The Bengals drafted a pair of tight ends over the weekend, but it doesn’t look like concerns about Tyler Eifert’s recovery from shoulder and elbow surgeries was the impetus to double down on the position.
Eifert said Monday that he’s waiting to get full clearance to return from his shoulder injury, a torn labrum that he had repaired after dislocating his elbow in the first game of last season. He expects to get that clearance before the start of training camp and is working to rebuild his strength until then.
“It’s just hard when you’re starting over physically,” Eifert said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I lost a lot of weight, a lot of muscle. I couldn’t really do anything there for three or four months. So just getting that back, getting back in the groove of lifting and getting strong, that’s probably been the hardest part. As far as the plays and being in here with the guys, it feels like I never missed a beat. Being out here on the field today, it’s kind of like riding a bike. Once you get back out there its all the same.”
With Eifert on the way back, third-round pick Tyler Kroft and fifth-rounder C.J. Uzomah will likely be part of the competition for the snaps left behind by Jermaine Gresham’s departure. If that approach pans out, the Bengals should be well stocked at tight end in 2015.