Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or George Kittle

Tuesday, February 24, 5:40 AM

Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz (knee) plans to return in 2026 for a 14th NFL season and is expected to be cleared right around Week 1, sources told Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Ertz, who will be a free agent next month, is two months into rehab from a torn ACL. The 35-year-old veteran ranks fifth in catches and eighth in yards among tight ends in NFL history, including 50 catches for 504 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games last before before suffering his season-ending knee injury in Week 14 against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 7. Given his age and uncertainty about whether he'll actually be 100% ready to play in the season opener this fall, Ertz's fantasy stock will drop considerably going into the 2026 season. In his first year in Washington in 2024, Ertz had a 66-654-7 line in 17 games played.

Monday, February 23, 8:24 AM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle's (Achilles) optimism for a speedy return in 2026 following a torn Achilles that he suffered in the Wild-Card round win over the Philadelphia Eagles is realistic, according to Dr. Daniel Kaplan, an orthopedic surgeon. Kittle suffered a clean tear that happened high up by his soleus. "They didn't have to drill into my heel," Kittle said. "And where the repair was is where there's more blood flow. And so, it takes some time off the recovery time." Barring a setback during his rehab, it's possible that Kittle could return to the field sometime around September. "It's reasonable to think Week 5 or so would be on the long end of a return," according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. Kittle and the Niners are hopeful that when he's back, he'll be able to "return to somewhere close to his usual level of production." The 32-year-old will obviously be pretty risky in fantasy in 2026, but he'll be worth stashing everywhere. If Jake Tongues returns as a restricted free agent, he'll be a low-end TE1 sleeper in the first part of the year until Kittle returns.