Who Should I Start? Ja'Tavion Sanders or AJ Barner

Sunday, December 28, 5:08 PM

Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (ankle) suffered a broken ankle during Sunday's Week 17 loss against the Seattle Seahawks, according to head coach Dave Kanales. He will undergo surgery during the upcoming week. This injury will shut down Sanders for the final week of the regular season and presumably all of the playoffs, should Carolina qualify. He ends the year with just 29 catches for 190 yards and one touchdown through 13 games. It was a disappointing campaign for the tight end out of Texas, who showed promise as a rookie but evidently wasn't able to take a second-year leap in 2025. Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, and James Mitchell will step up as the Panthers' top tight ends going forward.

Saturday, January 3, 6:21 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner has picked up his play over the last few weeks. Barner has taken over as the primary tight end in this offense with Elijah Arroyo (knee) being sidelined since Week 15. Since then, Barner has hauled in 10 receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns. The 23-year-old has been making the most of his increased playing time. He should be able to offer at least high-end TE2 value for the upcoming Week 18 matchup versus the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks need to win to secure the No. 1 seed, so Barner should see a full workload.