Who Should I Start? Kyle Rudolph or Mike Gesicki

Monday, September 4, 11:06 AM

Two-time Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph announced on Monday that he will officially retire as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. Rudolph makes the decision after playing 12 seasons in the NFL. Originally a second-round pick of the Vikings in 2011 out of Notre Dame, Rudolph played the first 10 seasons of his career in Minnesota before joining the New York Giants in 2021 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. He'll finish with 482 career receptions on 709 targets for 4,773 yards and 50 touchdowns in 165 games (145 starts). In just nine games (zero starts) for Tampa in 2022, the 33-year-old had three catches for 28 yards and one touchdown. Both of his Pro Bowl campaigns came in Minnesota -- in 2012 and in 2017.

Saturday, March 8, 12:32 PM

The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed tight end Mike Gesicki to a three-year deal worth $25.5 million on Saturday, a source tells NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Gesicki will make $12 million in the first year of the deal and will return to Cincy as their top pass-catching tight end. The 29-year-old broke out in his first year with the Bengals in 2024 with 65 receptions for 665 yards in 17 games, although he only found the end zone twice. The Bengals also have Tanner Hudson that they just re-signed this week, too, but Gesicki should once again function as the team's primary pass-catching TE after he was the third leading receiver last year behind receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Gesicki should at least be in consideration as a low-end TE1 in fantasy in 2025, and he'd see an even bigger boost if the Bengals end up trading Higgins this offseason.