Who Should I Start? Ross Dwelley or Sam LaPorta

Friday, May 2, 4:17 PM

The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to a one-year contract with former Atlanta Falcons tight end Ross Dwelley. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news, but did not disclose the monetary details. The 30-year-old spent his first seven campaigns in the league with San Francisco and will return after a one-year stint with the Falcons. Dwelley appeared in all 17 games last season, but he played only 105 snaps (9.19%) -- snagging his only target for a gain of five yards. He did most of his damage -- snap-wise -- on special teams, but was still only on the field roughly a third of the time (37.22% of snaps). It's possible the 49ers brought him on due to his familiarity with their system, but he doesn't project to make an impact in the receiving column. He'll serve as a depth piece for the organization.

Thursday, June 5, 6:21 PM

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that tight end Sam LaPorta has been a standout during voluntary organized team activities this offseason. Campbell also praised plenty of other Lions players, but LaPorta is a notable one after he took a step back in Year 2 in 2024 with a 60-726-7 line in 16 regular-season starts. As a Pro Bowler in his rookie campaign, the 24-year-old went for 86 receptions on 120 targets for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (14 starts). The former second-rounder (34th overall) in 2023 out of Iowa finished the year better, but there are just a lot of mouths to feed in Detroit's offense. The Lions will be run by new offensive coordinator John Morton in 2025, but LaPorta should still be a go-to red zone target for quarterback Jared Goff as a high-end TE1.