Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Ko Kieft

Tuesday, December 30, 1:20 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington (forearm) had surgery on his broken forearm on Tuesday morning and will not play in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, according to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. Head coach Mike Tomlin said he has "some level of optimism for everyone else." The expectation was that Washington would not play after he broke his arm in the Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Not only will the 24-year-old not be available for the winner-take-all game this Sunday night against the Ravens, but Washington is unlikely to be able to return for the playoffs if the Steelers take care of business this weekend. It means that Pat Freiermuth will become a slightly more attractive TE streamer in fantasy, as will Jonnu Smith. Washington's third season in the NFL will finish with 31 catches for 364 yards and a touchdown in 16 games.

Tuesday, September 23, 6:02 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed tight end Ko Kieft (leg) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday with a leg injury, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. It's a key loss for the Bucs' special-teams unit, and Kieft will be forced to miss at least four games. The earliest that he'd be able to return would be in a Week 8 divisional matchup on the road against the New Orleans Saints. However, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Kieft's leg injury could keep him sidelined for the rest of the 2025 season. The 27-year-old tight end apparently injured his leg in the Week 3 win over the visiting New York Jets on Sunday. With Kieft now out for the foreseeable future, Devin Culp will jump up into the No. 3 spot on the team's TE depth chart behind Cade Otton and Payne Durham, heading into a Week 4 showdown against the 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles.