Who Should I Start? Giovanni Ricci or Kyle Pitts

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.

Tuesday, June 10, 1:23 PM

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said that tight end Kyle Pitts (foot) is unlikely to be on the field at mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and the team will continue to be "cautious" with him. Pitts was already trending down in fantasy circles this offseason after yet another disappointing campaign in 2024 that saw him catch 47 of his 74 targets for 602 yards, although he did catch a career-high four touchdowns in 17 games (15 starts). Now the 24-year-old is missing on-field reps this offseason with a foot injury that he Falcons haven't released many details on. The former first-rounder is heading into the final year of his rookie deal and has been mentioned as a trade candidate. A change of scenery might be what Pitts needs to return to his rookie level of production, when he had a 68-1,026-1 line. Pitts has now become a TE2 in fantasy.