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Cincinnati Bengals tight end Hayden Hurst was an important part of his team's Divisional Championship win over the Buffalo Bills last week, scoring his team's second TD of the game and helping push the Bengals to an early 14-0 lead.
Hurst appeared to emerge from the game without injury but his name popped up on Thursday's injury report with a calf issue.
Cincinnati's No. 1 TE is suddenly in question heading into an AFC Championship tilt against the Kansas City Chiefs. Will Hurst take the field on Sunday? Let's dive in and take a look.
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Hayden Hurst Injury Updates for Fantasy Football
UPDATE 1/26: Hurst practiced fully on Wednesday.
UPDATE 1/27: Hurst was limited in Thursday's practice session.
Hayden Hurst Injury News
Hurst had a big afternoon in Cincinnati's upset win over the Bills in the AFC Divisional round, catching five of his six targets for 59 yards and a touchdown while playing on 51% of his team's offensive snaps, a shade below his regular season rate of 61.4%.
He was able to practice on Wednesday as the Bengals began their preparations to take on the Chiefs on the road in the AFC Championship on Sunday but Hurst was downgraded on Thursday as he only practiced on a limited basis.
Hayden Hurst popped up on the #Bengals injury report today with a calf. He missed 3 games earlier this year with a calf. Jonah Williams and Alex Cappa were both DNPs.
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) January 26, 2023
It is not clear whether the Bengals are being cautious with the starting tight end or if he suffered a setback on Wednesday. That being said, this isn't his first calf issue this season as Hurst missed three games earlier in December with a strained calf.
An injury to watch: #Bengals TE Hayden Hurst was listed as limited in today’s practice because of a calf injury.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 26, 2023
Is Hayden Hurst Injured or Playing in the AFC Championship?
At this point it is hard to say exactly what Hurst's status is heading into the AFC Championship. In a bit of good news, Hurst was apparently in uniform ahead of his team's Friday practice.
Bengals TE Hayden Hurst, limited with a calf injury yesterday, was spotted in uniform ahead of Friday’s walkthrough.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) January 27, 2023
That being said, Friday's session was only a walkthrough so Hurst could still be in danger of sitting even if he takes part fully on Friday. It will be necessary to keep an eye on Cincy's final practice report of the week and see what injury status they assign to Hurst over the weekend.
If Hurst is active on Sunday, he will in the conversation as a decent value option at the tight end position in DFS contests on a Sunday slate that otherwise features high-priced options Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, and George Kittle.
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