Who Should I Start? Giovanni Ricci or Teagan Quitoriano

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.

Friday, January 17, 9:57 PM

Houston Texans tight end Teagan Quitoriano (calf) was downgraded to out for Saturday's road outing with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. The 24-year-old was placed on injured reserve in late November and has not returned to the field since picking up a calf injury in Week 12's loss to the Tennessee Titans. Quitoriano appeared in seven games during 2024 but eclipsed 20 snaps in a game just once and did not record a target. Despite logging a week of full practices, he'll garner a questionable tag yet again. If he's not ready to go, fellow tight ends Dalton Schultz, Irv Smith Jr., and Cade Stover will continue to lead the Texans' TE room against the reigning Super Bowl champions.