Who Should I Start? Tyler Higbee or Ja'Tavion Sanders

Thursday, January 8, 5:19 PM

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (ankle) was a full participant in practice on Friday and has been removed from the final injury report. Higbee will be active for Wild-Card weekend on Saturday against the Carolina Panthers after he was limited in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. The 33-year-old missed six games due to an ankle issue that landed him on Injured Reserve, but he was able to return in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals. Higbee played 64% of the offensive snaps in his return while catching five of his six targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. It was a nice first game back, and he could see more time on the field this weekend if rookie Terrance Ferguson (hamstring) cannot play. The impending return of receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) is bad news for Higbee, though. Consider him a touchdown-dependent TE1 on Wild-Card weekend against Carolina.

Sunday, December 28, 5:08 PM

Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (ankle) suffered a broken ankle during Sunday's Week 17 loss against the Seattle Seahawks, according to head coach Dave Kanales. He will undergo surgery during the upcoming week. This injury will shut down Sanders for the final week of the regular season and presumably all of the playoffs, should Carolina qualify. He ends the year with just 29 catches for 190 yards and one touchdown through 13 games. It was a disappointing campaign for the tight end out of Texas, who showed promise as a rookie but evidently wasn't able to take a second-year leap in 2025. Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, and James Mitchell will step up as the Panthers' top tight ends going forward.