Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Elijah Higgins

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.

Saturday, November 15, 6:17 PM

Arizona Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins has seen an increased role on offense over the last few weeks. Over the last two games, Higgins has hauled in five of his six targets for 49 yards. Despite that, he remains the backup to Trey McBride, who is one of the best tight ends in the league. It's possible that Higgins does see a slightly larger workload with Marvin Harrison Jr. (appendix) out in Week 11. Normally, Higgins has been playing about 40 percent of the offensive snaps. There's a chance that does increase, but probably not by too much. Higgins is a desperation deep league option for the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.