A major injury to a very promising player could potentially alter the way the Cincinnati Bengals approach the offseason.
Earlier this week, the Bengals got the extremely unfortunate news that tight end Erick All Jr. is expected to miss the entirety of the 2025 NFL season. All tore his ACL in early November, and his recovery timeline has been extended due to complications from a previous knee surgery in college. Bascially, All needs two seperate surgeries to address the injury instead of just one.
The first surgery already took place, and the second surgery is expected to take place in the coming months. After that second surgery, All is expected to have a traditional recovery timeline from an ACL surgery. So, if all goes well, he should be good to go for the 2026 season.
Erick All's extended absence may force Bengals to alter their plans
In the meantime, All's injury could have an enormous impact on Cincinnati's offseason plans as they have three tight ends -- Mike Gesicki, Tanner Hudson and Cam Grandy -- headed for free agency. It's likely that the Bengals were planning for an expanded role for All in 2025, and now they'll have to recalibrate.
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Perhaps re-signing Gesicki becomes more of a priority now. Gesicki had a stellar season in Cincinnati, as he finished the campaign with 65 receptions for 665 yards and two touchdowns. He quickly became a top target for star quarterback Joe Burrow, and he even triggered a $125,000 incentive in his contract for surpassing the 600-yard threshold.
After signing a low, one-year deal last season, Gesicki is likely looking for a bigger payday this time around, and understandably so. And while the Bengals have to be prudent, perhaps now they'll be willing to spend a bit more to keep Gesicki around given All's injury. (Keeping a reliable pass-catcher like Gesicki around could also be especially important if the team loses Tee Higgins in free agency).
Or, maybe they'll look to add a tight end earlier in the draft than they would have otherwise. Tight end hasn't been mentioned as a major area of need for the team, but there's a lot of uncertainty at the position given All's injury and the three guys headed for free agency. It will be very interesting to see what the team decides to do.