Who Should I Start? Brenton Strange or Brock Bowers

Friday, October 10, 1:28 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (hip, quadriceps), who leads the team in catches through five weeks, is dealing with a hip and quad injury that includes a ligament tear, sources tell Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. Strange suffered the injury in the Monday night win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Schultz said it's his understanding that Strange doesn't need surgery, but he will be out at least five weeks. It could have been worse, but Jacksonville is going to be without its top TE for a while. The 24-year-old was placed on Injured Reserve earlier this week, which means he'll be out at least four games. Strange was having a nice start to the year before his injury, catching 20 passes for 204 yards, although he hadn't found the end zone. In his absence, the Jags will look to both Hunter Long and Johnny Mundt for production at the TE position. Fantasy managers should be able to find better TE2 streamers elsewhere.

Monday, October 13, 3:25 PM

According to head coach Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) could be held out of action for the "long haul" in hopes of ensuring he is back to full speed when cleared to play. On Monday, Carroll told reporters, "You look at the long haul of it, it might be best to guarantee that he's full speed and back." With the Raiders having Week 8 off, it appears Bowers is trending toward missing Week 7 and could be in the mix to potentially return in Week 9 when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, given his current status, this return is not guaranteed. The second-year tight end has had a disappointing campaign and has been out of the lineup since Week 5. Through four games of action, the former first-round pick has caught just 19 passes for 225 yards and no touchdowns. As a rookie, Bowers was elite, catching 112 passes for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. While he remains sidelined, Michael Mayer will continue to hold high-end TE2 value.