Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Michael Mayer

Tuesday, April 29, 1:03 PM

Six-time Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle signed a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday that includes $40 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Now that the two sides were able to work out a contract extension, Kittle should show up for the team's voluntary offseason program, while the Niners can now turn their full attention to getting an extension done with quarterback Brock Purdy. Despite being on the wrong side of 30 -- he'll turn 32 in October, Kittle finished as the TE2 in half-PPR scoring last year, behind only Las Vegas Raiders rookie Brock Bowers. He finished 2024 with 78 catches on 94 targets for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in only 15 games played. Kittle is a high-end fantasy tight end, but he's also injury-prone and relies more on efficiency than volume, as he hasn't had triple-digit targets since 2019.

Saturday, March 1, 12:17 PM

According to league sources, the Las Vegas Raiders have had discussions with teams who have interest in tight end Michael Mayer. The team's second-round selection in 2023, Mayer hasn't had the type of impact the Raiders were hoping for, which is why they took Brock Bowers in the first round in 2024. Not only did Bowers become a first-team All-Pro in his rookie season, but Mayer had only 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games in his first year in 2023. He missed six games last season due to personal reasons and was barely heard from as Bowers excelled. It makes more sense for Vegas to trade Mayer for assets, and since he'll be on a team-friendly deal for two more years, there should be several teams that are interested. Mayer was completely off the fantasy radar in 2024, but he could resurface as a sleeper if he's traded to a team that utilizes him much more as a pass-catcher.