Mike Gesicki Injury: Should return soon

Gesicki (hamstring) is nearing a return and might be able to play if the Bengals had a regular-season game coming up this weekend, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Gesicki presumably will be held out of the preseason finale, but it sounds like he'll return to practice with plenty of time to gear up for a Week 1 game at Cleveland. While recent addition Noah Fant is a threat to take some of the snaps that Gesicki handled last season, the latter remains a clear favorite to lead Cincinnati's tight ends in routes and targets, having signed a three-year, $25.5 million contract in March (after catching 65 passes last season).