Who Should I Start? Tanner Hudson or Michael Mayer

Friday, March 7, 1:05 PM

The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed tight end Tanner Hudson to an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday, according to The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov. In his second year with the Bengals in 2024, Hudson regressed and had only 19 receptions on 23 targets for 154 yards and one touchdown in 11 games while Mike Gesicki was the team's third leading receiver behind wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The 30-year-old missed six weeks with two knee injuries last year, which also didn't help his cause. However, if the Bengals fail to re-sign Mike Gesicki this offseason, Hudson could be primed to be the team's top pass-catching tight end in 2025. Without Gesicki around in 2023, Hudson had the best season of his career, but it only yielded 39 catches for 352 yards and one touchdown on 50 targets in 12 games (one start).

Monday, June 30, 9:19 PM

The Las Vegas Review-Journal's Vincent Bonsignore reports that the Las Vegas Raiders are not interested in trading tight end Michael Mayer. It comes after reports that the Miami Dolphins were interested in acquiring Mayer from the Raiders after trading tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. Mayer is scheduled to make $1.6 million in 2025 and $2 million in 2026 and took a back seat in 2024 to rookie Brock Bowers, catching just 21 of 32 targets for 156 yards and no touchdowns in 11 games (eight starts) in his second year in the NFL. The 23-year-old Notre Dame product caught 27 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. There have been reports suggesting he'll have a bigger role in 2025 in two-tight end sets in new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's scheme, but as long as Bowers is healthy, he'll be the second fiddle at the position if he stays in Vegas.