Tonyan on the mend

Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com writes that the team feels “fine” about their TE situation. He notes that Robert Tonyan is making “significant progress” with ACL rehab. (Tonyan tore his ACL last October.) Interestingly, GM Brian Gutekunst shouted out TE Tyler Davis, a 2020 UDFA who played 121 snaps last season. “I think we might have found something there,” Gutekunst remarked. Tonyan, 28, posted 5 games with 10 or fewer yards prior to the injury. Don’t count on a major rebound.

The Bears signed TE Robert Tonyan to a 1-year deal. Tonyan spiked for an 11-TD season in 2020 but tore an ACL midway through the 2021 campaign. He made it back for the start of this past season but was barely fantasy relevant, finishing with 53 catches, 470 yards and 2 TDs. Tonyan ranked 29th among 32 qualifying TEs in Pro Football Focus' receiving grades. Perhaps he bounces back in 2023, another year removed from that knee injury. But Tonyan figures to slot in as Chicago's #2 TE as long as Cole Kmet is healthy. Consider Tonyan no more than a TE3 in early fantasy drafts.

TE Robert Tonyan led the Packers in targets (12), receptions (10) and receiving yards (90) in Sunday's loss to the Jets. His 76% route rate also ranked 3rd among Green Bay players. Tonyan and the Packers now get 3 straight road dates, against Washington, Buffalo and Detroit.

Packers TE Robert Tonyan found the end zone in Sunday's OT win over the Patriots, catching 1 of Aaron Rodgers' 2 TD passes. That came on 1 of just 2 targets for the game, though. Tonyan continued to see his opportunities capped, running a route on 57% of Rodgers dropbacks. He'll need to improve on that to climb toward top-12 fantasy football lineup consideration.

Packers TE Robert Tonyan (knee) is not listed on the final Week 1 injury report. He was limited in practice all week but is evidently set to play vs. the Vikings on Sunday -- 10-and-a-half months after tearing an ACL. Tonyan just returned to practice in mid-August, so it's unclear if he's ready for a full-time role just yet. Despite Green Bay's WR issues, we'd try not to use Tonyan in Week 1 fantasy lineups.

Update: ESPN's Jeremy Fowler says Tonyan "will likely have a limited role" in the opener.

Packers TE Robert Tonyan (knee) was limited in Wednesday's practice. His status for Sunday's opener vs. the Vikings remains uncertain -- but it at least looks like he's close to making it back from last October's torn ACL.