Rams fans are left with no doubts on who the team’s best tight end is
When the Rams extended Tyler Higbee to a two-year contract at the start of last season, the move was met with some skepticism by Rams fans:
“Seems like they’re making business decisions based on emotions. This is the time when the front office have to move on from players like Higbee.”
“Yeah Higbee drops every other ball and gets hurt every fourth snap. Rams are lost and don’t seem to care anymore.”
“Higbee has never been anything more than an average TE who more likely than not would not have been a heavily sought after free agent at season’s end.”
And perhaps nothing said about Higbee is incorrect. Maybe he does drop too many passes. Maybe he’s not a top-10 tight end. And maybe the team could have avoided an extension and waited to re-sign him after the season, if they wanted to do that.
However, with Higbee set to return from the ACL injury he suffered in last year’s playoffs, one thing is abundantly clear during his absence:
Tyler Higbee is the best tight end on the Rams and the best Rams tight end in the modern NFL era.
Sean McVay said the plan is for TE Tyler Higbee to be active against the Jets.
Haven’t officially activated him yet, but they expect to (barring unforeseen obstacles) given progress Higbee has made
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) December 13, 2024
Higbee’s two-year, $17 million extension with $11 million fully guaranteed is not so much different than teammate Colby Parkinson’s three-year, $22.5 million contract with $10 million guaranteed. Higbee makes $1 million more per year but they’re essentially treated the same on the books.
But Higbee has proven to be a valuable receiver and a capable blocker. Even when the team invested picks in other tight ends like Gerald Everett, Jacob Harris, Brycen Hopkins, and Davis Allen, Higbee was the mainstay. He never let up his position. Parkinson is the biggest tight end investment of the McVay era besides Higbee and what we’ve learned in his first season with L.A. is:
- Colby Parkinson is not as good of a receiver
- Probably not as good of a blocker
- Has his own problems catching the football sometimes
Parkinson’s 29 catches for 288 yards and one touchdown is in line with the four-year career he had in Seattle with the Seahawks, but Parkinson was splitting the field with Noah Fant and Will Dissly. Here he was supposed to supplant Higbee while he recovered from his knee injury, but despite getting zero competition from Davis Allen or Hunter Long, Parkinson is just not a dynamic threat in any way, shape, or form.
In the last seven games, Parkinson has 6 catches for 74 yards.
In Higbee’s most recent game where he didn’t get injured, he had six catches for 62 yards.
Higbee remains the Rams best tight end of the last 10 years, at least, and rather than releasing him in 2025 for minimal cap savings. L.A. might have to consider whether or not this is the best time to extend him again while his value isn’t as high.
Higbee has a $9.6 million 2025 cap hit, according to OvertheCap, with $3.4 million in savings if released.
Parkinson has a $9.8 million 2025 cap hit, with $3.1 million in savings if released.
Between the two, we know who is more likely to stay and more likely to go. It’s really only a question if Parkinson will save his job at the last minute. Higbee’s absence really only made him more valuable.
