Who Should I Start? Hunter Henry or George Kittle

Sunday, January 5, 12:04 PM

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (foot) has been ruled out for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Henry was limited in practice all week but will end his 2024 season a week early. With the 30-year-old officially out against a Bills defense that will be taking it easy with the No. 2 seed already locked up for the playoffs, Austin Hooper could be a sneaky DFS play this weekend with a starting workload on tap. Henry will be back with New England next year after wrapping up his fourth season with the Pats. The former second-rounder by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2016 out of Arkansas finishes with a career-high 674 receiving yards on a career-high 66 receptions (97 targets), although he only found the end zone two times in 16 games, limiting his value as a low-end TE1 option on a weekly basis in fantasy.

Friday, February 21, 9:33 PM

San Francisco Chronicle's Eric Branch writes that the San Francisco 49ers and star tight end George Kittle have been in talks about a contract extension early this offseason. The 31-year-old is heading into the final year of his current deal in 2025 after a strong 2024 campaign in which he caught 78 passes on 94 targets for 1,106 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 15 starts. The production was all the more impressive after he revealed that he played through cracked ribs for much of the season, and he also missed two games with a hamstring ailment. Kittle's 1,106 receiving yards and eight touchdowns were both the second-best marks of his career. He was the TE1 overall in fantasy, with only Brock Bowers and Trey McBride besting him in total yardage. Regardless of whether he gets a contract extension from the Niners (he likely will), Kittle will be a top-five fantasy TE in drafts this fall.