Fant will make his preseason debut with the Bengals during Monday's game against the Commanders, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Fant inked with Cincinnati on July 31 and hadn't picked up enough of the playbook to suit up for the team's preseason opener against Philadelphia on Aug. 5, but he's now acclimated enough to take on exhibition reps. With Mike Gesicki (hamstring) ruled out for Monday's matchup, Fant could get the start at tight end while all of Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, Tanner McLachlan and Cam Grandy work in behind him.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Monday that Gesicki (hamstring) is ruled out for Monday's preseason game against the Commanders, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Gesicki continues to miss practice due to a lingering hamstring injury, and he'll now be forced to sit out a second consecutive preseason game. His final chance to log exhibition action will come Saturday, Aug. 23 versus the Colts. With Gesicki out Monday, recent free-agency signee Noah Fant seems set to start at tight end in what will be his 2025 preseason debut.

Arroyo brought in both of his targets for 19 yards in Friday's 33-16 preseason win over Kansas City.

AJ Barner lined up with Seattle's first-string offense Friday, hinting that he has the early lead over Arroyo in the competition for the No. 1 tight end job. The 22-year-old Arroyo hasn't done anything to hurt his stock this preseason, catching all four of his targets for 33 yards across two contests. The rookie would have to leapfrog Barner in the Seahawks' final preseason game against Green Bay on Saturday, Aug. 23 in order to avoid starting the regular season as the backup option.

Barner pulled in his only target for five yards in Friday's 33-16 preseason win over the Chiefs.

Barner -- who is competing with rookie Elijah Arroyo for the starting tight end job -- started Friday's exhibition with the first-team offense. The 2024 fourth-round pick nabbed new quarterback Sam Darnold's first target as a member of the Seahawks. Barner appears to have the early edge in the competition after posting decent totals (30-245-4) as a rookie backup in 2024.

Helm hauled in all four of his targets for 48 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 23-20 preseason win over the Falcons.

The rookie tight end scored his first touchdown of the preseason when he took a 25-yard pass from backup QB Brandon Allen to the house. Helm has performed well through two preseason contests with five receptions for 64 yards, including Friday's touchdown. The fourth-round selection will look to finish the exhibition schedule off on a high note against Minnesota next Friday before opening the regular season as the Titans' No. 2 tight end.

San Francisco released Dwelley on Friday.

Dwelley suited up for all 17 regular-season games in a depth role with Atlanta last season, and he inked with the 49ers back in May. He'll work to carve out another reserve opportunity elsewhere in the league.

Keene's injury that landed him on season-ending injured reserve is to his leg, per a league source, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston reports.

It's a dangerous time to be a tight end for Houston, which has placed two members of the room on injured reserve this week. Keene follows Brevin Jordan, who will miss the season due to a knee injury, his second in as many seasons. The Texans signed free agent Tre' McKitty in the wake of those injuries.

Smith (hand) returned to practice Thursday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston reports.

Smith, who missed two days of practice this week, got healthy just in time for Saturday's preseason tilt against Carolina. It's a good time for him to be healthy, as the Texans lost a pair of tight ends this week to season-ending injuries -- Brevin Jordan (knee) and Dalton Keene (leg).

Fannin was cited as a riser at this week's joint practices with Philadelphia, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic.

Fannin dropped a potential touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco early in Thursday's session, but the rookie tight end responded by catching the next one thrown his way and later scored on a deep corner route. While head coach Kevin Stefanski hasn't directly said it, Jackson believes Fannin is ahead of schedule. He could line up all over the formation and will be involved in the offense, per Jackson, as the second tight end behind David Njoku.

The Bills signed Sokol on Thursday.

Just two days after waiving Sokol, Buffalo saw fit to bring him back on board ahead of its second game of the preseason Sunday at Chicago. His spot on the team isn't set in stone moving forward though, and it would be surprising if any tight end other than Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox or Jackson Hawes remained on the Bills' active roster after final roster cuts later in August.