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 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.

New Titans TE Austin Hooper has been getting extra reps with QB Ryan Tannehill after practice. "Chemistry is just repetitions over time," he told reporters afterward. Titans TEs have disappointed with their target shares over the past couple of years, and Hooper might face a challenge from buzzy rookie TE Chig Okonkwo. But he also faces nice opportunity in a Tennessee offense that traded away WR A.J. Brown and released WR Julio Jones since last season. Hooper has consistently gone in TE3 range of drafts.