Noah Fant

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.

Bengals TE Mike Gesicki (pectoral) put in a full week of practice and was activated from IR on Friday. He'll play vs. the Patriots for the first time since Week 6. It's good timing for the Bengals, who will be without WR Ja'Marr Chase. Gesicki had some big games with WR Tee Higgins out last season and could be leaned on against New England. But he'd be tough to trust in fantasy lineups coming off the long layoff. Gesicki's return also knocks TE Noah Fant out of fantasy consideration.

After practicing fully all week, Gesicki will resume his role as head of the Bengals TE committee. He and Noah Fant will likely cannibalize each other's production enough to keep either from being fantasy-interesting, but if they were ever going to be interesting, playing a pass-funnel Patriots defense with Ja'Marr Chase being suspended might be the place.

He was practicing in full all week, so the questionable tag leads us to believe the Bengals probably want to get Gesicki into game shape before activating him. Or, perhaps, it's one of the most optimistic questionable tags of the week. If Gesicki does play, he and Noah Fant will cannibalize each other's opportunities and leave neither of them as a sure-fire TE1, which is a shame because this Patriots outfit is a pass funnel that could support a mid-range TE1 finish from someone who actually got a full snap allotment.

Bengals TE Mike Gesicki (pectoral) has been designated to return from IR and will practice on Wednesday. He's been out since Week 6, and it's still unclear if he'll be ready to play vs. the Patriots this weekend. Cincinnati could certainly use Gesicki with WR Ja'Marr Chase suspended for this game. Gesicki wouldn't be a bankable Week 12 fantasy play, but his return would knock TE Noah Fant out of spot-start consideration.