Tee Higgins is getting the franchise tag (again) 🏷️

Welcome to the dog days of the fantasy football offseason. Yes, June is bad… but the high of the 2024 season is officially wearing off, and reality is setting in: we’ve got a long way to go until we see any live football action again.

The 2024 NFL season is officially a wrap, but fantasy football never sleeps at Upper Hand. Join the Upper Hand Fantasy Discord for year round discussion, advice, and smack talk, and more!

• Saints new HC Kellen Moore neglects to commit to Derek Carr as the team’s starting quarterback in 2025

  • During his introductory presser as the team’s new head coach, Moore was afforded multiple opportunities to throw support behind the current top passer on the Saints’ depth chart, Derek Carr. Moore was complementary of Carr’s ‘journey’ in the NFL and called him a starter in the league, but he refrained from making a concrete statement enshrining Carr as the Saints’ QB1 off the bat. The Saints are heading into uncharted territory in the first year of the Kellen Moore era and face a tall task of getting under the league’s salary cap while also dealing with aging veteran players across the board. It’s far from the ideal landing spot for a rookie head coach to make his debut in, and adding to the pressure is the decision to be made at quarterback. Derek Carr was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL through the first two weeks of the 2024 season, but the wheels quickly fell off as a result of injuries both to Carr himself and and the entire Saints team. He’s not set to be an unrestricted free agent until 2027, and the most feasible –though not the most cost-effective – way to move off of Carr would be to cut him and incur $50M in dead cap this offseason. In that event, the Saints would be without an experienced QB heading into year one of Kellen Moore’s term as HC – and with the team sitting at 9th in the draft order this year, it’s unlikely that New Orleans would be within striking distance of any of the top QBs in this year’s draft.

• It’s ‘not a given’ that Matthew Stafford is quarterbacking the Rams in 2025, per the Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue

  • Stafford hasn’t been a fantasy QB1 in Los Angeles since his first season with the Rams in 2021, when he threw for nearly 5000 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 17 picks. In the three years since, he’s finished outside the top-12 in each year and finished no higher than the QB15 despite additions like Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams being added to the offense. At 37 years old, Stafford is either in or past the twilight of his career and it seems like the Rams don’t want to hitch their boat entirely to Stafford’s durability, and that makes sense; however, a potential hole at quarterback for the Rams could complicate things in 2025 for Puka Nacua and co. According to reports, the Rams representation met with Stafford’s representatives during Super Bowl Week to discuss the next steps forward with not too many constructive results. If things continue to remain at an impasse, a trade could reportedly be an option for the veteran passer. Waiting in the wings, too, is another veteran signal caller looking to turn things around – Aaron Rodgers is expected to have interest in any potential opening with the Rams should it become available. Stafford’s next destination if not with the Rams is anyone’s guess, but with just Stetson Bennett as the only other QB on the roster and the Rams not within shouting distance of where the top QB prospects are expected to come off the board in the draft, LA could be in the market for a bridge quarterback… a role that Rodgers could play.

• Sports Illustrated’s James Rapien reports that the Bengals are expected to place the non-exclusive franchise tag on WR Tee Higgins

  • It’s the second straight year that the Bengals will be using the tag on the star wide receiver, and comes on the heels of a season that Higgins ultimately played out on the last tag in 2024. Despite playing just 12 games, Higgins ranked as the overall WR2 in fantasy points per game behind teammate Ja’Marr Chase with a very strong 109/73/911/10 line. He posted less than 12 points just three times last season while also boosting the performance of his teammates while he was on the field; in games where Higgins played more than 20 snaps, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase both averaged 3 more points per game than in games where Higgins played fewer than 20. Needless to say, his presence in the offense is highly impactful, and both Burrow and Chase have talked this offseason about the importance of the Bengals bringing back Higgins on a new deal. According to NFL sources, the current sentiment around the league is that the Bengals placing the tag on Higgins is an indicator that Cincy plans to sign Higgins to a long-term extension; however, with contracts looming for fellow WR Ja’Marr Chase and DE Trey Hendrickson, it’s certainly looking like it will be easier said than done. The bottom line is clear: Higgins remaining in Cincinnati would be the ideal scenario for fantasy. He’d stay in a familiar system on a good offense with Joe Burrow at QB – three selling points that no other team can claim to have all three of.

First Cooper Kupp, now Deebo Samuel – the 49ers granted him permission to seek a trade this offseason, so here are 5 ideal fantasy destinations for Deebo in 2025.

The problem with Deebo compared to a guy like Cooper Kupp is that he doesn’t have this, ELITE target earning profile that we can say we’ve seen recently. In Kupp’s case, we saw that THIS season – he averaged a 29% target share in 9 games through the first 14 weeks of 2024. Deebo, he averaged a 19% target share for the season and topped 25% in only six games. So this is a receiver who isn’t an elite target earner – or even a good one, to be honest – so I think he’ll fit best on a team with less target competition where he can be a de facto Number one or on an offense that’s good enough that it will elevate him by default.

Number one, Patriots. The Patriots need receivers, but they might need experience in the wide receiver room more. They took Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker in last year’s draft, but neither of them hit the ground running in 2024. Drake Maye looked impressive this past season and the clock is already ticking on his rookie contract, and with the most cap space in the league, the Patriots have the facilities to add Samuel relatively cheap as a veteran presence that can instantly become Maye’s safety blanket. Like I mentioned before – no competition for touches as things stand today, so he could thrive in New England.

Number two, Commanders. When one of the best offenses in the NFL has an opening at the WR2 spot and Jayden Daniels as its quarterback, it’s going to be listed as a top destination for every big name free agent. I’d still rather see Cooper Kupp go here, but Deebo offers a skillset in one player that Washington was using three wide receivers last year to cover (Jamison Crowder, Noah Brown, and Dyami Brown). Kliff Kingsbury could scheme up production for him and with Jayden Daniels’ ability off-script, Deebo would be in for a bounce back year moving from Santa Clara to Washington D.C.

Number three, Bears. Another team with a lot of cap space – they’re fifth – but it’s Ben Johnson that has me intrigued by this potential landing spot for Deebo. Keenan Allen is a free agent in March, so the Bears could do a pull and play by swapping in Deebo in Caleb Williams’ second year and roll with the three headed monster of D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Deebo Samuel. Then say the Bears draft Ashton Jeanty at 10… they’d be giving Ben Johnson an arsenal that’s as close as any team to the juggernaut he was pulling the strings for in Detroit. I’m bullish enough on Ben Johnson in Chicago that I think the offense as a unit can elevate Deebo to relevance again.

Number four, Broncos. Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele, and Marvin Mims are all WR3s at best at this point in their careers, and Bo Nix needs another dependable target aside of Courtland Sutton in his second year. Sutton is a great contested catch and deep ball receiver, so Deebo can complement him nicely in the short game and across the middle. Sean Payton said it himself last week – they’re looking for a joker type player – and Deebo can be just that. Denver is squarely in contention for not only the playoffs, but also a potential run, so now is the time to load up and make a push.

Number five, Steelers. My least favorite of these potential landing spots, hence their ranking at five, but there’s nothing to worry about in terms of competition for targets for Deebo here. He can do a lot of what George Pickens doesn’t – that is, navigate the short areas of the field and make the catches between the hashes – and be an upgrade over Calvin Austin in the same role. The quarterback situation being up in the air is less than ideal, too, but there would be opportunity for sure in Pittsburgh where I’d at least be intrigued with the landing spot.