Tyler Eifert could miss the rest of the season
The Cincinnati Bengals have been hit by a number of significant injuries on the offensive side of the ball, as Marvin Jones was placed on the injured reserve after never recovering from an offseason injury, Giovani Bernard has missed a couple of games, superstar wideout A.J. Green missed three weeks, and Tyler Eifert was placed on the short-term injured reserve after dislocating his elbow in Week 1 against the rival Baltimore Ravens.
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Eifert was initially expected to miss just 4-6 weeks, but, when the Bengals placed him on the short-term IR, it was clear that his initial timeline was too optimistic. That said, it seemed like he would be able to return in Week 11, which was when he would be eligible to return (against the top-notch New Orleans Saints). Now, it doesn’t even look like he’ll be able to return by then, and it’s possible Eifert’s placement on the short-term IR could have been for naught.
According to Bengals official site beat writer Geoff Hobson, head coach Marvin Lewis stated that there’s a chance Tyler Eifert ends up missing the rest of the season, and it sounds like Eifert’s elbow dislocation is really that awful. If Eifert can’t come back, then the Bengals will be forced to roll with Jermaine Gresham as their main TE for the rest of the year, and Gresham continues to be a mediocre option and the subject of consistent criticism from fans. We can only hope that this isn’t the case, but we’ve also never heard any reports of progress from Eifert.