Tyler

Higbee

This means Higbee will miss at least the first four games of the season. The Rams never bothered to feign during camp that Higbee was close to a return. It could be closer to mid-season before we begin to hear about him ramping up football activities. Free agent addition Colby Parkinson seems like the best pass-catching bet during Higbee’s absence, though Davis Allen remains on the roster.

Rodrigue has steadily beat the drum for the Rams’ tight end room this offseason, though it remains to be seen how much of a personnel shift Sean McVay will employ, having led the league in 11 personnel usage in five-of-seven seasons as the Rams head coach. Tight ends coach Nick Caley, who coached the Patriots’ tight ends from 2017-to-2022, reportedly turned down an offer for the Patriots’ open offensive coordinator role this offseason, “in part because of the group of players he coaches in L.A.” Fantasy managers should continue monitoring second-year TE Davis Allen and free-agent signee TE Colby Parkinson’s training camp development while starter Tyler Higbee rehabilitates a pair of Grade 3 ACL and MCL tears that occurred on January 14th.

As expected, Higbee lands on the physically unable to perform list after suffering an ACL/MCL injury in the Rams’ Wild Card game in January. With the long recovery that combination ACL/MCL injuries take, Higbee is likely to be out well into the season. The Rams signed Colby Parkinson in the offseason and he should be given the chance to start at tight end while Higbee is out.

The update comes passively from team reporter Stu Jackson, who mentions that Higbee’s return-to-play date remains unknown. Isolated ACL tears typically require at least nine months of rehabilitation and Higbee’s combination ACL/MCL injury occurred on January 14th. The PUP list’s minimum four-game stay makes sense. GM Les Snead signed free agent TE Colby Parkinson to a three-year, $22.5 million deal this offseason, ostensibly giving him the first crack at replacing Higbee as the team’s Week 1 starter. Parkinson never earned a full-time role with the Seahawks but tallied 15 explosive pass plays (15-plus yards) as a backup over the last two years.

Higbee tore his ACL and MCL in LA’s Wild Card Round loss to the Lions. He was taken down on a blindside hit to the leg. Though Snead didn’t set a timeline for his recovery, it’s safe to assume Higbee will not be available for the first month of the season. He could miss more than half of the year. Davis Allen didn’t do much in his rookie season but did serve as Higbee’s backup for the majority of his debut campaign. He could be in line for a larger workload in year two.

Higbee was injured on a blindside low hit. The same type of hit that led to knee injuries for both T.J. Hockenson and Sam LaPorta earlier in the season. It seems like a fairly simple tackle to get out of the game, and one that might prevent a lot of knee injuries. In Higbee’s case, he will undergo surgery and almost certainly will miss the start of the season, most likely at least the first half of the season. That could lead to a bigger workload in 2024 for rookie TE Davis Allen.

Higbee took a low hit to his knee from safety Kerby Joseph and left the field only to never return. Sunday’s loss only adds insult to injury, as the Rams’ season is now over and Higbee will spend all offseason recovering from his injury in hopes of being ready for Week 1. Higbee will have an MRI to confirm the full extent of his injury.

Higbee left the game in the fourth quarter after a low hit that resulted in his knee being bent awkwardly. He ends the 2023 season as the TE21 in PPR points per game, a massive slide after back-to-back productive seasons. Rookie tight end Davis Allen also came on strong to end the season and could eat into the veteran’s snap rate in 2024 while playing on the first year of a two-year contract extension signed in September of the 2023 season.

Higbee missed a mostly meaningless Week 18 game with the shoulder issue and was limited in practice for all three sessions this week. He looks likely to suit up for LA’s playoff opener versus Detroit. With Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp soaking up most of the targets for LA, Higbee will be one of the weaker options at tight end this weekend.

Higbee was held out of Week 18’s contest against the 49ers, but the Rams rested several starters last weekend with their playoff spot already secured. He suffered a dislocated shoulder in Week 17, but with nearly two full weeks to recover, we’d expect Higbee to be good to go barring any unexpected announcements.