Jermaine Gresham doesn’t believe his role will expand ‘much’ with Tyler Eifert out

Cincinnati Bengals second-year tight end Tyler Eifert came into the season with a shoulder injury, but he was fine in Week 1 and caught three passes for 37 yards. Expected to take a bigger role in the offense especially in the slot with Marvin Jones injured for a few weeks and Andrew Hawkins gone, Eifert’s plans will instead be put on hold, as he is on the short-term injured reserve after dislocating his elbow against the Baltimore Ravens. It’s an injury that hurts the Bengals flexibility on offense, in addition to taking away a solid weapon from Andy Dalton. The Bengals, however, have another solid TE on their roster in Jermaine Gresham, though he doesn’t seem to think he’s in for a considerably bigger role with Eifert down.

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He told reports when asked about a potential increase in snaps and/or targets, via the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Richard Skinner, “I don’t see much changing. We’re just down one great player. Things are going to be the same. I don’t see myself getting any more than I normally would or anything like that.”

The tone of Gresham’s interview was very morose, as he succinctly stated that fans “hate” him, though he seems to accept this as a fact rather than lamenting it as an unfair opinion. Gresham caught just two passes for 16 yards against the Ravens, so it’s hard to believe that his role won’t increase from here until Eifert returns from the short-term IR. Although he isn’t a world-beater at the tight end position, Gresham is someone you can depend upon, so the Bengals will be fine, especially when Jones gets back.