulder dislocation that he sustained during practice on Aug. 14. He'll turn his focus to getting healthy for a Week 1 matchup with the Eagles on Sept. 10, when he'll potentially team with Hunter Henry as the Patriots' top TE duo.

Henry isn't in line to play in Friday's preseason game at Tennessee, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Henry will make just one appearance during exhibition season last Saturday in Green Bay, where he didn't haul in his only target while playing 16 snaps on offense. Fellow tight end Mike Gesicki (shoulder) also won't suit up Friday, meaning the Patriots will go with Anthony Firkser, Matt Sokol, Scotty Washington and Johnny Lumpkin at tight end. Henry's next chance to play is a Week 1 matchup with the Eagles on Sunday, Sept. 10.

Bryant (medical condition) will not play in Saturday's preseason finale against the Chiefs, Doc Louallen of the Browns' official site reports.

Bryant hasn't played in preseason games but has been working diligently at practice on the side with trainers. Jordan Akins has been the primary backup to starting tight end David Njoku and would be considered second on the depth chart even if Bryant was available.

LaPorta has made the most of his first-team reps with quarterback Jared Goff this summer and is projected to be an immediate starter as a rookie, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

LaPorta having emerged as Detroit's top option at tight end is a notion echoed by Kyle Meinke of Mlive.com, who previously suggested that the second-rounder out of Iowa has claimed the starting job and thus should be a featured weapon in the team's passing game in 2023. While it remains to be seen how much volume LaPorta sees out of the gate, the 6-foot-3, 245-pounder has a chance to make a fantasy splash as a first-year pro if things continue to click with him and Goff as the campaign progresses.

Heyward secured both of his targets for 27 yards while rushing four times for 11 yards during Thursday's 24-0 preseason win over the Falcons.

Heyward was targeted twice in each of the Steelers' preseason games this year and was relatively productive overall, securing all six of his targets for 73 yards and a touchdown while rushing five times for 16 yards. Despite his preseason results, the 2022 sixth-rounder will have plenty of competition for work behind starting tight end Pat Freiermuth during the regular season, as Zach Gentry and Darnell Washington are also in the mix for playing time at tight end.

Woods (hamstring) didn't play in Thursday's 27-13 preseason win over Philadelphia.

Dealing with a hamstring injury since the offseason program, Woods has officially missed all of training camp and the preseason. Kylen Granson, Andrew Ogletree and Mo Alie-Cox took snaps with the first-team offense Thursday night -- an arrangement that could continue Week 1 against the Jaguars with Woods looking shaky to play and unlikely to get a ton of snaps even if he does.

Granson caught both of his targets for 25 yards in Thursday's 27-13 preseason win over the Eagles.

Granson's 25 yards were a team high at halftime even though the Colts had their first-team offense on the field for the entire half, six drives. QB Anthony Richardson completed only six of 17 passes for 78 yards, with Granson and WR Michael Pittman being the only players to catch multiple throws from the rookie. Granson nonetheless faces an uphill battle to average more than three or four targets a game, as the Colts likely will start the season with some kind of timeshare at TE when they host the Jaguars on Sept. 10. Andrew Ogletree and Mo Alie-Cox also got snaps with the starters Thursday night, and Jelani Woods (hamstring) might play more than any of them once he's healthy.