Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Brady Russell

Tuesday, March 25, 1:32 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Tuesday that they signed free-agent tight end Ian Thomas (calf) to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Thomas will head to the AFC West after spending the first seven years of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers after they selected him in the fourth round (101st overall) in the 2018 NFL draft out of Indiana. The 28-year-old never really established himself as a fantasy asset in Carolina, with his best season coming in his rookie campaign with a 36-333-2 line on 49 targets in 16 games (six starts). Thomas landed on Injured Reserve in 2024 with a calf injury and only caught three of six targets for seven yards in five games (two starts). He scored four touchdowns in his first three seasons but hasn't found the end zone since. In Vegas, he'll provide TE depth behind Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer and will remain off the fantasy radar.

Thursday, April 10, 12:19 AM

Exclusive-rights free-agent tight end Brady Russell officially signed his tender on Wednesday to return to the Seattle Seahawks for the 2025 season, according to Seahawks.com's John Boyle. Russell will return for his third year with the team after not catching any passes as a tight end in his first two years with the team. Instead, the 26-year-old has appeared exclusively on special teams and has recorded 17 tackles (11 solo) in 26 games played (zero starts) since debuting in 2023. Russell originally went undrafted out of the University of Colorado before latching on with the Seahawks. He will continue to serve as more of a special-teams asset for Seattle heading into training camp this summer. Russel is nowhere near the fantasy radar.