The Cincinnati Bengals have re-signed Tanner Hudson to a one-year contract extension through the 2024 season, the team announced Friday.
Hudson was one of the best feel-good stories of the 2023 Bengals. After going undrafted out of Southern Arkansas in 2018, Hudson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he spent the bulk of the season on the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster for the final two games, though he did not appear in either contest.
In 2019, Hudson made the Buccaneers’ final roster to begin the 2019 season and appeared in nine games (one start). He caught two passes on five targets for 26 yards.
The following year, Hudson would bounce between the practice squad and active roster, even playing in the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished the season with three catches on seven targets for 41 yards.
In 2021, Hudson spent most of the season on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.
Then in 2022, Hudson joined the New York Giants, appearing in 11 games while grabbing 10 passes on 15 targets for 132 yards. He was waived in December and then signed to the Bengals practice squad before landing a futures contract.
After a strong training camp, it looked like Hudson would make the Bengals’ Week 1 roster, but a preseason injury derailed those hopes, so he began the season on the practice squad. He would get several gameday call-ups while catching four passes for 48 yards in two games before being signed to the 53-man roster ahead of the team’s Week 9 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
That’s when the world really got to know Hudson. He finished that game with four grabs for 45 yards and then caught six passes for 33 yards the following week vs. Houston. He ended up catching 33 balls on 44 targets for 304 yards and one touchdown over the final 10 games of the season.
Now, Hudson will compete alongside Drew Sample and the newly-signed Mike Gesicki for snaps next season in the Bengals tight end room.
