Who Should I Start? Gerald Everett or Sam LaPorta

Friday, February 21, 4:00 PM

The Chicago Bears informed veteran tight end Gerald Everett on Friday that he is being released after one season, according to The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov. The move to cut Everett will save the Bears $5.5 million in salary cap space for the 2025 season. He'll leave behind just $1 million in dead-cap money after catching only eight passes for 36 yards and no touchdowns as the No. 2 behind Cole Kmet in his lone season in Chicago after signing a two-year, $12 million deal last year. Everett will turn 31 years old in June and probably isn't anything more than a veteran No. 2 TE at this point in his career. Heading into last year, Everett had five straight seasons of at least 408 receiving yards with the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Chargers. His best season came two years ago in 2022 with the Bolts, when he had a 58-555-4 line in 16 games.

Thursday, June 5, 6:21 PM

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that tight end Sam LaPorta has been a standout during voluntary organized team activities this offseason. Campbell also praised plenty of other Lions players, but LaPorta is a notable one after he took a step back in Year 2 in 2024 with a 60-726-7 line in 16 regular-season starts. As a Pro Bowler in his rookie campaign, the 24-year-old went for 86 receptions on 120 targets for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (14 starts). The former second-rounder (34th overall) in 2023 out of Iowa finished the year better, but there are just a lot of mouths to feed in Detroit's offense. The Lions will be run by new offensive coordinator John Morton in 2025, but LaPorta should still be a go-to red zone target for quarterback Jared Goff as a high-end TE1.