Browns dumping TE

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that the Browns are releasing TE Austin Hooper (with a post-June 1 designation). That will send Hooper to a free-agent market that has seen little TE movement in the early days. His departure leaves room for David Njoku to take over the lead TE spot, with 3rd-year TE Harrison Bryant behind him. Njoku has remained a solid value in best-ball drafting since re-signing with Cleveland. We'll see how much his ADP climbs with the Hooper news. Fowler says the Browns planned to keep Hooper but that acquiring WR Amari Cooper and pursuing QB Deshaun Watson changed the cap situation.

The Patriots are signing TE Austin Hooper to a one-year deal worth "up to" $4.5 million, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Hooper is reuniting with OC Alex Van Pelt, who was Cleveland's OC when Hooper was there in 2020 and 2021. Hooper finished 22nd and 30th among TEs in PPR points per game those years and was even less productive the last two in Tennessee and then Las Vegas. The 29-year-old will slot in behind TE Hunter Henry in New England and is not worth rostering in fantasy football.

The Raiders have agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million deal with TE Austin Hooper, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. The deal has a max value of $3.5 million. That's obviously not enough to guarantee a top role at the position. But Hooper's a better bet for receptions than new teammate TE O.J. Howard. Even so, he has averaged just 2.4 catches per game over the past two years, with two different teams. Neither Hooper nor Howard is likely to make a big fantasy football impact this year.

Titans TE Austin Hooper (neck) did not practice on Wednesday. Hooper has been a non-factor in fantasy so far, but his absence could free up a few targets for Tennessee's WRs.

Titans TE Austin Hooper trailed teammate Geoff Swaim in both snaps (69% vs. 62%) and targets (4-2) in Sunday's loss to the Giants. Swaim turned his 4 looks into a 3-19 receiving line, with Hooper catching just 1 ball for 6 yards. Rookie TE Chig Okonkwo added 1 catch for 11 yards and a carry for minus-4 while playing 15% of snaps. This looks like a committee situation to avoid as much as possible in fantasy football lineups.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes Titans TE Austin Hooper “should see a healthy red-zone [target] share.” Hooper’s never topped 6 TDs in a season. But he joined a Titans squad this summer that lost ~45 red zone targets to trade (A.J. Brown) and free agency. QB Ryan Tannehill has also posted a top-3 TD rate in 2 of the past 3 seasons (2019 and 2020). Ultimately, Hooper enters the year as a TE2.