Digging Deeper: See more Week 18 motivation links below.
Team-by-Team Motivation | Player-by-Player Motivation: QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs
The trickiest part of Week 18 is determining where teams stand regarding effort. Some teams have their backs against the wall, while others want to emerge healthy. Meanwhile, a few have perfected "1-2-3 Cancun" for weeks.
We go game by game to see who has things to play for, either from a team perspective or based on statistical milestones.
A note: "Motivation" is entirely made up and subjective. The players playing will give their all, but teams will make selective choices on who plays and who sits out.
What tight ends are chasing contract incentives? What statistical milestones are in play?
Players In Must-Win Games
- Mark Andrews, Baltimore
- Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh
- Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati
- Jonnu Smith, Miami
- Kyle Pitts, Atlanta
- Sam LaPorta, Detroit
- T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota
- Zach Ertz, Washington
Players Expected To Sit
- Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City
Players Who Could Sit
- Tucker Kraft, Green Bay
*All Contract Incentives are from Spotrac
Must Win Players
Mark Andrews, Baltimore
- Team Motivation: 10 / 10
- Current Stats: 51 receptions, 619 receiving yards, ten touchdowns.
Statistical Milestones: Andrews has tied his career high with ten touchdowns. It is the third most in Ravens history, trailing Mike Jackson’s 14 and Torrey Smith’s 11. Andrews needs 16 yards to pass Todd Heap for the second most in Ravens franchise history. Andrews hit 50 career receiving touchdowns in Week 17.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati
- Team Motivation: 10 / 10
- Current Stats: 57 receptions, 597 receiving yards, two touchdowns.
Contract Incentives: Gesicki has layered, non-cumulative incentives. The first layer is 45 receptions, 500 yards, and four touchdowns for $125,000 each. The next layer is 55 receptions, 600 yards, and six touchdowns for $250,000. He has maxed his receptions bonus. Three more yards will mean $250,000, and a two-touchdown game would be $125,000.
Statistical Milestones: Gesicki’s 57 receptions are the fourth most by a Bengals tight end. Dan Ross (71 in 1981) and Jermaine Gresham (64 in 2012, 62 in 2014) have the top three spots. His 597 yards are the tenth most by a Bengals tight end.
Jonnu Smith, Miami
- Team Motivation: 10 / 10
- Current Stats: 79 receptions, 828 receiving yards, seven touchdowns.
Contract Incentives: Smith’s incentive involves the Dolphins placing in the top 20 yards or points combined with snap share. They are 18th in yards and 22nd in points, but he needs to hit a 59% snap share to trigger the $400,000 bonus. He is at 54.68%. It is nearly impossible to reach.
Statistical Milestones: Smith broke the Dolphins single-season tight end receptions record of 73, shared by Randy McMichael and Mike Gesicki. His 828 yards are also a franchise tight end record, beating McMichael’s 791. His seven touchdowns sit tied with Keith Jackson and Anthony Fasano for the most in team history. In NFL history, 43 tight ends have posted numbers at or better than Smith’s 79-828-7 line.
Sam LaPorta, Detroit
- Team Motivation: 10 / 10
- Current Stats: 53 receptions, 663 receiving yards, seven touchdowns.
Statistical Milestones: LaPorta has 139 receptions, 1,552 receiving yards, and 17 touchdowns in his first two seasons. He is the only tight end in NFL history to post that line in his first 32 games. There have been 15 wide receivers to equal those numbers within their first 32 games. Laporta already has the eighth-most receptions and seventh-most yards by a tight end in Lions franchise history.
Zach Ertz, Washington
- Team Motivation: 10 / 10
- Current Stats: 61 receptions, 610 receiving yards, six touchdowns.
Contract Incentives: Ertz has $250,000 bonus incentives at multiple statistical thresholds. At 60, 70, and 80 receptions, 600, 700, and 800 yards, and six and eight touchdowns. He would need nine receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns to hit the subsequent layers.
Statistical Milestones: Ertz’s 770 receptions are the 43rd most in NFL history. He has the sixth most receptions by a tight end, trailing Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Travis Kelce, Antonio Gates, and Shannon Sharpe. He has the eighth-most tight end receiving yards.
Low Stakes Record Chasers
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas
- Team Motivation: 0 / 10
- Current Stats: 108 receptions, 1,144 receiving yards, four touchdowns.
Statistical Milestones: Bowers has the rookie record for receptions. He also has the record for rookie tight end receiving yards. He needs eight receptions to tie Zach Ertz’s tight end record of 116 catches. He also has the Raiders' single-season receptions record. He needs 103 yards for Todd Christensen’s franchise record for tight end receiving yards.
Trey McBride, Arizona
- Team Motivation: 0 / 10
- Current Stats: 104 receptions, 1,081 receiving yards, one touchdown.
Statistical Milestones: McBride’s 104 catches are the ninth most by a tight end. He needs 11 to tie DeAndre Hopkins’ Cardinals franchise record and 12 to tie Ertz’s tight end record. Another 124 yards will get him to Jackie Smith’s franchise tight end record.
Contract Incentive Hodge Podge
Multiple depth tight ends have incentives built into their contracts:
| Player | Catches | Incentive | Current Number | Playing Time | Incentive | Current Number | Rec Yards | Incentive | Current Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Gray | 30 | $150,000 | 39 | 55% | $150,000 | 59.19% | |||
| 40 | $200,000 | 65% | $175,000 | ||||||
| 50 | $250,000 | 75% | $250,000 | ||||||
| Tyler Conklin | 50 | $250,000 | 49 | ||||||
| Austin Hooper | 40 | $125,000 | 41 | 50% | $125,000 | 51.70% | |||
| 45 | $125,000 | 55% | $125,000 | ||||||
| 50 | $125,000 | 60% | $125,000 | ||||||
| 55 | $125,000 | ||||||||
| Jordan Akins | 45 | $300,000 | 34 | ||||||
| Dawson Knox | 30 | $100,000 | 22 | 45% | $125,000 | 250 | $100,000 | 311 | |
| 40 | $100,000 | 55% | $125,000 | 400 | $100,000 | ||||
| 60% | $125,000 | 60.53% | 750 | $100,000 | |||||
| Adam Trautman | 25 | $125,000 | 13 |