Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Darnell Washington

Saturday, January 3, 6:59 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ankle) is active ahead of Saturday's Week 18 matchup versus the Seattle Seahawks. Kittle is back in action this week after sitting out in Week 17 due to an ankle sprain. The expectation is that Kittle will have a full workload despite being limited in practice this week. Kittle is expected to see a larger target share with wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (ankle, knee) ruled out for Saturday's game. The 32-year-old is a must-start and is ranked second among all tight ends behind only Trey McBride in the latest RotoBaller rankings for Week 18.

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.