Who Should I Start? Jonnu Smith or George Kittle

Sunday, January 11, 12:12 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith (glute) was a full participant in practice on Saturday and was cleared from the final injury report, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio. Smith will be active for the Wild-Card matchup against the visiting Houston Texans on Monday night. Even though Darnell Washington (forearm) is done for the year due to injury, Smith is a hard sell for starting fantasy football lineups in playoff formats, especially with receiver DK Metcalf returning from a two-game suspension. The 30-year-old Smith had only one catch on two targets for two yards in the team's Week 18 regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, and he caught only 38 passes during the regular season for 222 yards and two touchdowns. If you are going to use a TE from Pittsburgh this weekend, it should be Pat Freiermuth.

Thursday, January 15, 7:07 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (Achilles) underwent successful surgery to fix his torn right Achilles tendon on Wednesday, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Kittle was placed on Injured Reserve on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the playoffs. Because his injury occurred so late in the year, too, the 32-year-old veteran almost certainly won't be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign this fall. In fact, he could end up missing the majority of next regular season after tearing his Achilles in the Wild-Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Going into this Saturday's NFC Divisional contest against the Seattle Seahawks, Jake Tonges will take over as the Niners' top pass-catching tight end. Kittle, a seven-time Pro Bowler, still has high-end TE1 upside when healthy, but durability concerns will drastically affect his 2026 fantasy value.