Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Darnell Washington

Saturday, December 13, 6:18 AM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has finished in TE1 territory in five of his eight games played in 2025. After a five-week stint on injured reserve, Kittle put up an unprecedented goose egg in his first game back. But in Weeks 8 through 13, he ranked fourth in targets and second in both receptions and yardage among tight ends. In the 49ers' last four games, Kittle led the team with 30 targets and averaged 6.3 receptions and 74 yards per game. Kittle should remain one of Brock Purdy's top targets, along with Jauan Jennings and Christian McCaffrey, when the Niners host the Titans on Sunday. Tennessee hasn't been particularly vulnerable to tight ends in 2025, but was gashed for 114 yards and a touchdown by Harold Fannin Jr. last week. Kittle is a safe start for Week 15.

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.