Cincinnati Bengals DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Tee Higgins (knee) and Charlie Jones (groin) were listed as limited in Wednesday's practice session. While Higgins is listed with a knee ailment, the Bengals are merely resting him late in the season after he's already miss a handful of games due to injury in 2024. Barring a setback later this week, the 25-year-old should be fine to play in Week 16 on Sunday against the division-rival Cleveland Browns. He missed three games due to a quadriceps injury in the middle of the season but has found the end zone in three of his last four games played, which includes 21 catches on 36 targets for 328 yards. Higgins doesn't have the consistent high fantasy ceiling that teammate Ja'Marr Chase has, but he's been extremely productive when healthy in 2024 and has WR1 upside against the Browns. In the first meeting against Cleveland, he went for four catches, 82 yards and a touchdown.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (knee, wrist) was listed as limited for the team's first practice of the week on Wednesday. Burrow has been managing a sore knee and has been getting treatment for his surgically repaired right wrist in the last week, but he was able to start in the Week 15 win over the Tennessee Titans and continued to be impressive, throwing for 271 yards and three touchdowns, although he also uncorked two interceptions and lost a fumble. There's no reason for fantasy managers not to expect the 28-year-old to be out there for a divisional matchup this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals are likely to miss the postseason, but hasn't been for lack of Burrow's effort as one of the best QBs in football in 2024. Even though he had only 181 yards and two TDs in the first meeting against Cleveland on Oct. 20, Burrow should be a top-five fantasy QB in Week 16.

The Cincinnati Bengals signed kicker Cade York from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Tuesday and also signed linebacker Joe Giles-Harris and safety Jaylen Key to their practice squad. York had been elevated to the active roster the last few weeks to fill in for the injured Evan McPherson (groin), who is on Injured Reserve, but now he's officially on the active roster heading into a Week 16 contest against the division-rival Cleveland Browns. With the Bengals potentially being eliminated from postseason contention very soon, they may choose to just roll with York as their placekicker for the final three games of the regular season. McPherson isn't eligible to return until Week 18. In the last two games with Cincy, York has hit all three of his field-goal tries and has missed one of his eight extra-point attempts. He'll be in play as a kicking streamer in deeper leagues this Sunday against the Browns.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (knee) didn't have any issues with his surgically repaired knee in the Week 15 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Burrow was wearing a sleeve on his knee in last Monday night's win over the Dallas Cowboys and dealt with some soreness after that game, but he was fine to play on Sunday against the Titans. The 28-year-old former first overall pick had a mixed bag in the victory, going 26-for-37 for 271 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble, but the Bengals defense forced six turnovers to help the team overcome a sloppy performance. Burrow fell just shy of his fifth straight game with at least 300 yards passing. Burrow leads the league in both yardage (3,977) and passing touchdowns (36). Despite throwing for only 181 yards in Week 7 against the Browns, he'll be a must-start QB1 against them in the rematch in Week 16.

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki had three catches for 37 yards in Sunday's win over the Titans. The 29-year-old had three receptions for 24 yards in the Monday night victory over the Dallas Cowboys. While he played better in this one, it still wasn't good enough, especially for those in the hunt for a fantasy football championship. With his last trip to the end zone last occurring against the Raiders in early November, Gesicki will be tough to trust in the Week 16 AFC North clash with the Browns.