Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Isaiah Likely

Tuesday, September 9, 1:15 PM

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the San Francisco 49ers are placing tight end George Kittle (hamstring) on the injured reserve. As a result, Kittle will miss at least the next four games. The star tight end suffered this injury during their Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Before exiting the contest, Kittle caught all four of his targets for 25 yards and a touchdown. When he was sidelined, Kittle was replaced by Luke Farrell and Jake Tonges. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status, but it appears he will be sidelined for at least the next month. While he remains out, fantasy managers should expect Farrell to see most of the blocking work while Tonges takes on most of the receiving work. Tonges caught all three of his targets for 15 yards and appears to be in the lead role to take on most of Kittle's offensive production. He is worth targeting in deep 14+ team formats on the waiver wire.

Friday, September 12, 12:51 PM

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) was in uniform and doing a workout in front of the training and medical staff on Friday, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Likely has "upped his activity level" and is getting closer, but he won't play in Week 2 against the division-rival Cleveland Browns. It sounds as though Likely could return as early as Week 3 against the Detroit Lions after fracturing his foot in training camp. The 25-year-old will miss a second straight game to open the year, giving veteran tight end Mark Andrews an opportunity for increased opportunities this Sunday after he fell flat in the season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday night, when he had just one catch for five yards. We'd expect Andrews to be more involved this weekend, especially if receiver Rashod Bateman (undisclosed) cannot play.