Newest Member of Cincinnati Bengals Won't Play in Preseason Opener vs Philadelphia Eagles

Multiple Bengals starters won't play in Thursday's preseason opener against the Eagles. They'll also be without their most recent roster addition.

Tight end Noah Fant won't play. Not because of an injury, but because he's still getting comfortable with the Bengals' offense. Zac Taylor is clearly excited about what Fant gives them on offense.

"He's done a good job picking it up with James (Casey)," Taylor said on Tuesday. "And so now the goal was to get him through this game. So Noah's a guy, he's not going to play in this game. And then once we get back, he's fully integrated. Now let's see how we can utilize him and continue to let him grow in our system. And part of it was because just not seeing him in football pads and running around, we didn't want to make sure we were putting him in a bad spot physically. So now once we get through this game, he'll be full go and has a couple extra days to learn the installs and stuff. I'm really excited about him. He's embraced everything we've put at him from a mental standpoint. I'm excited to see the physical stuff he has down on the field, routes on air and group install. And some of the walkthrough stuff we did yesterday, he did a good job comprehending. And so now the next step is just fully integrating him with the offense."

The Bengals signed Fant to a one-year contract last week. He's only practiced with the team twice (Saturday and Sunday). It makes sense to hold him out, let him get used to the offense, acclimated and ready for the Bengals' second preseason game against the Commanders. They play in Washington on Monday, Aug. 18.

Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki suffered a hamstring injury last Saturday and would be "questionable" if they were playing a real game this week. He won't play against the Eagles either.