Tyler

Higbee

A free agent this offseason, the 33-year-old tight end certainly didn’t earn many targets for the Rams in 2025 despite 3TE looks being the norm. Some of that is Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, yes. Some of that is also just getting old. We’d bet on Higbee to get sniffs in free agency, but we’d be surprised if the lifelong Ram found a fantasy-favorable role in 2026.

Despite scoring in his return from injured reserve in Week 18, Higbee played 39 of 75 snaps this week and was mostly kept in check as Davante Adams garnered a huge amount of targets. He managed a 36-yard catch in the middle of a busted zone in this one, but otherwise didn’t build much of a TE punt case for next week’s Divisional Round slate.

Higbee came off injured reserve this week after missing over a month with an ankle injury. It took him no time to get back in the swing of things and he easily led the Rams in receiving yards. Higbee gashed the Cardinals for three gains of 20+ yards, including his fourth-quarter touchdown. This goes down as Higbee’s highest receiving total since 2022 and his second-best mark since his epic run at the end of the 2019 season. Higbee is still splitting work with Colby Parkinson, and the latter found the end zone twice this week. The committee approach from Sean McVay will make Higbee a boom/bust fantasy option for the Wild Card Round.

It’s back to a four-man tight end room for Los Angeles’ three-TE sets, probably nerfing Colby Parkinson’s Week 18 fantasy value in the process. Higbee has been on IR since Week 11’s win over the Seahawks.

Higbee will return to practice this week, though it’s unclear if he will be ready for LA’s Week 18 date with the Cardinals. The Rams only have minor differences in seeding to play for this week, so they will likely hold him out until the playoffs, even if he could return on Sunday. Higbee will split reps with Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson in the postseason.

The Athletic’s Nate Atkins said Higbee is unlikely to be active for Thursday night’s game against the Seahawks, however. Higbee has bee on IR since mid-November following a serious ankle injury against Seattle. His absence has opened up routes and targets for Colby Parkinson, who should be treated as a legit streaming option in Week 16. Parkinson and TE Terrance Ferguson led the Rams in pass routes last week against the Lions in an LA offense that uses two and three tight end sets at the NFL’s highest rate.

Higbee’s sidelining still leaves the Rams with three capable tight ends, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Terrace Ferguson. Although the rookie, Ferguson, intrigues, Parkinson has finished as a TE1 in consecutive weeks, buoyed by touchdowns. The latter player can be started as a touchdown-dependent TE1, if needed, though stashing Ferguson could return value down the line. Higbee will be eligible to return in Week 16.

Parkinson saw a bump in playing time and usage with Tyler Higbee sidelined with an ankle issue that could keep him sidelined in the coming weeks. Parkinson’s touchdown came on a short throw in the red zone; he broke a couple tackles to get the ball over the goal line. It was his second straight game with a touchdown. He was targeted on two of his nine pass routes against Seattle. Parkinson, with 11 receptions over his past four games, could be a decent streamer in Week 12 against the Bucs if Higbee is sidelined.

Higbee was banged up in the second half and did not return. He had one catch for 23 yards before his exit. Terrance Ferguson and Colby Parkinson split the tight end route running with Higbee sidelined. Ferguson was not targeted while Parkinson caught both of his looks for 13 yards. Neither would be fantasy relevant if Higbee were sidelined in Week 12 since Puka Nacua and Davante Adams so thoroughly dominate targets in the LA offense.

The Rams have created an incredible situation where none of their tight ends are actually fantasy-reliable, but all of them are threats to score off play-action in jumbo packages. Parkinson (39 snaps), Tyler Higbee (3/33, 36 snaps), Davis Allen (2/8/1, 35 snaps) and Terrance Ferguson (1/32, 22 snaps) are all potential TE2 plays right now given the situation. It’s impossible to figure out which of them will blow up every week given the playing time split.