Tyler Higbee

At 33 entering his 11th season, Higbee is the oldest skill piece on a team actively building youth (Klare, Ferguson, Ty Simpson). No dynasty appreciation path exists; value only decays from here.

Tyler Higbee tore his ACL on Super Wild Card Weekend (January 2025), and the rehab process required "a certain number of surgeries" that Higbee had to stagger going into the offseason. Age-related recovery concerns post-major injury are significant for a 33-year-old tight end.

Current Rams depth chart lists Colby Parkinson as the starting tight end with Higbee second, representing a notable decline from pre-injury status. In the wild-card game, Higbee played 39 of 76 offensive snaps (51.3%), which was second most among Rams tight ends behind Colby Parkinson (57 snaps).

Terrance Ferguson was drafted by the Rams in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft and had strong performances in late season, catching three passes for 33 yards and a TD in Week 16 at Seattle and two receptions for 54 yards and a TD in Week 17 at Atlanta. Ferguson's rising role directly threatens Higbee's opportunity share.

His final two playoff games show 3% and 5% target share at 20% and 10% snap rates — near-invisible usage. Sean McVay publicly stated the Week 18 volume spike was an injury artifact (Ferguson hamstring), not a role change. The trend is unambiguously downward.

Colby Parkinson (8 TDs in 2025) is the entrenched Rams TE1, and Terrance Ferguson — a 2025 2nd-round pick with an elite 96th-percentile RAS and league-leading 18.3-yard average depth of target — is the heir apparent. Higbee has been structurally displaced even if he stays in LA.

The Rams invested a Day 2 pick (61st overall, R2) on Ohio State TE Max Klare, a clear long-term succession signal at the position. Klare enters an already-crowded room and will immediately compete for the snaps Higbee has left, likely reducing him to a pure blocking/special-teams role by mid-2026.

Higbee finished his regular season having caught 25 of 36 targets for 281 yards and three touchdowns over 10 contests. In the wild-card game against Carolina, Higbee caught two passes (on three targets) for 45 yards, including a 36-yard pass from Matthew Stafford that put the Rams in Panthers territory leading to a field goal. Deep playoff run could increase opportunity.

Higbee is the Rams all-time leader in touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards for tight ends. He is one of the remaining holdovers from their last Super Bowl (2021), providing organizational continuity and trusted target status with Matthew Stafford.

With the 13-personnel package (1 TE, 3 WR) LA runs, a healthy tight end group would be a huge positive for LA. The Rams have mixed in more 12 personnel (2 TE) in 2025, jumping to 29.7% usage which is 11th in the NFL, up from 15.6% last year (25th). This structural shift creates multi-TE opportunity.

If Higbee signs with a TE-needy contender as a red-zone specialist or bridge starter, there is a narrow window for late-career fantasy relevance. Historical precedent (Greg Olsen, Jordan Reed) shows aging TEs can contribute 1-2 seasons elsewhere, though production ceiling is TE2 at best.

If both Ferguson and Parkinson miss significant time simultaneously, Higbee could briefly serve as TE1 bridge and generate 6-10 target weeks at a higher rate. This is a low-probability, short-duration scenario given Klare's immediate availability.

As the franchise's all-time TE receiving TD leader (27 TDs), Higbee retains marginal goal-line credibility that could generate sporadic touchdown-dependent weeks. The ceiling on this role is 4-6 TD-spot appearances across a full season.