Who Should I Start? Giovanni Ricci or Grant Calcaterra

Monday, February 3, 7:02 PM

The New England Patriots signed free-agent tight end Giovanni Ricci (knee) to a Reserve/Futures deal on Monday. Ricci was on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in 2024 but never was active for a regular-season game and was cut in August due to a knee injury. The 28-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan made his NFL debut in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers, with all 36 of his career games coming with Carolina. In three NFL seasons, Ricci has caught only nine of 12 targets for 102 yards and no touchdowns with the Panthers. Ricci is more of a blocker than a pass-catcher and will now represent tight end depth for the Patriots throughout the offseason and into training camp this summer. The most likely scenario is that he'll effective serve as a fullback for new Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Wednesday, October 8, 3:37 PM

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Grant Calcaterra (oblique) missed another practice on Wednesday and has officially been ruled out for Week 6 on Thursday Night Football against the division-rival New York Giants. Calcaterra suffered an oblique injury in the loss in Week 5 to the Denver Broncos and will miss at least one game as a result. The good news is that the 26-year-old will have extra time to recover before the team's Week 7 game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Oct. 19. When healthy, Calcaterra isn't really relevant as the No. 2 TE in Philly behind Dallas Goedert. He has four catches for 40 yards and no touchdowns in five games in 2025 after a career-best year in 2024 in which he posted a 24-298-1 line on 30 targets in 17 regular-season games. Expect Kylen Granson to back up Goedert on Thursday night.