Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Blake Whiteheart

Sunday, December 14, 12:19 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington (concussion) has been cleared from the league's concussion protocol and has been upgraded to active for the Monday night contest against the visiting Miami Dolphins to close out Week 15 action, according to director of communications Burt Lauten. Washington was initially listed as questionable on the team's final injury report on Saturday, but he has since been cleared by an independent neurologist and will play against Miami. The 6-foot-7, 264-pounder should be treated as TE3 in fantasy despite his growing role in recent weeks. Washington has caught five of his seven targets for 79 yards in the last three games, but having to contend for targets with fellow TEs Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith every week makes him too hard to trust as a starter in fantasy.

Monday, April 7, 7:38 PM

Exclusive-rights free-agent tight end Blake Whiteheart signed his tender offer from the Cleveland Browns on Monday and will officially return to the team in 2025. Whiteheart will head into his second season in Cleveland after catching six of nine targets for 51 yards and one touchdown in 11 games (two starts) in 2024. The 25-year-old once again won't be anywhere near the fantasy radar as he provides depth at the position for the Browns behind starter David Njoku. He went undrafted out of Wake Forest and began his NFL career in 2023 with the Arizona Cardinals, but he didn't receive a single target in two games played that year. In addition to Njoku and Whiteheart, the Browns also have Brenden Bates and Tre'McKitty on the TE depth chart this offseason.