Who Should I Start? Stephen Carlson or Colby Parkinson

Tuesday, August 29, 11:19 PM

The Chicago Bears cut tight end Stephen Carlson on Tuesday to trim their roster down to 53 players, according to a source. Carlson will likely be back on the practice squad if he clears waivers. Chicago will open the 2023 regular season with Cole Kmet atop the tight end depth chart, followed by Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. Carlson had a strong training camp this summer and caught five passes for 47 yards in preseason action. The former undrafted free agent out of Princeton hasn't seen any NFL action since 2020. In his two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, he caught six of nine targets for 62 yards and a touchdown in 25 games (seven starts).

Monday, March 11, 4:39 PM

Seattle Seahawks free-agent tight end Colby Parkinson intends to sign a three-year, $22.5 million deal that includes $15.5 million guaranteed with the Los Angeles Rams, according to sources. Before playing at Stanford, Parkinson attended Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, Calif., which is right down the road from the Rams' training complex. Parkinson, the former fourth-round pick of the Seahawks in 2020, will stay in the NFC West and will get a shot to serve as the team's top pass-catching tight end, at least to start the 2024 season. It's unlikely that Tyler Higbee (knee) will be ready to go for the start of the season after tearing his ACL and MCL in the playoffs. In Seattle, the 25-year-old Parkinson never had more than 322 receiving yards or two touchdowns in a single season, so fantasy managers shouldn't suddenly expect him to become a TE1 in LA with Higbee sidelined.