Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Donald Parham Jr.

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.

Friday, February 21, 9:45 PM

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced on Friday that they signed free-agent tight end Donald Parham Jr. to an undisclosed one-year deal. Parham will head to the AFC North after catching 67 of his 100 targets for 764 yards and 11 total touchdowns in 47 games (23 starts) over his four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers after debuting in 2020. The 27-year-old tight end went undrafted out of Stetson College in 2019. His best season was in 2023 with the Bolts, when he caught 27 of his 41 targets for 285 yards and four touchdowns across 14 regular-season games (eight starts). L.A. released him last August and he latched on with the Denver Broncos' practice squad, but he didn't appear in an NFL game. At 6-foot-8, Parham was mostly a red-zone weapon for the Bolts. He'll attempt to win a roster spot with Pittsburgh out of training camp but can be ignored in most fantasy leagues.