Raiders Re-Sign Paul Butler, Place Nick O'Leary On NFI List
The Las Vegas Raiders re-signed tight end Paul Butler to an undisclosed deal on Thursday. In a corresponding move, tight end Nick O'Leary (undisclosed) was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. Butler hasn't appeared in a regular season game in two years in the NFL with the Raiders and Lions. O'Leary was signed as a free agent after catching 13 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in 12 games (five starts) with the Jaguars and Dolphins in 2019. He was buried on the tight end depth chart to begin with, behind Darren Waller, Jason Witten and Foster Moreau, but now he'll miss the entire 2020 season. Las Vegas also has Derek Carrier and rookie Nick Bowers at the position.
The Las Vegas Raiders signed tight end Nick O'Leary to an undisclosed deal on Saturday. O'Leary played in seven games with the Dolphins and five games with the Jaguars in 2019, catching just 13 passes combined for 109 yards and one touchdown. The former sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2015 has 53 receptions for 668 yards and four touchdowns in five seasons in the NFL and is mainly a blocking tight end. He'll fill in as depth for the Raiders behind Darren Waller, Jason Witten and Foster Moreau. O'Leary will have zero fantasy appeal for the upcoming season.
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Nick O'Leary caught his first touchdown since joining the Jags in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. On the day, O'Leary caught four passes for 30 yards and the score. He was targeted five times. O'Leary's been targeted at least four times in each of his games with his new team, but I still don't think fantasy owners should overreact to Sunday's score. Even at a shallow position like tight end, you aren't trusting O'Leary in the fantasy playoffs.
The Miami Dolphins signed tight end Nick O'Leary to a one-year contract extension on Saturday. O'Leary was a sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2015. He has seven catches on eight targets for 77 yards and a touchdown with Miami this year and isn't a fantasy option behind tight end Mike Gesicki.
Miami Dolphins tight end Nick O'Leary was involved in his second career game as a Dolphin. He caught four passes on four targets for 49 yards and a touchdown in Miami's 31-28 overtime win over Chicago. O'Leary was recently promoted from the practice squad, mainly to be a blocker. His offensive contributions are surprising and probably unsustainable. Miami does not usually incorporate tight ends into their passing game. Their three tight ends have combined for 15 catches in the first six games. O'Leary will need to do it again before he can be trusted in fantasy.
The Buffalo Bills waived tight end Nick O'Leary on Saturday. The team will go with Charles Clay, Jason Croom, Logan Thomas and Khari Lee at the position. O'Leary was the top backup to Clay last year and had a career-high 22 catches.
Buffalo Bills tight end Nick O'Leary appears to be on the roster bubble with Logan Thomas, Jason Croom and Khari Lee making noticeable strides behind Charles Clay. Thomas and Croom need to work on their blocking, while Lee and Keith Towbridge must improve their pass catching. The Bills are aiming higher than O'Leary this year as the backup, so he must improve in the final three preseason games to stick. Thomas, 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, has the body, athleticism and skill set to make a push for the backup job. He's also a converted quarterback. Croom is a blocker extraordinaire who won't be used in the passing game. Clay is the only tight end worth fantasy consideration, and he had just 49 catches for 558 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games. He has low-end TE1 upside, but he's best taken as a TE2 with Buffalo having concerns at the quarterback position.
The Buffalo Bills re-signed exclusive-rights free-agent tight ends Nick O'Leary and Logan Thomas to one-year deals Monday. O'Leary, 25, caught 22 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games for Buffalo last year, mainly service as a blocker. Thomas caught just seven balls for 67 yards and a touchdown in 12 games. As long as pass-catching tight end Charles Clay remains healthy, neither O'Leary nor Thomas will have any fantasy impact in 2018.
Buffalo Bills tight end Nick O'Leary was targeted five times in the Bills Week 9 matchup against the Jets, and he managed to convert four of his targets to catches for a total of 51 yards. However, he did lose a key fumble that effectively buried any chance the Bills had to come back against the Jets. Otherwise, this stat line is likely about as good as it will get for O'Leary as he has little field stretching ability, limiting his upside. Additionally, he may not be the primary tight end for Bills much longer as regular starter Charles Clay is nearing a return to the field from a knee injury. So long as O'Leary starts, he is a viable fantasy streamer due to the Bills desire to get their tight end involved in the passing game, however his days as a starter appear numbered and he is about as uninspiring as it gets.
Buffalo Bills tight end Nick O'Leary disappointed in Week 8, posting just one reception for five yards. Heading into Week 9 he is difficult to trust thanks to the Bills propensity to spread out targets in an unpredictable fashion. Since taking over the starting role for the injured Charles Clay, O'Leary has posted six, two, and three targets respectively in three games. With the acquisition of Kelvin Benjamin and the potential that he plays on Thursday night, there is even more volatility added into O'Leary's expectations. That said, there are worse streaming options at the tight end position, but O'Leary should be avoided where possible.
