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.

Sunday, August 24, 11:56 AM

Baltimore Ravens beat writer Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic lists Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely's (foot) status on the initial 53-man roster as one of his toughest calls in his latest roster projection. Likely underwent foot surgery in early August. Zrebiec includes Likely in his roster projection and writes that the team is projecting confidence that the tight end will be able to play in Week 1 or "shortly thereafter." If that's the case, Likely can avoid a placement on injured reserve, which would sideline him at least four weeks. Likely's presence on the field has a big impact on the fantasy outlook for fellow tight end Mark Andrews. In the lone game that Likely missed in 2024, Andrews matched his season-highs in single-game targets (seven), catches (six), and receiving yards (68).