Bengals TE Fant (concussion) returning vs. Lions

• Ben BabyOct 3, 2025, 01:42 PM ET

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  Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

CINCINNATI — Bengals tight end Noah Fant will play against the Detroit Lions on Sunday after missing a game while in the concussion protocol, coach Zac Taylor told reporters Friday.

Fant has been trending toward being available after he was evaluated for the head injury in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, did not return in the 48-10 blowout loss and missed Monday’s loss to the Denver Broncos.

Despite playing in only two full games this season, Fant is second on the team in total receptions (12) and has one of Cincinnati’s five receiving touchdowns.

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Bengals wide receiver Charlie Jones (Achilles) is expected to be questionable Sunday. Rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart will miss his third straight game with an ankle injury, Taylor said.