Howard lands in Vegas

The Raiders signed TE O.J. Howard to a one-year deal. The 2017 first-round pick has struggled since his 2020 Achilles tear, totaling just 24 catches across 30 games the past two seasons. Howard did average a big 14.5 yards per catch for the Texans last year -- but finished third among the team's TEs with just 10 catches. Howard at least finds opportunity in Las Vegas, where the Raiders traded away TE Darren Waller and have not at this point re-signed TE Foster Moreau. We'll see what the rest of the offseason brings. For now, consider Howard just a last-round flier in best-ball drafts.

Texans TE O.J. Howard caught both of QB Davis Mills' TD passes in Sunday's tie with the Colts. He ran well behind the other 2 TEs in playing time, though. Howard spent just 12 snaps in the game, trailing Brevin Jordan's 40 and Pharaoh Brown's 45. Brown ran 16 routes to Howard's 6, with Jordan leading at 24. It was a great Week 1 for anyone who stashed Howard late in a best-ball draft, but don't consider it a reason to go pick him up.

The Texans signed TE O.J. Howard. Once a promising fantasy prospect, Howard has totaled just 25 catches over the past 2 seasons and couldn't make a Bills team with nothing at TE behind Dawson Knox. We'll keep an eye on him, but Howard isn't a good bet for 2022 fantasy value. Brevin Jordan remains the TE to target in Houston.

The Bills are releasing TE O.J. Howard, according to multiple reports. This might be the end of NFL relevance for the once-promising former 1st-round pick who dealt with multiple significant injuries through his 5 years with the Bucs. Howard signed a 1-year deal with Buffalo this offseason but has been working behind lesser-known TEs throughout the preseason.

It doesn't sound like The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia expects O.J. Howard to push Dawson Knox for the Bills' starting TE job. "Howard has not looked like the dynamic pass catcher he was when he was a first-round pick out of Alabama in 2017," Buscaglia writes. "He also looks like he can be an excellent blocker for 12 personnel while still offering a pass-catching threat. But his movement skills are well below what Knox brings to the table." We'll keep an eye on this situation in August, but we bumped Knox up the TE Rankings and Howard down.

The Bills signed TE O.J. Howard to a 1-year deal. It has a $3.5 million base value that can climb to $5 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The relative cheapness of the contract points to where Howard's career is at. The 19th overall pick of the 2017 draft dealt with ankle, foot and hamstring injuries over his first 3 seasons but averaged 15.5 yards per catch and scored 12 TDs. A torn Achilles ended his 2020 season in Week 4, though, and Howard caught just 14 balls behind Rob Gronkowski this past year. Still, he's just 27 with a strong pedigree. And he lands in a top-notch Bills offense. TE Dawson Knox is the incumbent in Buffalo, coming off a career-best 49-587-9 line in his 3rd season. But we imagine that this will be an open competition for the starting job this summer.