Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Noah Fant

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.

Saturday, August 16, 11:27 AM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Noah Fant will play in Monday's second preseason game against the Washington Commanders, head coach Zac Taylor told the media. It'll be Fant's preseason debut and first in-game action with the Bengals, who picked him up in free agency on July 31. The 27-year-old is a proven veteran who has amassed 288 catches and 15 touchdowns over six seasons between Denver and Seattle, but he figures to serve as Cincinnati's No. 2 tight end. Starter Mike Gesicki (hamstring) has been dealing with a hamstring injury and won't play Monday, though that injury is unlikely to keep him out of regular-season action. If it does, Fant's a good fallback option to have.