Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Brock Bowers

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.

Wednesday, October 30, 4:58 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers is considered "fine" according to Vic Tafur. This is a great sign as the rookie standout had to be checked out during last weekend's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. In this game, Bowers continued his excellent rookie campaign as he scored double-digit PPR points for the fourth-straight game. Throughout his first eight NFL games, the Georgia product has averaged 14.1 PPR points per game and tallied 66.9 yards and 6.5 receptions per game. Fantasy managers should view Bowers as a high-end TE1 going forward and he should be locked into all lineups this weekend as he faces the Cincinnati Bengals who have allowed the 26th-most PPR points to opposing tight ends this season.