Who Should I Start? Ross Dwelley or Colston Loveland

Tuesday, December 30, 11:07 AM

The Carolina Panthers have signed tight end Ross Dwelley to their practice squad, per ESPN's David Newton. Newton reports that Dwelley has a chance to be elevated to the active roster for Carolina's Week 18 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in light of tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (ankle) suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 17. Dwelley appeared in 11 games for the Detroit Lions this season, recording two receptions for seven yards on five targets. He's played in 112 career NFL games across eight seasons, hauling in 47 catches for 530 yards and five touchdowns. Carolina still has tight ends Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, and James Mitchell on the active roster, so Dwelley would likely fill a depth role. Tremble appears most likely to serve as the team's primary receiving tight end with Sanders sidelined.

Wednesday, January 7, 4:18 PM

Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland put together a fantastic regular season, recording 58 receptions (82 targets) for a team-leading 713 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 16 games. Loveland paced the Bears' passing game in Week 18's loss to the Lions, bringing in 10 of 13 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. The budding star continued his late-season surge and is trending favorably heading into Chicago's Wild-Card matchup against the division-rival Green Bay Packers. Green Bay has allowed the 13th-most catches per game (5.6) and the sixth-fewest yards per game (44.9) to tight ends this season, with Loveland totaling seven catches for 59 yards and a touchdown in their two regular-season meetings. Receiver Rome Odunze (foot) is expected to return on Saturday after missing the previous five games, which could take some targets away from Loveland. The 21-year-old Loveland still profiles as one of the best tight end options for fantasy managers in playoff leagues and should be in all lineups.