Injury updates · tight ends
Tight end injury updates and replacements
Losing a target-earning tight end mostly hurts the red zone. The backup rarely runs the same route volume, so most of the value leaks to receivers instead.
Rule of thumb: Unless the backup was already running routes on passing downs, stream a matchup rather than chase the depth chart.
Highest injury leverage tight ends
Ranked by how much weekly production would go missing if the starter sat, and who is next in line on his own depth chart.
| Player | Weekly pts | Lost if out | Next man up | Replacement proj | Leverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brock BowersLV | 13.9 | −13.9 | No clear in-house option | — | 97 |
| Trey McBrideARI | 13.2 | −13.2 | No clear in-house option | — | 92 |
| George KittleSF | 12.1 | −12.1 | No clear in-house option | — | 85 |
| Sam LaPortaDET | 11.5 | −11.5 | No clear in-house option | — | 81 |
| Travis KelceKC | 10.9 | −10.9 | No clear in-house option | — | 76 |
| Mark AndrewsBAL | 10.5 | −10.5 | No clear in-house option | — | 74 |
| T.J. HockensonMIN | 10 | −10 | No clear in-house option | — | 70 |
| Evan EngramDEN | 9.5 | −9.5 | No clear in-house option | — | 67 |
| Dallas GoedertPHI | 8.9 | −8.9 | No clear in-house option | — | 62 |
| Tucker KraftGB | 8.6 | −8.6 | No clear in-house option | — | 60 |
| Colston LovelandCHI | 8.1 | −8.1 | No clear in-house option | — | 57 |
| Jake FergusonDAL | 7.6 | −7.6 | No clear in-house option | — | 53 |
| David NjokuCLE | 7.3 | −7.3 | No clear in-house option | — | 51 |
| Hunter HenryNE | 6.8 | −6.8 | No clear in-house option | — | 48 |
How to use this page
Injury news moves faster than any static page can. This is the part that does not change week to week: which tight ends carry enough workload that their absence actually decides a matchup, and who absorbs the touches when it happens. When a report lands, run the exact status through the impact calculator to get the points version of the decision.