Tag: Tyler Higbee

Sean McVay shares injury updates on Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams and others

Sean McVay shared injury updates on Matthew Stafford and several others coming out of the Rams’ Week 4 win

The Los Angeles Rams came out of Week 4 a little bit banged up, with several players getting injured over the course of the game – including quarterback Matthew Stafford. On Monday night, Sean McVay shared updates on the Rams’ current injuries, none of which seem overly concerning to the head coach.

Stafford and Kyren Williams both injured their hips but finished the game, Joe Noteboom hurt his groin and Tyler Higbee injured his thumb a little bit. See the full updates on the Rams’ injuries below.

Rams injury report: Alaric Jackson a game-time decision, 2 others questionable

Alaric Jackson, Tyler Higbee and Ben Skowronek will all be questionable for Sunday’s game against the Colts

The Los Angeles Rams haven’t had many injury questions through three games this season, but they have a few heading into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Sean McVay said Friday that three players will be questionable to play: Alaric Jackson, Tyler Higbee and Ben Skowronek.

Jackson is dealing with a hamstring injury suffered Monday night against the Bengals, while Higbee and Skowronek have Achilles injuries that could affect their statuses for Sunday’s matchup with the Colts.

McVay said Jackson will likely be a game-time decision, which is concerning for the Rams. After Jackson went down in Monday’s loss, the offensive line took a major step back. If Jackson misses the game, it’s unlikely the Rams would plug Zach Thomas in at left tackle again.

John Johnson III, who has only played four defensive snaps, is questionable with a face injury after being added to the report Friday.

On the Colts’ side, Anthony Richardson has cleared the concussion protocol and is expected to play against the Rams. The statuses for Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner are unknown for Sunday, as both of them are listed as questionable.

Starting center Ryan Kelly has also been ruled out, as has tackle Bernhard Raimann.

Rams signing Tyler Higbee to 3-year, $27M extension

Tyler Higbee is sticking with the Rams for a little while longer after agreeing to a 3-year extension

Tyler Higbee is going to be wearing a Los Angeles Rams uniform for a while longer. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Rams and Higbee have agreed to a three-year extension worth $27 million. It has a max value of $30.5 million and comes with $17 million guaranteed.

The Rams announced the contract as a two-year extension, signing him through the 2025 season. At $9 million per year, Higbee is only the 14th-highest-paid tight end in the NFL, so it’s not as if he’s breaking the bank for the Rams. Previously, he was making $7.25 million annually on his last contract.

Higbee has been with the Rams since coming into the NFL as a fourth-round pick in 2016. This season, he has 11 catches for 132 yards. He’s scored at least three touchdowns in each of the last four years, but he’s yet to find the end zone this season.

He set career-highs in targets (108) and catches (72) last year, playing all 17 games for Los Angeles.

One Rams player you should bet to score a TD vs. Bengals in Week 3

The Bengals have allowed a touchdown to a tight end in each game this season, and Tyler Higbee could be next

Kyren Williams has been a touchdown hog for the Los Angeles Rams this season, scoring four times already in just two games. He’s the only active player on the team right now who has scored a touchdown, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him find the end zone again on Monday night against the Bengals.

It’s why his odds to score a touchdown at BetMGM are -175, the shortest of any player in this game. With Williams’ odds being heavily juiced, we’re looking elsewhere for our touchdown scorer pick.

Tyler Higbee anytime TD scorer: +220

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Higbee might be off to a slow start this year, catching just six passes for 61 yards, but he’s seen 10 passes thrown his way, which is fourth on the team – and that’s with Williams (12 targets) getting a bunch of targets late last week against the 49ers.

Matthew Stafford has always trusted Higbee and as the Rams’ biggest receiving target in the red zone, he should see a target or two if the Rams are in passing situations near the goal line. The Bengals haven’t been great against tight ends this season, either. They allowed a touchdown reception to Browns tight end Harrison Bryant in Week 1 and another to Mark Andrews in the second game of the season.

When it comes to value, Higbee is a good bet this week with Williams at -175, Puka Nacua at +105 and even Tutu Atwell having +145 odds for a TD on Monday night.

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Watch: Tyler Higbee was mic’d up in Rams’ big win vs. Seahawks

Tyler Higbee was mic’d up during the Rams’ win over the Seahawks and he had a funny exchange with Tutu Atwell at the end of the game

Everyone points to Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald as the Rams’ leaders this year but Tyler Higbee is right there with them. Higbee is in his eighth NFL season and is a captain on offense, garnering a lot of respect from his teammates on the field and in the locker room.

During the Rams’ win over the Seahawks on Sunday, Higbee was mic’d up. It gives fans a great sense of just how vocal and passionate Higbee is each and every week, consistently hyping up his teammates and keeping the energy high on the sidelines and on the field.

He and Tutu Atwell had a funny exchange toward the end of the game when Higbee realized Atwell had 119 yards receiving, joking that he should’ve had 130 but he got caught from behind by a defender.

“You had 119 today? You really should’ve had 130 but you got caught down there,” Higbee joked. Don’t blame you were waiting on the ball. Great job today, Tu.”

Check out the full video below.

Fantasy football sleepers to play in Week 1

Take a look at these fantasy football sleepers for Week 1.

As the fantasy football draft season comes to an end Thursday night, managers will begin their quest toward a championship.

Part of that journey is the ever-challenging objective of finding the right sleepers to start every week. Whether it’s selecting the right streaming option at the quarterback and tight end positions or finding a flex option who boosts the entire lineup, the search for sleepers is endless.

We will be using The Huddle’s weekly PPR projections and rankings as a reference to find some potential boom games this week.

Here’s a look at some sleepers to play in Week 1 of fantasy football to get your season started with a win:

Watch: Tyler Higbee made a leaping TD grab on a perfectly placed throw by Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford put this ball in the perfect spot and Tyler Higbee made it count with a terrific leaping catch in the end zone

The connection between Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp gets a lot of attention, but the veteran quarterback has also developed a strong rapport with his tight end, Tyler Higbee, in the last two years.

Higbee is one of Stafford’s favorite targets, seeing a career-high 108 passes thrown his way last season – some of which came from the Rams’ backup quarterbacks after Stafford went down.

With Stafford healthy again, he and Higbee have picked up right where they left off in 2022. On Thursday, the two connected for a touchdown during team drills, an impressive throw and catch between them.

Stafford put the ball where only Higbee could make a play, and that’s exactly what the tight end did, making a leaping catch in the end zone for six points.

Sleepers and Value Picks: Tight Ends

2023 Sleeper and Value Plays at Tight End

The Average Draft order shows a general picture of how your draft will unfold and where values/sleepers and bad values/busts likely exist. Any green highlight means the player is a good value that could be taken earlier. A red highlight signifies an overvalued player that is a bad value or just too high of a risk for that spot. No color means the pick is a reasonable value at that spot.

See also:
 Sleepers and Value Picks: Quarterbacks
Sleepers and Value Picks: Running Backs
Sleepers and Value Picks: Wide Receivers

Average Draft order – Value picks

ADP Tm Tight End Starter Value
1 KC Travis Kelce Maybe the greatest fantasy career of all time.
2 BAL Mark Andrews A lock for Top-5 and the only tight end to ever net a No.1 fantasy rank during reign of Travis Kelce.
3 MIN T.J. Hockenson Fits into the Vikings scheme and reaps the   benefit of defenses chasing Justin Jefferson.
4 SF George Kittle Top-4 in four of the last five years. He gets dinged up, some years more than others. Final four games with Brock Purdy only totaled seven touchdowns. Plenty of upside.
5 NYG Darren Waller Agreed there is some upside in landing with the Giants, but he’s been average at best other than 2019 and 2020. Banged up the last two years, also 30 years old. Not many tight ends offer the potential for difference making fantasy stats, but his risk makes this a few picks too early. Derek Carr’s worst year was better than Daniel Jones best year.
6 ATL Kyle Pitts 2022 was an off year thanks to a new offense and Marcus Mariota. Pitts is still supremely talented. Coming off a torn MCL makes this spot reasonable and the Falcons passing schedule should make it profitable.
7 PHI Dallas Goedert He ends up around No. 10 every year but that’s because he misses three to five games. He’s a great start when he suits up.
8 JAX Evan Engram After struggling for four years with Daniel Jones, went to Jacksonville and had a career year with Trevor Lawrence. Just signed a three-year deal to keep the momentum.
9 PIT Pat Freiermuth He has a good shot at being better than this ranking, and yet three concussions in two years make him a risky bet. Solid pick this late but think about carrying another tight end just in case.
10 CLE David Njoku Never better than No. 9 in his six seasons. Browns get a full year of Deshaun Watson, but brought in more wideouts to help the passing. Didn’t connect that well with Watson in the few joint games last year.
11 BUF Dalton Kincaid Bills ranked No. 28 in tight end throws last year and this is as high as any Bills tight end reached in six years of HC Sean McDermott. He may end up elite, but   rookie tight ends on teams that are already Top-3 passing isn’t something to rely on. Next year…
12 HOU Dalton Schultz Top-10 for the last three years in Dallas and now with Houston where they’ll want to throw but the receivers are mostly “unproven”. Nice situation for dependable hands close by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

 

Sleepers and overvalued players

ADP Tm Tight End Depth Considerations
13 TEN Chigoziem Okonkwo He’s not a fantasy starter but he may become one. Okonkwo is a popular sleeper   this year and for good reason. His rookie year of 32-450-3 was encouraging. DeAndre Hopkins may hold Okonkwo back, so he’s a fantasy backup for now.
14 DEN Greg Dulcich Another popular sleeper and he managed a 33-411-2 rookie season with ten games played. He started to pick up steam later in the year and merits a roster spot that could end up as a fantasy starter.
15 LAR Tyler Higbee He’s   30 years old and enters Year 8 with the Rams.  Managed a No. 5 finish to 2023 while the Rams offense imploded. Matt Stafford is back and Rams did not add new receivers. Won’t win your league, but won’t lose it for you either.
16 CHI Cole Kmet Finished No. 7 last year but was last man standing. Bears added DJ Moore and get Darnell Mooney back. His outlook is dialed back but Kmet is a talented receiver when given the chance.
17 DET Sam LaPorta He’ll develop into a solid, and maybe spectacular, tight end. But the rookie has plenty to learn this year and the Lions have other options when they pass. Dynasty pick? Sure. Reliable pick this year? Not on my team.
18 CIN Irv Smith Jr. Never amounted to much in Minnesota despite high draft pick. Oddly goes from team with the No. 2 wideouts to the team that have the No. 3 wideouts. He’s no difference maker and not even a great bye week filler.
19 LV Michael Mayer The optimism placed on rookie tight ends has been overly kind in every case other than Kyle Pitts. Mayer could easily be the best receiving tight end from this year’s class, but is unlikely to offer the consistency to merit a fantasy start. He’s a fine pick and hold just in case, but the odds are against him offering any difference making stats.
20 NO Juwan Johnson Solid fantasy backup with seven scores last year. His ceiling is limited, but he’s a serviceable weekly fill in. Change in quarterback can only help.
21 LAC Gerald Everett First year with the Chargers ended as the No. 11 fantasy tight end. His production is capped by those wideouts and adding Quentin Johnson won’t help Everett improve on his 58 catches. He’s still a worthy backup.
22 ARI Zach Ertz He is 32 years old and returning from a torn ACL/MCL. Just no. Second-year Trey McBride is a better choice if you need a Cardinals’ tight end. And honestly, have you ever needed a Cardinals’ tight end?
23 NO Taysom Hill If your league considers him as a tight end, why not this deep? The plan is to throw to him more often and he’s making almost $10M this year.
24 NE Hunter Henry Solid backup pick and has shown chemistry with Mac Jones last year and again this summer.

Jelani Woods (IND) – Second-year tight end that’s 6-7 and yet runs a 4.6 40-time. The new offense should treat Woods as the new Dallas Goedert in HC Shane Steichen’s scheme.

Trey McBride (ARI) – Another second-year tight end and he plays on a Cardinals team that may very well end up throwing more to their tight end than ever before. Worth tracking at the least.

Matthew Stafford speaks on the other WRs on the Rams stepping up in Cooper Kupp’s absence

Matthew Stafford spoke about the Rams’ other WRs following Cooper Kupp’s exit from practice on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Rams fans were given a scare on Tuesday as Cooper Kupp left practice with what has been diagnosed as a hamstring injury. After Kupp was sidelined, Matthew Stafford took the podium for his post-practice press conference and discussed the Rams’ other pass catchers stepping up in his place.

“Yeah, he did a nice job, made some nice plays. Drew a pass interference on a long ball down there which I thought was a nice play by him, a little bit underthrown by me. So, nice play by him jumping back into the defender on that one, getting that call for us,” Stafford said of Puka Nacua. Tutu (Atwell) made a nice catch in traffic over the middle of the field. Puka made some nice plays. ‘Higs’ did his thing as usual. Some things to always clean up. It’s kind of hard to give you my full assessment right now, but (I’ll) take a look at the tape and learn from it, come out here tomorrow and try to be better.”

When a player suffers an injury in the NFL, there’s always a next-man-up mentality for teams. Even though there was concern about Kupp’s status, the other pass catchers seized the opportunity to see more looks from Stafford in practice.

Stafford name-dropped rookie Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell, and Tyler Higbee as the three players he noticed in Tuesday’s practice session. While Higbee is locked in as the starting tight end, Nacua and Atwell are competing for roles in the passing game.

You never want to see a player go down with an injury, especially a player like Kupp that is the engine of the Rams’ offense. But until Kupp can return to the practice field, it will be important for all of the pass catchers on the Rams to maximize their reps with Stafford.

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Tyler Higbee (knee) feels ‘much better’ now than he did this time last year

Tyler Higbee is now a full year removed from his knee injury, so he’s feeling much better than he did this time last offseason

Tyler Higbee is entering his eighth season in the NFL and he’s battled through his share of bumps and bruises. No one who’s played seven years of professional football expects to feel like a rookie but Higbee seems to be much healthier than he was even this time last year.

Higbee was still recovering from the knee injury that sidelined him in the Super Bowl and it seemed to linger into the season, being listed as questionable in Week 12 against the Chiefs. He never missed a game in 2022 but Higbee indicated on Tuesday that he feels significantly better now than he did this time last year.

“Year 8, you’re playing football, your body’s not always going to be as healthy as it was 8-10 years ago,” Higbee said. “But yeah, I feel good. Last year, having the knee surgery, knee injury, but I felt like I was able to kind of put on that armor to get through a season. I feel good coming into this year. I feel much better than I did last year at this point.”

Higbee has been durable throughout his career despite the fact that he often seems to be battling some kind of injury. He’s only missed four regular-season games, making 101 starts and playing 110 games since 2016.

The Rams will need him as healthy as possible in 2023, given the significant turnover they’ve had on their roster this year. Higbee may not be a prolific receiver, but he can at least move the chains on third down and win one-on-one matchups in the middle of the field against safeties and linebackers.

He’s also a valuable blocker in the running game, which often goes unnoticed.