Who Should I Start? Giovanni Ricci or Lucas Krull

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.

Monday, April 7, 7:28 PM

The Denver Broncos re-signed exclusive-rights free-agent tight end Lucas Krull to an undisclosed deal on Monday, according to KPRC's Aaron Wilson. Krull will return for a third season in Denver after catching a career-high 19 passes on 23 targets for 152 yards and no touchdowns in 13 regular-season games (two starts) in 2024. In his first year with the Broncos in 2023, the 26-year-old had only eight catches on 14 targets for 95 yards and his first career touchdown in seven games (two starts). Krull will remain well off the fantasy radar and will head to training camp this summer as tight end depth behind newcomer Evan Engram and Adam Trautman while competing with Nate Adkins. He debuted in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints in 2022 and didn't receive any targets in just one game played after going undrafted out of Pittsburgh.