NFL Player News

Cager (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Eagles.

Cager will be sidelined for the second consecutive week. With Daniel Bellinger now healthy, and the former also currently behind Nick Vannett and Chris Myarick on the team's positional depth chart, Cager will likely need an injury, or to prove himself in practice to earn a chance to suit up Week 15 against the Commanders.

Smythe (quadriceps) is questionable for Sunday's matchup against the Chargers, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Smythe was limited at each practice Wednesday through Friday due to a quadriceps injury and will likely be a game-time decision Sunday. If he's sidelined, Mike Gesicki, Hunter Long and Tanner Conner would be candidates for increased snaps.

Dissly (calf) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Panthers, though head coach Pete Carroll said Friday that the tight end is ready to play this weekend, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Dissly is taking an injury designation into the weekend after he failed to practice Wednesday before returning to the field as a limited participant Thursday and Friday, but it sounds like the restrictions he faced were mostly for precautionary reasons. Assuming he avoids the inactive list ahead of Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, Dissly should continue to work in a timeshare at tight end with Noah Fant. Though Fant held the edge in playing time in last week's win over the Rams, Dissly was still on the field for 54 percent of the offensive snaps and finished with two catches for 22 yards on two targets.

Okwuegbunam (illness) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's matchup against Kansas City.

Okwuegbunam landed on the injury report Thursday as a limited participant, but he upgraded to full participation Friday and is ready to go for the Week 14 divisional matchup. The tight end has been a healthy scratch since Week 5, but he could return to the field in Week 14 with reserve tight end Andrew Beck (hamstring) sidelined. The Broncos could certainly benefit from the addition of Okwuegbunam's size (6-foot-5, 258 pounds) and pass-catching skills on offense, as Denver won't have any wide receivers taller than 6-foot-2 on the field Sunday with 6-foot-4 wideout and No. 1 target Courtland Sutton (hamstring) also ruled out.

Dissly (calf) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Panthers, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Dissly will carry an injury designation into the weekend after he failed to practice Wednesday before upgrading to a limited showing Thursday. Since he was able to conclude Week 14 prep on the practice field, Dissly would seem to have a good chance at playing this weekend, but an official ruling on his status won't come until Seattle unveils its inactive list approximately 90 minutes prior to the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. If Dissly can't go Sunday, Noah Fant would have a clear path to the No. 1 tight end role after splitting reps with Dissly for much of the season.

Wilcox is set to work as Cincinnati's top tight end Sunday against the Browns with Hayden Hurst (calf) ruled out for the contest, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Hurst's first absence of the season paves the way for Wilcox to get some extra attention from star quarterback Joe Burrow. The 26-year-old Wilcox has yet to reach 20 receiving yards in a game over 27 career NFL appearances, so expectations should be tempered despite the favorable circumstances.

Brown doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's matchup against the Bengals, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Brown returned to practice Friday as a full participant after being sidelined Thursday due to an illness. The backup tight end has caught five of 10 targets for 45 yards across eight appearances since joining Cleveland midway through the 2022 campaign.

Hurst (calf) won't play Sunday against the Browns.

Hurst will miss his first game of the season after sustaining the right calf injury late in the Bengals' Week 13 win over the Chiefs. The 29-year-old recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection for the calf and said he expects to return to action in a couple weeks, which suggests he may not be a lock to play in the Bengals' Week 15 game against the Buccaneers either. At least for this Sunday's contest, the Bengals are expected to turn to Mitchell Wilcox to handle most of the reps at tight end.

Njoku (knee) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Bengals, Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official site reports.

Njoku will be back in action after sitting out the Browns' Week 13 win over the Texans with the injury. He'll be playing his first game alongside quarterback Deshaun Watson, who struggled to build chemistry with any of Cleveland's pass catchers in his team debut last week.

Hopkins caught his only target for eight yards during Thursday's 17-16 win against the Raiders.

Hopkins has seen his playing time steadily decrease since peaking during Week 12's game against the Chiefs, and he took the field for only four snaps Thursday compared to Tyler Higbee's 61, suggesting that Higbee has fully recovered from a mild knee issue that he suffered a few weeks ago. Hopkins will likely continue to be used sparingly barring another injury to Higbee.