Who Should I Start? Durham Smythe or Brock Bowers

Thursday, March 6, 2:33 PM

The Chicago Bears signed former Miami Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe to a one-year deal on Thursday, according to NFL.com. The former fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame has played his entire seven-year career with Miami but was released this offseason. Overall, the 28-year-old has hauled in 132 receptions for 1,228 yards and three touchdowns in 112 career games. Smythe is best utilized as a blocker, and with Chicago trading for former Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Jonah Jackson and former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Thuney, it's evident they want to improve quickly in run and pass blocking. Smythe could help Chicago's offense in 2025 under new head coach Ben Johnson, but he's unlikely to be on the fantasy football radar.

Monday, October 13, 3:25 PM

According to head coach Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) could be held out of action for the "long haul" in hopes of ensuring he is back to full speed when cleared to play. On Monday, Carroll told reporters, "You look at the long haul of it, it might be best to guarantee that he's full speed and back." With the Raiders having Week 8 off, it appears Bowers is trending toward missing Week 7 and could be in the mix to potentially return in Week 9 when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, given his current status, this return is not guaranteed. The second-year tight end has had a disappointing campaign and has been out of the lineup since Week 5. Through four games of action, the former first-round pick has caught just 19 passes for 225 yards and no touchdowns. As a rookie, Bowers was elite, catching 112 passes for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. While he remains sidelined, Michael Mayer will continue to hold high-end TE2 value.