Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or Cade Stover

Sunday, March 9, 7:04 AM

Veteran tight end Zach Ertz signed a one-year, $6.25 million contract with the Washington Commanders on Saturday. The deal includes up to $9 million in incentives. Ertz returns to the Commanders after a productive season in 2024 as quarterback Jayden Daniels' safety valve, owning 18% of Washington's target share. The three-time Pro Bowler caught 66 of 91 targets for 674 yards and seven touchdowns over 17 games. It was the first time since 2018 that Ertz played an entire season. With the emergence of Dyami Brown in the postseason and the Commanders trading for wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. in March, Ertz will have more competition for targets in 2025. Despite competing for targets with Terry McLaurin, Samuel, and Brown, Ertz remains a decent fantasy option at the tight end position. As Daniels' primary middle-of-the-field option, Ertz is a high-end TE2 heading into early best-ball drafts.

Tuesday, January 14, 4:42 PM

Houston Texans rookie tight end Cade Stover (collarbone) suffered a broken collarbone in the wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Saturday and will require season-ending surgery. The Texans officially placed Stover on Injured Reserve on Tuesday. The 24-year-old first-year player caught all four of his targets for 28 yards in the 32-12 win over the Bolts and played 36 offensive snaps. Stover was mostly a blocker for the Texans in his first year in the NFL and took a back seat pass-catching-wise to starter Dalton Schultz, as he had only 15 catches for 133 yards and one touchdown on 22 targets over 15 regular-season games. If Teagan Quitoriano (calf) isn't activated from IR to play this Saturday in the Divisional Round against the hosting Kansas City Chiefs, Irv Smith Jr. would operate as the primary backup to Schultz.