The Bengals may have uncovered a late-round find in Jack Endries.
In Cincinnati’s 16-14 preseason win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday night, the rookie tight end made a quick impression, finishing with three catches for 25 yards and hauling in the Bengals’ only touchdown of the game.
The scoring play came on a four-yard connection from Joe Flacco, giving Endries his first NFL touchdown and a moment he clearly savored.
“Awesome person to catch a touchdown from,” Endries said after the game. “That guy’s a legend.
I play catch with him every day, so it’s cool. Got a little connection there.”
Flacco made sure the souvenir stayed in the rookie’s orbit, too.
“I heard he ran after the play and grabbed the ball,” Endries said. “I didn’t know that. That’s really cool.”
For Endries, the touchdown was the latest stop in a path that started without much attention. He began as a walk-on at Cal, redshirted in 2022, then turned into one of college football’s most productive pass-catching tight ends.
In 2023, he caught 35 passes for 407 yards and two touchdowns and earned Freshman All-America recognition. The next season brought another jump, with 56 receptions for 623 yards and two scores, along with honorable mention All-ACC honors.
His quarterback at Cal was Fernando Mendoza, who later became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Endries transferred to Texas for the 2025 season and started all 13 games, finishing with 33 catches for 346 yards and three touchdowns. His college résumé ended with 124 receptions for 1,376 yards and seven touchdowns in 39 games, with every one of those games as a starter.
Even with that production, Endries lasted until the seventh round, where Cincinnati took him with the 221st overall pick. He arrived in camp with something to prove, and he knows the job description for his position goes well beyond catching passes.
“A tight end is a do-it-all type of guy that can play special teams and play every position on offense,” Endries said Thursday night.
There’s still a lot of work ahead before the Bengals sort out the final roster, and one preseason game won’t decide anything by itself. But for a seventh-round rookie trying to get noticed, this was about as good a first step as he could ask for.
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