How long will the Bengals be without Tyler Eifert?
Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert started jogging on the rehab field Monday. This was good news for him and the Bengals; however, for an injury he suffered during the Pro Bowl in January, the timetable to see Eifert making plays seems murky at best.
Eifert suffered a partial tear of ligaments in his ankle during the Pro Bowl in January. The type of injury usually doesn’t require surgery. He tried to rehab it for months but with it not healing properly it was decided that he would undergo surgery. Eifert travelled to Charlotte to have the surgery performed by specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in May.
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According to Geoff Hobson Eifert said that the ankle “feels good” and that he has had no set backs in the rehab since May. That seems to be looking at the glass half full. Before practice Eifert added;
“I’m not ready to practice. I’m not ready for change of direction, But I’m doing multiple treatments a day and doing lifting and conditioning multiple times a day. I try to do as much as I possibly can so when I’m ready to play I’m in shape.”
To me that doesn’t sound like a player that is close to returning. With the season opener less than three weeks away it seems doubtful that Eifert will be ready to return.
ESPN’s injury guru, Stephania Bell had this to say about Eifert’s return;
“You look at what it takes to go from jogging on hard ground to playing football at full speed with defenders. There is clearly a gap there that suggest much longer that the week one opener.”
I would have to agree with her. There is a bit of good and bad news for the Bengals if it takes longer for Eifert to return. The good news is the Bengals have a dynamic offense. The rookie Tyler Boyd seems to be ready to make an impact. You still have Dalton, Green, Hill and Bernard. Second string tight end Tyler Kroft, if healthy is a good backup. The bad news is the Bengals first three games are at the Jets, at Pittsburgh and then Super Bowl champions Broncos at home. Hopefully Eifert will get up to game speed quickly and be ready to return.
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