The Cincinnati Bengals announced on Wednesday morning that they have added veteran tight end Mike Gesicki to the injured reserve with a pectoral injury. The IR designation requires Gesicki to miss a minimum of four games, though it does free up a roster spot in his absence.
Gesicki suffered the injury during the Bengals 27-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Gesicki has maintained a remarkable bill of health in his eight-year NFL career. Before this injury, the 30-year-old had missed just one game due to injury in his entire career, which came back in 2020 when he was a member of the Miami Dolphins. He has played 74 consecutive games, a streak that will now be broken.
Cincinnati’s Tight End Room Sans Gesicki
In his six games this season with Cincinnati, Gesicki put up rather unremarkable numbers, catching just eight passes for 61 yards. He is one of five tight ends who has caught a pass this season on the Bengals.
Noah Fant will more than likely be the clear cut TE1 without Gesicki, as the two had been drawing a nearly identical amount of targets. Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson and Cam Grandy have all been small factors in differing roles, but could definitely see more action now that Gesicki is out.
Hudson is currently on the injury report with a concussion and will miss the Bengals week seven contest.
Battle of the Elderly On Thursday Night Football
No, 40 years old isn’t elderly, but in NFL years, 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers and 40-year-old Joe Flacco might as well be vampires. The matchup between Cincinnati and the Pittsburgh Steelers has already garnered a couple of spectacular nicknames: the “Icy-Hot” bowl, dubbed by Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward, and the “Unc Bowl,” which has made the rounds on social media.
Call it whatever you want, but the AFC North rivalry showdown is shaping up to be a rather interesting game for both teams. Though the Bengals season has not gone according to plan in the slightest since Joe Burrow went down in week two, they’ve shown some resolve the last couple of weeks, hanging in games with two good teams in Detroit and Green Bay.
Now that Joe Flacco has a week under his belt with Cincinnati, he should be more accustomed to the offense, and with incredible playmakers like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, anything can happen.
On the flip side, the Steelers are looking to prove that they aren’t frauds. They come into week seven with a record of 4-1, but two of those wins came against bottom-feeding teams in the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns. Both of those games were much closer than they should’ve been considering how bad both of those teams have looked through six weeks.
TNF kicks off on Amazon Prime at 8:15 on Thursday, Oct. 16.
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