Sample completed his sixth season with the Bengals in 2024, and despite being a second-round pick back in 2019, it was more of the same for the former University of Washington tight end. He hasn’t picked up more than 25 receptions since the 2020 season, and while he could be back with the Bengals again in 2025, there are way too many better options to believe Sample will ever be worth rostering.

Sample matched his season catch total with four against the Raiders. He caught a two-yard touchdown while none of his receptions were longer than five yards. The Bengals’ offense saw heavy focus on tight ends, with Tanner Hudson catching 2-of-3 passes for 14 yards and Erick All catching two passes before exiting due to injury. However, Mike Gesicki is the only fantasy-relevant tight end from the Bengals.

The re-signing of Sample won’t excite fantasy managers, as the fifth-year tight end has managed just 80 catches for 621 yards and three touchdowns for his career. Sample is a reliable depth signing for the Bengals, but the team still needs to add a viable pass-catcher at the position via the draft or free agency. Sample was tasked with blocking on 60.7 percent of his snaps last season and will serve primarily as a blocker in 2024.

Sample visited Arizona earlier this week. Once faced with some competition for his services, the Bengals acted quickly to bring him back. Sample only appeared in two games last year because of a season-ending knee injury. He previously served as a blocker for the Cincy offense, though he did manage to real in 40 passes as the team's primary starter in 2020. Sample will return to Cincinnati as a blocking tight end and a special teams contributor for the upcoming season.