Who Should I Start? Luke Musgrave or Brock Bowers

Thursday, December 25, 6:56 PM

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave could see a further uptick in his workload for the Packers in Week 17 as Green Bay takes on Baltimore on Saturday at Lambeau Field. Musgrave saw his highest percentage of routes per dropback this season in Week 16, running a route on 84% of dropbacks. That was primarily due to John FitzPatrick (Achilles) leaving the game because of his injury, and Musgrave seeing that time on the field with Green Bay's TE3 Josh Whyle inactive. Musgrave should see the bulk of the snaps and routes for the tight end position in Week 17, but the murky quarterback situation with Jordan Love (shoulder/concussion) and Malik Willis (shoulder/illness), both questionable, makes it difficult to recommend Musgrave. Consider Musgrave a very risky play for fantasy managers in Week 17.

Wednesday, December 24, 11:30 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) has been placed on Injured Reserve, ending his 2025 season, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Pelissero notes that Bowers has been battling a lingering knee injury since Week 1, and the 2-13 Raiders are now focused on making sure their star tight end is fully healthy for 2026. Across 12 games this season, the 23-year-old recorded 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns on 86 targets. With Bowers sidelined, Raiders tight end Michael Mayer is likely in line for a spike in both playing time and target share. Across a two-game stretch in Weeks 6 and 7 with Bowers inactive, Mayer recorded six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. For fantasy managers now left scrambling to fill the tight end position, Mayer could be a solid streamer in Week 17 against the New York Giants.