Who Should I Start? Jonnu Smith or Cade Otton

Saturday, August 23, 1:37 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith (knee) is back in uniform at practice on Saturday after missing the entire preseason with a knee injury, according to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. This will be Smith's first practice since tweaking his knee on Aug. 5. The 30-year-old should be on track to play in the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the New York Jets. However, after a career year in 2024 with the Miami Dolphins, Smith's fantasy value took a huge hit after being traded to Pittsburgh in the offseason. He should still be involved in offenive coordinator Arthur Smith's system, but he's expected to take a back seat to incumbent Pat Friermuth. In single-TE fantasy formats, managers can avoid Smith on draft day. Outside of his 88-884-8 line last year, Smith's best season was a 50-582-3 line the year prior in Atlanta.

Wednesday, August 27, 12:51 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said that tight end Cade Otton (leg) is dealing with a leg injury and soreness, and will miss "a little bit." Buccaneers.com writer Brianna Dix reports that we should know next week if Otton's injury will impact his status for the Week 1 regular-season opener versus the division-rival Atlanta Falcons. This is something fantasy managers in TE-premium leagues need to monitor heading into the season opener. If the 26-year-old misses practice time next week and cannot go against Atlanta, the Bucs would likely mix and match at the position with Payne Durham, Devin Culp and Ko Kieft, with none of the trio being very reliable for DFS lineups. Otton was sidelined for a lot of training camp with a hamstring issue, too, so he hasn't gotten a lot of reps with the starting offense going into the regular season. RotoBaller has him ranked as the No. 22 tight end in fantasy.