Who Should I Start? Lawrence Cager or Qadir Ismail

Wednesday, August 7, 1:51 PM

The New York Giants have tons of opportunity at the tight end position this year after Darren Waller's retirement. They are looking to fill the void left by Waller with some combination of Daniel Bellinger, Lawrence Cager (hamstring) and rookie Theo Johnson. Bellinger is likely to be the starter, but Cager or Johnson are likely to be the team's primary pass-catching tight end. Cager started out training camp strong, and head coach Brian Daboll called him one of the standouts in the spring, but a hamstring injury has limited him recently. Johnson has returned after starting camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a hip problem. ESPN's Jordan Raanan says it's anyone's job to win this summer. None of the trio of TE options in New York are particularly attractive from a fantasy perspective, but Johnson probably has the most upside if he has a big enough role.

Friday, April 25, 12:20 AM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Thursday that they signed free-agent tight end Qadir Ismail to an undisclosed deal. For the time being, Ismail will give the Raiders depth at the tight end position behind starter Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, Ian Thomas and Justin Shorter. The 28-year-old was with the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad last year but never got into an NFL game and has yet to catch a pass in the league after going undrafted out of Samford after 2023. He played six seasons in college with Villanova and Samford and had 13 catches for 135 yards in 11 games with Samford in his senior season in 2023. After suffering an undisclosed injury late last year, the Ravens released him from their practice squad. Ismail will be battling long odds to make the Raiders' 53-man roster out of training camp this summer.