Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Cole Kmet

Tuesday, July 29, 9:36 PM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (undisclosed) returned to practice on Tuesday, according to Evan Lazar of Patriots.com. Hooper had started camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, but he appears to be back in action. The 30-year-old recorded 45 catches for 476 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England in 2024. He's behind Hunter Henry on the Patriots' tight end depth chart, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team use plenty of two tight-end sets now that Josh McDaniels is back in town as the play-caller. Even still, Hooper would need an injury to Henry to crack the radar of fantasy managers.

Thursday, August 7, 12:31 PM

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (undisclosed) returned to training camp practice on Thursday after leaving Tuesday's session early with an undisclosed ailment, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Kmet avoided a serious injury earlier this week and should be just fine to play in the Week 1 regular-season opener in early September. However, Chicago could play it safe and hold him out of their preseason opener this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. The 26-year-old former second-rounder's fantasy stock took a big hit when the Bears selected Colston Loveland in the first round this year. Loveland had offseason shoulder surgery but should be ready for Week 1 and could easily take over as the team's primary pass-catching TE in 2025. RotoBaller has Kmet ranked all the way down as the No. 32 tight end this year.