Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Austin Hooper

Thursday, September 4, 6:15 PM

Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (hip) was officially listed as a non-participant for the second straight day at practice on Thursday, according to Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. The Dolphins are bringing Waller along slowly after he was in retirement all of last year, but his absence from practice on Thursday is a bit concerning after head coach Mike McDaniel said on Wednesday that he would return the following day. The 32-year-old veteran is also listed with an actual injury for the first time since coming out of retirement to join the team. All summer, the Dolphins were taking it easy on Waller to get his conditioning up to speed. He will have one more chance on Friday to get back on the practice field before Sunday's Week 1 season opener against the Colts. Even if Waller is active, he'll likely be on a snap count, so he can't realistically be trusted in starting fantasy lineups.

Tuesday, July 29, 9:36 PM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (undisclosed) returned to practice on Tuesday, according to Evan Lazar of Patriots.com. Hooper had started camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, but he appears to be back in action. The 30-year-old recorded 45 catches for 476 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England in 2024. He's behind Hunter Henry on the Patriots' tight end depth chart, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team use plenty of two tight-end sets now that Josh McDaniels is back in town as the play-caller. Even still, Hooper would need an injury to Henry to crack the radar of fantasy managers.