Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Albert Okwuegbunam

Saturday, September 7, 1:42 PM

The Carolina Panthers placed tight end Ian Thomas (calf) on Injured Reserve on Saturday after already ruling him out for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday against the division-rival New Orleans Saints. In addition to putting Thomas on IR, the team also waived cornerback Keenan Isaac and signed tight end Feleipe Franks and defensive tackle Jayden Peevy to the active 53-man roster from the practice squad. Thomas will now miss at least the first four weeks of the 2024 season after being sidelined since early in training camp with a calf injury. Tommy Tremble (back, hamstring) has already been ruled out for Week 1 as well, so Carolina is entering the regular season already thin at the TE position, meaning rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders will mostly likely be thrust into the top pass-catching role right away.

Thursday, February 22, 7:06 PM

The Philadelphia Eagles re-signed tight end Albert Okwuegbunam to an undisclosed one-year deal on Thursday, according to a source. Okwuegbunam was scheduled to become a free agent in March, but he'll stick around in Philadelphia for at least another season. The Denver Broncos' former fourth-round pick in 2020 out of Missouri landed with the Eagles before the 2023 campaign but failed to catch his only target in only four games last season. The 25-year-old finished the year on Injured Reserve due to a mysterious hamstring injury. With Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra ahead of him on the depth chart, Albert O figures to be facing an uphill battle to make the regular-season roster out of training camp this summer.