Tyler

Higbee

Ferguson briefly departed after injuring his ankle in the team’s Sunday Night Football loss to the Broncos, returning for two snaps prior to departing again after his lone reception of the evening. The ankle injury now appears likely to cost the talented young tight end at least one game, with the potential for the absence to linger if the sprain is “more high than low.” McVay also relayed that fellow tight end Colby Parkinson suffered an AC sprain and is considered day-to-day. Veteran Tyler Higbee would be in line to operate as the primary receiving tight end after amassing 62 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions in Week 3, should both miss. Higbee should be added in all formats as a potential TE1 in the immediate future.

Higbee’s first quarter touchdown got the scoring started for the Rams, but it wasn’t until Terrance Ferguson departed with an ankle injury that his volume truly took off. From that point forward, Higbee was one of the primary options through the air, finishing two targets behind Davante Adams for the team lead. Fantasy managers will want to monitor Ferguson’s status closely in the coming week as Higbee could become a legitimate waiver target should Ferguson miss time.

Higbee ended up leading the Rams’ tight ends in targets and receptions, as Davis Allen had just one catch before exiting with a head injury, and Terrance Ferguson didn’t catch his only opportunity. Ferguson still seems like the tight end to roster going forward, but one could argue Higbee has the higher floor because he’ll see more snaps because of his blocking ability. That’s not a ringing endorsement, if it’s not obvious. The Rams will try and get it going against the Giants in Week 2.

Atkins added, “The ideal outcome for him is to lead their tight ends in catches and yards.” He noted that the coaching staff was focused on bringing Ferguson along incrementally in 2025. Now they will have the chance to move him into a more prominent role for his second season. Ferguson only caught 11 passes as a rookie, but he parlayed a seam-stretching role into 231 yards and three scores despite the low reception total. Atkins sees Ferguson as a de facto No. 3 receiver for the team, with Colby Parkinson and Tyler Higbee both fulfilling the role of a traditional inline tight end. Rookie Max Klare will also be in the mix for snaps, but will likely be brought along slowly as well. With an ADP that barely even registers in early best ball drafts, Ferguson is worth a look as a high-upside TE3.

Sadiq out of Oregon is widely expected to be a first round pick after setting record at the NFL Combine. Bowen believes the hyper-athletic tight end could be a situation matchup player for Sean McVay, who used three tight end sets at the NFL’s highest rate in 2025. “With his frame and 4.39 speed, Sadiq could be a seam stretcher for quarterback Matthew Stafford. Plus, McVay could use Sadiq as a backside X receiver/power slot to draw favorable man matchups.” Sadiq, who had 80 receptions over three seasons at Oregon, could fit the LA offense “as a catch-and-run target on boot action concepts,” Bowen said. Stafford last season led the NFL with 75 pass attempts on designed rollouts. It’s a crowded tight end room in LA, with Colby Parikson, Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, and Davis Allen on the roster. Sadiq would likely function as a rotational player if he lands with the Rams, who have the 13th pick in the 2026 draft.

The deal prevents Higbee from entering free agency next week. The longtime Rams tight end spent time on injured reserve during the 2025 season, rehabbing an ankle injury. At 33 years old, he is best suited to a rotational role. Fortunately for him, the Rams employ a heavy tight end rotation while regularly calling plays out to 3TE sets. He caught 25-of-35 targets for 281 yards and three touchdowns last season. Higbee is not on the TE1 radar anymore.

Higbee is still deciding on his future. The 33-year-old lifelong Ram was lost in the 3TE set shuffle last year and wouldn’t figure to be an interesting fantasy tight end if he re-signed in Los Angeles.

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.