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Hudson

Hudson, 31, was playing on an expiring deal this season but is now locked in for 2026. The veteran tight end played on 148 offensive snaps this season, per PFF, and has never been used as anything more than a backup since entering the league in 2019. He caught 19 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns this season.

He cleared concussion protocol and will return as a thorn in the side for Noah Fant-reliant fantasy managers in Week 8. Hudson has no standalone value, but he does leech off valuable snaps.

Hudson’s expected return bodes poorly for TE Noah Fant’s target-earning potential, though Fant should still run as the primary positional receiver. Hudson sat out in Week 7, allowing Fant to operate as a streaming TE1. Fant caught 4-of-4 targets for 44 yards and one touchdown.

Hendrickson is sidelined by a hip injury, though the Bengals fortunately get EDGE Shemar Stewart (ankle) back after a four-game absence. Taylor-Britt has evidently been benched in favor of CB Josh Newton this week. The Bengals’ offense lost two tight ends last week, with Hudson suffering a concussion and Mike Gesicki suffering a pectoral injury that landed him on injured reserve this week. Bengals TE Noah Fant is suddenly on the streaming TE1 radar as a result.

Mike Gesicki was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, meaning Noah Fant is now the only tight end of note available for the Bengals tomorrow. Expect Joe Flacco to lock on to his start receivers versus Pittsburgh, but Fant is at least in the TE2 mix as a player who could approach a 100 percent route rate.

Gesicki will miss at least four games after sustaining a knee injury last week against the Packers. Noah Fant and Tanner HUdson split tight end routes after Gesicki exited the game; Hudson saw five targets while Fant saw four from Joe Flacco. Fant would be the slight favorite to be the team’s nominal TE1 going forward, as he’s been targeted on a strong 30 percent of his pass routes in 2025.

He’ll almost certainly be ruled out. Noah Fant has some TE2 and single-game slate upside on Thursday night with Mike Gesicki likely heading to injured reserve and Hudson not stealing snaps from him. That’ll leave just Fant and Drew Sample as oft-used cogs of the Bengals tight end room that are still healthy enough for Week 7.

It’s an estimated DNP, but we almost never see someone clear protocol ahead of a Thursday night game. With Mike Gesicki also likely out, it looks like Noah Fant may have some stream appeal as a TE2 as the Bengals are forced to rely heavily on him and Drew Sample in their well-stocked tight end platoon.

Fant and TE Tanner Hudson benefited from fellow TE Mike Gesicki’s early-game pectoral injury, though fellow TE Drew Sample mixed in as well, catching 1-of-2 targets for minus-two yards. Hudson had the more productive day, catching 4-of-5 targets for 10 yards and one touchdown. None of the three can be relied upon in re-draft formats against the Steelers, though Fant ran a position-high 23 routes.

Hudson has a career receiving line of 73-705-2 over six NFL seasons. The former UDFA has spent his last three years with the Bengals, with whom he caught a career-best 39 passes in 2023. A reliable backup who has made just two starts in his career, this re-signing doesn’t move the needle from a fantasy perspective.