Bengals Designate Two Players To Return, Including TE Mike Gesicki

This opens both players’ 21-day windows to practice before being activated. 

Gesicki suffered a pectoral injury in Week 6 and will now miss at least four games, but potentially longer depending on the severity of the injury. 

Gesicki, 30, is a former second-round pick by the Dolphins in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He finished the final year of his four-year, $6,611,924 rookie contract that included a $2,888,962 signing bonus and was franchise tagged by Miami.

He earned $10.9 million fully guaranteed in 2022 under the franchise tag.

Gesicki was testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when he signed a one-year deal with the Patriots worth up to $9 million. After playing out that deal, he signed another one-year contract worth $3.5 million with the Bengals in 2024.

The Bengals then re-signed Gesicki to a three-year, $25 million deal for 2025. 

In 2025, Gesicki has appeared in six games for the Bengals and caught eight passes for 61 yards.