Who Should I Start? Randall Cobb or Drew Sample

Thursday, December 28, 7:14 PM

New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard (illness) is inactive for the Week 17 game on Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns after coming into the game listed as questionable to play. As a result of Lazard being too ill to play, veteran Randall Cobb will be active for just the 10th time this season. He'll still be behind Garrett Wilson, Jason Brownlee and Xavier Gipson in the receiving pecking order and probably won't be on the field all that much on offense. The 33-year-old has only four catches on 16 targets for 35 yards and a touchdown in his first year in New York. Lazard has been even more of a bust for the Jets in his first year in 2023, catching 23 of his 49 targets for 311 yards and a touchdown in 14 games. He was expected to be a solid No. 2 next to Wilson, but it hasn't worked out that way.

Monday, March 11, 4:49 PM

The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed tight end Drew Sample to a three-year, $10.5 million contract extension on Monday, according to a source. Sample will receive $3.5 million in 2024. In his fifth year with the Bengals in 2023, Sample had 22 catches on 27 targets for 163 yards and a career-high two touchdowns in 17 games (10 starts). Tanner Hudson, Mitchell Wilcox and Irv Smith Jr. are all free agents, but one or more of them could be retained or the Bengals could add competition at the position through the NFL draft. The 27-year-old Sample has accumulated just 80 receptions (103 targets) for 621 yards and three touchdowns in his five years in the NFL with Cincy, so it would be unrealistic to expect the Bengals to utilize him as their unquestioned No. 1 pass-catching TE in 2024.