Who Should I Start? Tommy Tremble or Isaiah Likely

Wednesday, June 4, 12:57 PM

Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble (back) is not expected to return by training camp at the end of July after having back surgery, according to head coach Dave Canales. Barring a setback, the team is hoping to get Tremble back sometime during the preseason. The Panthers are going to bring the 25-year-old along slowly after he had a back procedure in the middle of May. With Tremble sidelined, Ja'Tavion Sanders and rookie fifth-rounder Mitchell Evans will see more reps in OTAs and mandatory minicamp this month. When healthy, Tremble profiles as more of a blocking tight end, which doesn't make him much of an option in fantasy leagues. The former third-rounder (83rd overall) in 2021 out of Notre Dame matched his career-high with 23 catches last year for a career-high 234 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games (11 starts).

Tuesday, July 15, 9:38 PM

The Baltimore Ravens "figure to make a push to extend" tight end Isaiah Likely, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Zrebiec also writes that the team believes Likely to have "star potential." A fourth-round draft pick back in 2022, Likely is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He's played a complementary role to star Ravens tight end Mark Andrews to this point in his career, but that sounds as if it could be changing. Likely set career-highs in catches (42), receiving yards (477), and touchdowns (6) in 2024. While he probably still needs Andrews to miss time to be a must-start fantasy tight end this season, the workload split between the two will be one to monitor throughout training camp and the preseason.