Cincinnati

Bengals

Higgins missed Week 13’s win over the Ravens due to a concussion he suffered in Week 12 against the Patriots. Now, Higgins will return to pair up with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase as the Bengals hope to keep their slim playoff chances alive with a much-needed win over the Bills. Higgins had been running hot prior to his injury, totaling 22 receptions for 355 yards and five touchdowns in his previous five games before going down, and will profile as a high-end WR2 in a game that should feature plenty of scoring this weekend.

He’s not completely out of concussion protocol yet, but this is a great sign about his chances of playing on Sunday against the Bills. It’s an upgrade from a limited session on Wednesday. Higgins would be an easy WR2 despite how the Bills invite the running game with Joe Burrow back feeding Higgins the rock.

This is a new injury for Brown. The fact that he is practicing fully is a good sign, but it is worth keeping an eye on his practice participation tomorrow. The Bengals’ lead back has totaled 100-plus scrimmage yards in six straight games. He can be expected to produce fantasy-friendly results against the Bills’ lacking run defense this weekend.

Higgins remains in the league’s concussion protocol. He went down with the brain injury in Week 12 and was forced to miss the team’s Thanksgiving win over the Ravens. A limited practice puts him on track to return this week, but he will need to get in a full session before clearing the league’s protocol. Assuming that happens, Higgins will return to a WR2 ranking against the Bills this week.

Taylor said Hendrickson was doubtful entering the week before saying the star pass rusher is still considered “week-to-week” when asked about his future availability. Hendrickson has missed three straight games due to his injury and is primarily working with trainers, per Taylor. We’ll see if Hendrickson can get back on the field come Week 15 when the Bengals face the Ravens.

It’s not the best news, but it’s possible that Higgins clears by the end of the week given he suffered the concussion in Week 12’s loss to the Patriots. This will be one we’re tracking closely ahead of Week 14’s (in most cases) final regular season game for most leagues.

The 80th overall pick of the 2024 draft class has fallen behind Mitchell Tinsley in the pecking order and has not received a snap yet this season after spending most of last year as the guy the coaching staff was willing to call out for showing up late and not working hard enough. This has little fantasy impact.

Gesicki was the leader of a tight-end-by-committee in Week 13. Tanner Hudson, Drew Sample, and Noah Fant all caught one pass on two targets. Hudson’s only grab was a toe-tapping touchdown from 14 yards out. Tee Higgins was out with a concussion this week, but Geiscki did little to earn more work if Higgins misses another game. He will barely be on the TE2 radar even if Higgins remains out for Week 14 versus the Bills.

With Tee Higgins out because of a concussion this week, Tinsley ultimately operated as the team’s No. 2 receiver, just like he did in Week 12. He earned plenty of targets, but the young wideout failed to come up with any of his difficult targets, only bringing in the layups Joe Burrow threw his way. Higgins could be back next week. Even if he isn’t, the Bengals will likely try to get Andrei Iosivas more involved after this inefficient performance from Tinsley.

Tee Higgins was out this week, freeing up some work for the Bengals’ depth receivers. Despite Mitchell Tinsley seeing nine targets to Iosivas’s two, Iosivas ultimately went for more yards and scored the only receiving touchdown for a Cincinnati wide receiver today. Higgins missed five games in 2024. Iosivas only caught eight passes in those games, but he found the end zone three times. Higgins missed this game with a concussion, meaning he could be back for Week 14. Iosivas won’t be on the fantasy radar if that happens. He will be a touchdown-or-bust WR6 if Higgins is out again.