Bengals’ tough roster decision from two months ago is now set to pay dividends following brutal injury
The loss of two tight ends for the Cincinnati Bengals with over half a season remaining has all eyes on rookie Jack Endries taking a huge leap in terms of playing time. It’s a good thing his draft status didn’t prevent him from being here.
First it was Tanner Hudson. Then it was Erick All Jr. The loss of two tight ends for the Cincinnati Bengals with over half a season remaining has all eyes on rookie Jack Endries taking a huge leap in terms of playing time.
Endries has appeared in three games for the Bengals this season. He’s taken 10 snaps on offense. He may reach that total by the end of the third quarter in Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. With Hudson and All now both out for the year, Endries is now Cincinnati’s new TE3.
“I’ve got trust just watching him operate in practice and in meetings and in training camp that if needed, he was going to be ready to go,” Zac Taylor said of Endries Wednesday afternoon. “And there was a time where he wasn’t needed, you know, because we had everybody healthy. And now’s that time, so I’m not nervous at all about using him. I think he’s earned the opportunity. I’m excited to watch him play.”
Endries getting this shot was far from a given this year. In fact, it was merely an assumption he would be on the roster in the first place.
Bengals’ decision to keep Jack Endries is paying off
Cincinnati waited until the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft to select Endries. He was projected to go off the board far earlier, something he was acutely aware of after he heard his name called.
Seventh-round picks are the most expendable draft picks. Their roster spots need to be earned much like that of an undrafted free agent as their contracts guarantee very little money. Endries had that disadvantage coupled with the fact that the Bengals had all of their TEs from the previous year back on the roster. He would have to beat out an incumbent just to make the 53-man roster.
Keeping Endries over someone like Hudson or Cam Grandy was a topic of debate. Endries helped make it simpler by having a productive first preseason with six receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown, but the choice to move on from experienced players didn’t come until the very end of the offseason.
Endries made the team and was kept from hitting the waiver wire for another interested club to claim him. Hudson was stashed to the practice squad and played significant snaps before his injury. Grandy chose to sign with the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, but Cincy signed him to its active roster two months later.
A tough decision back then looks quite smart now.
Joe Burrow is fully on board with Endries
Quarterback Joe Burrow has made a revolving door at TE work before. The loss of both All and Hudson has its challenges, but the MVP candidate is looking forward to featuring the rookie stepping up.
“It’s going to have to be by committee, so Jack will get certainly some more reps,” Burrow said Wednesday. “[I’m] excited to see what he can do and how he can keep improving and growing, and then we’ll see where we go from there.”
Jack Endries college stats
Endries played three years at the collegiate level. He started at Cal from 2023-24 before playing the 2025 season at Texas.
- 124 receptions
- 1,376 receiving yards
- Seven touchdowns
Signing Grandy back gives them flexibility here. The reintegration of a player with two years in the system can take some of the load off Endries’ shoulders, but Endries has the receiving capabilities Grandy lacks. Starter Drew Sample is quite limited in that space as well. Endries will have to get dirty in the run game to stay on the field, but his comparative value to his teammates is when the ball is in the air.
“He seems to have a feel for the game,” Burrow said of Endries. “All the things that we talk about in in the past game, Jack seems to just see it and feel it like the quarterback does. You know, obviously he’s got a ways to go just being a rookie, and seeing all those different looks in a lot of different spots, but we feel good about where he can go, and he also brings some some toughness, I think, in the in the run game as well. I haven’t seen too much of it, obviously, because he hasn’t been out there really, but I’m excited to see what he can do.”
From seventh-rounder to new component in an offense beginning to hit its stride. Endries was kept around for moments like this.
