Mike Gesicki Saved From Brink of Death by Bengals Teammate Ahead of 2026 Season

Bengals starting center Ted Karras appeared on the Fitz & Whit Podcast recently and told a scary story tied to Week 1 Bengals star Mike Gesicki.

The veterans were eating steaks together, and Gesicki started choking, prompting Karras to perform the Heimlich maneuver on his teammate.

Life Saver

Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras (64) awaits a play in the huddle during the first quarter of the NFL Week 6 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Oddly enough, it marked the third time in Gesicki's life that he received the Heimlich.

"Mike gets his steak well done, so here's a lesson in that. And all of a sudden, Mike is sick. He looks at me, fear and tears in his eyes, and I immediately recognize it as choking," Karras told Andrew Whitworth and Ryan Fitzpatrick. "I kind of went into action. I've never had a harrowing moment like that in my life. Bent him over the sink and performed the Heimlich. We were about 30 seconds away from an actual, like, this is gonna be a serious thing here. But then it comes out later in the night. That's the third time he's been Heimliched. He's a three-time Heimlich. You're getting medium rare if you're eating steak around me from now on."

Blocking defensive tackles and food deaths.

A huge move by Karras, who had fun joking with Gesicki afterward. The Bengals' top pass-catcher in Week 1's 33-27 win caught five passes for 78 yards and a score.

He's an integral part of the team, and thankfully the whole NFL community can credit Karras for his heroics.

“That’s the thing about Mike G. It can come up at any time," Zac Taylor said about his top tight end on Sunday. "I always count on Mike. He has great awareness to break off routes, and he and Joe (Burrow) just have a good feel for each other, especially during that two-minute drill. There were some things where he ad-libs a bit. We give him that green light because he and Joe have that chemistry together. The coverage has to be perfect to take him away.

"Then, to get into the red zone — I know it wasn’t super sexy that he caught it and rolled into the end zone, but we’ll take it any way we can get it. Mike is a guy we can always count on. Joe has a lot of confidence in him. They have really good chemistry. So, it doesn’t surprise me when he comes up big.”

Thankfully, Karras stepped in when he did.

Check out the full clip below:

Ted Karras had to save Mike Gesicki’s life…

Turns out it was a pretty common day for Mike? pic.twitter.com/3kUZGlV62Z
— Fitz & Whit (@fitzandwhit) September 14, 2026

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