Who Should I Start? Drew Sample or Cole Kmet

Monday, March 11, 4:49 PM

The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed tight end Drew Sample to a three-year, $10.5 million contract extension on Monday, according to a source. Sample will receive $3.5 million in 2024. In his fifth year with the Bengals in 2023, Sample had 22 catches on 27 targets for 163 yards and a career-high two touchdowns in 17 games (10 starts). Tanner Hudson, Mitchell Wilcox and Irv Smith Jr. are all free agents, but one or more of them could be retained or the Bengals could add competition at the position through the NFL draft. The 27-year-old Sample has accumulated just 80 receptions (103 targets) for 621 yards and three touchdowns in his five years in the NFL with Cincy, so it would be unrealistic to expect the Bengals to utilize him as their unquestioned No. 1 pass-catching TE in 2024.

Sunday, January 7, 10:58 AM

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (knee) is expected to play against the Green Bay Packers in Week 18 despite being listed as questionable, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The 24-year-old was active last week, too, but essentially occupied a decoy role, playing 18 percent of offensive snaps while failing to command a target. A similar scenario is unlikely this weekend. Instead, Kmet should have a full workload, putting him in the TE1 tier for fantasy purposes.