Who Should I Start? Ja'Tavion Sanders or Elijah Arroyo

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.

Sunday, January 25, 5:15 PM

Seattle Seahawks rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo (coach's decision) is officially inactive for Sunday's NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle activated Arroyo from injured reserve on Saturday, and the fact that he didn't have an injury designation seemed to indicate that he would play. In the end, though, he'll be a healthy scratch as the Seahawks look to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. Arroyo was held to a modest 15 catches and 179 yards during the regular season, and it's been more than a month since he last played in an NFL game, so his absence on Sunday is not necessarily surprising. AJ Barner will continue to lead the tight end room against the Rams, while Eric Saubert and Nick Kallerup round out the depth chart.