Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Isaiah Likely

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.

Wednesday, July 30, 8:24 AM

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely reportedly suffered a small fracture in his foot. Likely rolled his ankle during practice on Tuesday, with the injury initially believed to only keep him out a few weeks. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Likely should be able to return to the field early in the season and could be ready for Week 1 if his recovery goes smoothly. Likely's injury clears the way for Mark Andrews to be the only tight-end target in the Baltimore offense after the former siphoned work away from Andrews during the 2024 season. Likely was popping up as a sleeper option at tight end in fantasy drafts, but his injury makes it a bit more risky to use a late-round draft pick on him.