Jared Cook Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Chargers TE Jared Cook has been activated from the COVID list. He'll be back for Sunday night's win-and-in game vs. the Raiders.

The Chargers have placed TE Jared Cook on the COVID list, knocking him out for Sunday's game against the Broncos. That leaves Stephen Anderson and Tre' McKitty at TE. Neither is an option for common season-long leagues. Anderson could be in play for DFS consideration at minimum salary.

The Chargers on Wednesday placed WR Mike Williams on the COVID list. He, of course, joins teammate WR Keenan Allen, potentially leaving QB Justin Herbert down his top 2 wideouts for Sunday's game against the Giants. We'll keep an eye on the situations for both players. Jalen Guyton and Joshua Palmer look like the next 2 WRs up. RB Austin Ekeler, TE Jared Cook and even TE Donald Parham could all be in for more targets, though, if Williams and Allen both miss the game. On defense, the Chargers also placed CB Chris Harris Jr. on the COVID list. That might be more interesting for fantasy purposes if the Giants weren't down to their 3rd QB.

Update: HC Brandon Staley says Williams and Harris are on the list merely as close contacts. That means each player can make it back for Sunday's game as long as he continues to test negative.

Chargers TE Donald Parham played 23 snaps in Saturday night's preseason finale, catching his only target for 5 yards. He missed the 2nd exhibition with a tailbone injury but is good to go for Week 1. Parham will open the season as Los Angeles' #2 TE behind Jared Cook.

Chargers TE Donald Parham missed Week 2 of the preseason with a tailbone injury. Per Daniel Popper of The Athletic, the 6’8 TE sustained his injury in practice on Friday. Slated to handle the #2 role behind Jared Cook, Parham had generated some camp buzz for his red zone work. We'll see when he returns to the field.

The Athletic's Daniel Popper believes Chargers TE Donald Parham is "going to have a big and influential role" in the offense this season. "He is lining up mostly detached from the formation, both out wide and in the slot," Popper writes. He goes on to add that Parham is still #2 on the depth chart behind TE Jared Cook -- but that "the Chargers have been featuring a heavy dose of two-tight end sets with both Cook and Parham on the field together." Parham will probably need to move past Cook to be a reliable fantasy play this year. But that's certainly within the realm of possibility. He's an intriguing late-round flier.

Chargers insider Gilbert Manzano believes TE Donald Parham is in for an expanded role this season. Parham spent most of last year working behind TE Hunter Henry but tallied 5 catches for 84 yards and a score over the final 2 weeks with Henry out. Now Henry is gone to New England. The Chargers signed TE Jared Cook in free agency, but it sounds like Parham has been seeing lots of run with the starters in camp. "Parham has kept pace with Cook as one of [QB Justin] Herbert’s favorite targets in practice," according to Manzano. We'll be keeping a close eye on how Parham and Cook are deployed with the 1st-team offense in preseason action.

The Chargers grabbed Georgia TE Tre McKitty in the 3rd round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The 6'4, 246-pounder caught 50 balls across 3 seasons at Florida State before transferring to Georgia last year and totaling just 6 grabs. McKitty tested as an above-average athlete at his Pro Day, including a 4.71-second 40 time. He joins Jared Cook and cult hero Donald Parham in the Chargers' TE room.