The Cincinnati Bengals had a clear focus on the offensive end coming into the 2025 NFL season. While the extensions for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins grabbed all the headlines, the team also brought back veteran tight end Mike Gesicki to shore up the in-between game. However, through the season’s first six weeks, things haven’t gone according to plan for the Bengals.
Superstar quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury that is slated to keep him out for at least three months. In his absence, backup quarterback Jake Browning tried, and failed, to keep the team afloat. As a result, Cincinnati had to make a panic move to bring in Joe Flacco as the new starting quarterback. Unfortunately, their bad luck hasn’t ended as Gesicki seems to be dealing with an injury of his own.
Will Mike Gesicki Play Against the Steelers?
A second-round pick for the Miami Dolphins in 2018, Gesicki had a solid run with the organization that drafted him for five years. His final year was far from excellent, as he tallied just 362 yards in 17 games.
As a result, Miami chose not to bring him back, leading him to spend the 2023 season with the New England Patriots, where he had another rough year. However, coming to the Bengals in 2024 signaled a sign of change.
The perennially available tight end once again played every game of the regular season (a feat he accomplished in six of his seven seasons), tallying 665 yards and two touchdowns. As a result, Cincy chose to bring him back on a three-year deal worth $25.5 million.
However, through the first six weeks of the season, the offense’s struggles were reflected poorly on him as well. Ranked 59th on PFSN’s TEi, he had just 61 total receiving yards in that time frame, not breaking the 20-yard mark even once.
A bad start got markedly worse for him when the Bengals faced the Green Bay Packers in Week 6. After the game, it was revealed that he had suffered a pectoral injury, one that didn’t look too easy to shrug off.
After the game, head coach Zac Taylor confirmed, “It’s going to be a while. We’ll just see what that means.” As it turns out, the “while” is going to be the worst-case scenario for Cincinnati fans.
Before their clash against the Steelers, the Bengals officially put him on the injured reserve list, keeping him out of action for the next four weeks, at a minimum. In his absence, Noah Fant is likely going to see an even bigger role on the offense as the team tries to find its first win without Burrow.