Who Should I Start? Ja'Tavion Sanders or Cade Stover

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, December 6, 6:57 AM

Houston Texans tight end Cade Stover had a new role in Week 13, serving as the team's short-yardage specialist and taking four carries for three yards in addition to catching both of his targets for 16 yards as the team's second tight end. Stover's four carries came on 3rd- or 4th-and-one situations, and he converted two of the four chances for first downs. Three of the carries came in the red zone, and he has the potential to score a short-yardage touchdown in the package if the opportunity arises in the coming weeks. Stover has played three games this season and has six catches for 38 yards, so he's a little involved in the passing game as well. The second-year tight end from Ohio State is only the No. 48 TE in RotoBaller's rankings in Week 14 against the Chiefs, so he can be left on the waiver wire in most formats, but it is interesting that he's getting short-yardage work since it does raise his potential production.