Who Should I Start? Jake Tonges or Brady Russell

Friday, April 18, 12:00 AM

The San Francisco 49ers announced on Thursday that tight end Jake Tonges and offensive lineman Austen Pleasants signed their one-year, exclusive-rights tenders. Both players will return to the Bay Area for the 2025 season. Tonges, 25, began his career with the Chicago Bears in 2022 and appeared in 16 games with the Niners in 2024 but was not used at all on offense on just 34 snaps. He'll make $1.03 million this year after re-signing. Instead, he played 232 snaps on special teams and had two solo tackles. The former undrafted free agent out of California will most likely serve in a similar role as a special-teams ace for San Fran in 2025. Pleasants, 27, started his career in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers and then played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 and with the Niners last year. He has appeared in just five NFL games over three seasons.

Thursday, April 10, 12:19 AM

Exclusive-rights free-agent tight end Brady Russell officially signed his tender on Wednesday to return to the Seattle Seahawks for the 2025 season, according to Seahawks.com's John Boyle. Russell will return for his third year with the team after not catching any passes as a tight end in his first two years with the team. Instead, the 26-year-old has appeared exclusively on special teams and has recorded 17 tackles (11 solo) in 26 games played (zero starts) since debuting in 2023. Russell originally went undrafted out of the University of Colorado before latching on with the Seahawks. He will continue to serve as more of a special-teams asset for Seattle heading into training camp this summer. Russel is nowhere near the fantasy radar.