Who Should I Start? Cade Otton or Isaiah Likely

Wednesday, August 27, 12:51 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said that tight end Cade Otton (leg) is dealing with a leg injury and soreness, and will miss "a little bit." Buccaneers.com writer Brianna Dix reports that we should know next week if Otton's injury will impact his status for the Week 1 regular-season opener versus the division-rival Atlanta Falcons. This is something fantasy managers in TE-premium leagues need to monitor heading into the season opener. If the 26-year-old misses practice time next week and cannot go against Atlanta, the Bucs would likely mix and match at the position with Payne Durham, Devin Culp and Ko Kieft, with none of the trio being very reliable for DFS lineups. Otton was sidelined for a lot of training camp with a hamstring issue, too, so he hasn't gotten a lot of reps with the starting offense going into the regular season. RotoBaller has him ranked as the No. 22 tight end in fantasy.

Wednesday, August 27, 6:51 PM

Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said that "we expect him back in the early part of the season," when asked about the timetable for injured tight end Isaiah Likely (foot). Likely was not placed on short-term Injured Reserve on Tuesday despite suffering a small fracture in his foot early in training camp in late July that required surgery. While it's ultimately good news for the 25-year-old, it doesn't mean that Likely is going to be ready to play in the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Buffalo Bills. Likely's injury definitely makes veteran Mark Andrews are more intriguing midrange TE1 target in upcoming fantasy drafts. Likely had a slightly bigger role alongside Andrews in 2024 and finished with a 42-477-6 line (all career-highs) in 16 regular-season games (nine starts). Likely is a low-end TE2 worth stashing in fantasy, especially TE-premium leagues.