Who Should I Start? Charlie Woerner or Giovanni Ricci

Monday, March 11, 5:04 PM

The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to terms on a three-year, $12 million deal with free-agent tight end Charlie Woerner on Monday, according to his agent, Alex Essex. Woerner, a sixth-round selection in 2020 by the San Francisco 49ers out of Georgia, had just 11 catches on 15 targets for 120 yards and no touchdowns in 65 games (seven starts) in his four seasons in the Bay Area, so he shouldn't be expected to do much in Atlanta besides providing insurance at the tight end position behind Kyle Pitts. The 26-year-old is a blocking-first tight end anyway, so when he's in the game for new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, it will probably be to pave the way for running back Bijan Robinson.

Monday, February 3, 7:02 PM

The New England Patriots signed free-agent tight end Giovanni Ricci (knee) to a Reserve/Futures deal on Monday. Ricci was on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in 2024 but never was active for a regular-season game and was cut in August due to a knee injury. The 28-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan made his NFL debut in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers, with all 36 of his career games coming with Carolina. In three NFL seasons, Ricci has caught only nine of 12 targets for 102 yards and no touchdowns with the Panthers. Ricci is more of a blocker than a pass-catcher and will now represent tight end depth for the Patriots throughout the offseason and into training camp this summer. The most likely scenario is that he'll effective serve as a fullback for new Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.