Oft-injured Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert signed a 1 year deal to stay in Cincinnati according to Ian Rapapport, and we should all be rooting for him to succeed.
Coming out of Notre Dame in 2013, Eifert was viewed as the top tight end in the draft, and the Bengals took him with the 21st pick in the draft. He played in 15 games during his rookie season totaling 39 catches for 445 yards and 2 touchdowns. While not an overwhelming rookie season, he showed promise, drawing attention away from AJ Green who put up, at that point, career numbers. Going into the 2014 season expectations were high for Eifert, who presumed to build on his solid rookie season and make that year 2 jump.
Unfortunately during the season opener Eifert suffered a gross elbow dislocation against the Ravens and was placed on injured reserve and missed the entire season. Had the new injured reserve policy been in place this year Eifert may have been able to come back and contribute to the team.
Eifert came back in 2015 healthy and ready to build on his rookie season now two years removed. And build he did. While missing 3 games due to a stinger in his neck, Eifert put up 52 catches, 615 yards and 13 touchdowns, earning his first pro-bowl selection. And, of course, he injured his ankle at the pro-bowl, which sidelined him for 8 weeks in 2016. In 8 games in 2016 he had 29 catches, 394 yards, and 4 touchdowns. If you extrapolate that out to a full season you get 58 catches, 788 yards and 8 touchdowns- a solid year that would have been even better if he weren’t working back from a broken ankle.
After a strong second half in 2016, 2017 looked to be promising until he suffered a back injury in week 2 and was placed on injured reserve yet again. And last year, in week 4 against the Falcons, Eifert broke his ankle again and missed the entire season.
The poor guy can’t catch a break. Pun not intended but intended. From all reports from his time at Notre Dame through today he is a stand up guy that is active in the community and just wants to play football. You sometimes forget just how much of a toll this game takes on players and Eifert is a prime example. He was poised to be one of the great tight ends in the game and has ended up on injured reserve in 4 of his 6 seasons, and will never reach the potential he had.
Here’s to hoping Eifert can stay healthy and contribute this year for the Bengals. He deserves a full year of health after the injuries he’s dealt with since he first got to the league.
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