Who Should I Start? John Bates or Jake Tonges

Friday, January 24, 6:03 PM

Washington Commanders tight ends John Bates (shoulder) and Ben Sinnott (shoulder) were both removed from Friday's final injury report and will be available on Sunday for the NFC Championship against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles. Zach Ertz (rib) will also be active after practicing in full on Thursday and Friday, so neither Bates nor Sinnott are realistic DFS options for fantasy managers this weekend. The 27-year-old Bates has played through a shoulder injury in both postseason games but has only one catch on three targets for 20 yards to show for it. He had eight grabs on 13 targets for 84 yards and no scores in 17 regular-season games (six starts). Sinnott, meanwhile, has not even been targeted in two playoff games and caught all five of his targets for 28 yards and one touchdown in his first 17 NFL games during the regular season.

Friday, November 7, 3:01 PM

San Francisco 49ers fourth-year tight end Jake Tonges filled in admirably while teammate George Kittle missed five games with a hamstring injury. However, since Kittle's return, Tonges has seen a total of 16 offensive snaps over the past three weeks. And while he did catch a two-yard touchdown in Week 8, it came on his lone target over that same timeframe. While Kittle has yet to top 4 targets or 45 yards since returning, Tonges no longer appears to have any role in this offense and can confidently be dropped by the select few fantasy managers who might still be holding him. Kittle remains an every-week starter, while the hope remains that the eventual return of quarterback Brock Purdy will put him right back into the weekly TE1 conversation.