Tyler Eifert

Tyler Eifert
refer to caption
Eifert with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013
No. 85 – Cincinnati Bengals
Position: Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1990-09-08) September 8, 1990
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight: 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school: Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Dwenger
College: Notre Dame
NFL Draft: 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21
Career history
Roster status: Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2018
Receptions: 142
Receiving yards: 1,716
Receiving touchdowns: 21
Player stats at NFL.com

Tyler Gregory Eifert (born September 8, 1990) is an American football tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Notre Dame, received All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college tight end. Eifert was drafted by the Bengals in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Early years

Eifert attended Saint Vincent De Paul Catholic School and Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He played tight end and defensive back in football and power forward in basketball. As a senior, he had nine touchdowns on offense and 97 tackles and five interceptions on defense. Considered only a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he chose to attend Notre Dame over other offers from Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue.[1]

College career

Eifert enrolled in the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 2009 to 2012. As a freshman in 2009, Eifert played in only one game after suffering a back injury.[2] As a sophomore in 2010, he entered the season as a backup to Kyle Rudolph but took over as the starter after Rudolph suffered a season-ending injury.[3] He finished the season with 27 receptions for 352 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games. In his junior season, he took over the tight end starting position. As a starter, Eifert had 63 receptions for 803 yards and five touchdowns.[4] He broke the school's tight end single-season receptions and receiving yards record, previously held by Ken MacAfee. He was named a 2011 Mackey Award finalist but did not win the award.[5] As a senior, he had 50 receptions for 685 yards with 4 touchdowns. He also won the 2012 Mackey Award after being named a finalist the year before and was also named second-team All-American by the Associated Press.

After a 42–14 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, Eifert decided to forgo his final season of eligibility and declared his intention to enter the 2013 NFL Draft.[6]

Professional career

Tyler Eifert at Bengals training camp
Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad BP
6 ft 5 3⁄4 in
(1.97 m)		 250 lb
(113 kg)		 33 1⁄8 in
(0.84 m)		 9 1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.65 s 1.65 s 2.69 s 4.32 s 6.92 s 35 1⁄2 in
(0.90 m)		 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7]

Eifert was selected in the first round with the 21st overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2013 NFL Draft.[8] On July 15, 2013, Eifert signed a four-year, $8.25 million rookie contract with the Bengals.[9]

2013 season

On September 8, 2013, Eifert made his NFL debut, recording five receptions for 47 yards against the Chicago Bears.[10] On September 16, 2013, Eifert caught three passes for 66 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[11] Of those three passes, Eifert grabbed his longest catch of the season, a 61-yard reception.[12] On October 20, 2013, Eifert caught his first career touchdown on a 32-yard pass from Andy Dalton against the Detroit Lions.[13] On December 15, 2013, Eifert caught his second touchdown of his career against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[14] On December 22, 2013, Eifert left the game against the Minnesota Vikings early with a stinger injury.[15] This injury sidelined Eifert for the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.[16]

2014 season

On September 7, 2014, during the first game of the 2014 season against the Baltimore Ravens, Eifert suffered a dislocated elbow after landing awkwardly on his arm while trying to twist out of a leg tackle.[17] He was placed on injured reserve on September 10, 2014, and ended up being out for the season.[18]

2015 season

On September 13, 2015, Eifert posted a career day with nine receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening victory over the Oakland Raiders.[19] On September 20, 2015, Eifert scored his third touchdown of the season against the San Diego Chargers.[20] On October 11, 2015, Eifert was also Andy Dalton's biggest target in a Week 5, 27-24 comeback victory against the two-time defending NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks with eight receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns.[21] On November 5, 2015, Eifert finished with five catches for 53 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 31-10 Bengals win over the Cleveland Browns, tying him with Rodney Holman (1989) and Bob Trumpy (1969) for the Bengals franchise record for single-season touchdowns by a tight end, with nine.[22][23] On November 22, 2015, Eifert caught three passes for 22 yards and two touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals. Eifert became the franchise leader for most single-season touchdowns by a tight end.[23] On November 29, 2015, Eifert caught a touchdown in the Bengals' 31-7 win over the St. Louis Rams.[24] Eifert left the game in the third quarter with a stinger injury.[25] The injury sidelined Eifert for two games until the season finale.[26] On January 3, 2016, Eifert capped off the regular season with a touchdown in the Bengals' 24-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens.[27] Eifert earned a bid to the 2016 Pro Bowl on Team Irvin but injured his ankle during the game.[28] He was ranked 44th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.[29]

2016 season

On April 13, 2016, the Bengals announced that they would pick up the fifth-year option of Eifert's contract.[30] The injury Eifert suffered in the 2016 Pro Bowl kept Eifert sidelined until Week 8 of the 2016 season.[31] In that game, Eifert caught nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Washington Redskins, his second 100-plus yard game of his career.[32] Eifert had his first 100-yard game since the 2015 opener and the first time he's teamed with wide receiver A. J. Green for a 100-yarder as well.[33] In Week 10, he caught three passes for 96 yards against the New York Giants.[34] In Week 12, Eifert caught five passes for 68 yards and a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens.[35] In Week 13, he caught a 13-yard touchdown, his third of the season, against the Philadelphia Eagles.[36][37] In Week 14, he caught five passes for 48 yards and a season-high two touchdowns against the Cleveland Browns.[38] He was placed on injured reserve on December 26, 2016 after dealing with a lingering back injury.[39]

2017 season

Eifert's 2017 season was again cut short due to injuries as he played 2 games with 46 receiving yards. On October 11, 2017, the Bengals announced that Eifert would undergo back surgery for the second consecutive season, putting him out for the rest of the year.[40][41] He also had a cyst surgically removed from his knee.[42]

2018 season

On March 15, 2018, Eifert signed a one-year contract to remain with the Bengals.[43]

During a Week 4 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, Eifert was carted off the field in the second quarter with a right ankle injury. The following day, it was revealed that Eifert suffered a broken ankle and would undergo corrective surgery and would likely miss the remainder of the season.[44]

NFL statistics

YearTeamGPGSRECYDSAVGLNGTD
2013CIN 15153944211.4612
2014CIN 1133712.3200
2015CIN 13125261511.83113
2016CIN 822939413.6715
2017CIN 2144611.5220
Career39311271,53712.17120

Personal

Eifert's brother-in-law is Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin, who is married to Eifert's sister, Morgan.[45] Martin and Eifert were teammates and roommates at the University of Notre Dame.

References

  1. ↑ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
  2. ↑ "Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert likely out for season - Home - The News-Sentinel". News-Sentinel.com.
  3. ↑ "Notre Dame loses Rudolph to hamstring injury". ESPN.com. 12 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Tyler Eifert". ESPN.com.
  5. ↑ "Article 404 - The Fayetteville Observer - Fayetteville, NC". The Fayetteville Observer.
  6. ↑ "Post BCS loss, Tyler Eifert declares for the draft". 8 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Tyler Eifert".
  8. ↑ Farrar, Doug (2013-04-25). "Cincinnati Bengals select Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert with the 21st overall pick". Yahoo Sports Canada. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  9. ↑ "Bengals' first-round pick Eifert signs deal". ESPN.com. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  10. ↑ "Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green hauls in 2nd TD catch of day (GIF)". FanSided. 2013-09-08. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  11. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (2013-09-16). "Bengals pin Steelers". Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  12. ↑ "Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert 61-yard catch". NFL.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  13. ↑ "Bengals TE Tyler Eifert 32-yard touchdown catch". Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  14. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (2013-12-15). "Steelers hit Bengals in mouth". Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  15. ↑ Marcum, Jason (2013-12-22). "GIF of George Iloka INT; Tyler Eifert ruled out". Stripe Hype. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  16. ↑ Sessler, Marc (2013-12-29). "Injury roundup: Megatron ruled out for Lions' finale". NFL.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  17. ↑ Cosenza, Anthony (2014-09-07). "Tyler Eifert Leaves Game With Elbow Injury". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  18. ↑ Alper, Josh (2016-09-10). "Tyler Eifert headed to injured reserve-return after elbow injury". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  19. ↑ Hanzus, Dan. "Tyler Eifert has breakout performance against Raiders". NFL.com. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  20. ↑ NFL (2015-09-20), Andy Dalton Fires a 9-Yard TD to Tyler Eifert | Chargers vs. Bengals | NFL, retrieved 2016-10-31
  21. ↑ Kirkendall, Josh (2015-10-11). "The amazing Tyler Eifert reception". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  22. ↑ Rosenthal, Gregg (2015-11-05). "Eifert scores 3 TDs as perfect Bengals beat Browns". NFL.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  23. 1 2 Marcum, Jason (2015-11-23). "Bengals vs Cardinals: Biggest winners and losers". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  24. ↑ Wooden, Ryan (2015-11-29). "Tyler Eifert Doubtful To Return With Stinger - TPS". www.todayspigskin.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  25. ↑ Toback, Rebecca (2015-11-29). "Hill, Burfict, Eifert among injured Bengals". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  26. ↑ Fitzgerald, Matt. "Updates on Tyler Eifert's Concussion and Return". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  27. ↑ Pfahler, Laurel (2016-01-03). "Eifert's return buoys Cincinnati Bengals passing game". Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  28. ↑ Toback, Rebecca (2016-01-31). "Tyler Eifert injures left foot in Pro Bowl". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  29. ↑ "'Top 100 Players of 2016': No. 44 Tyler Eifert". NFL.com.
  30. ↑ Wesseling, Chris (April 13, 2016). "Bengals exercise Tyler Eifert's fifth-year option". NFL.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  31. ↑ Toback, Rebecca (2016-10-23). "Tyler Eifert expected to make his 2016 debut vs Browns". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  32. ↑ Terrell, Katherine (2016-10-30). "Bengals waste big games from A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert in tie". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  33. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (2016-10-30). "AJ says it all: I feel blah". Retrieved 2016-12-17 – via Cincinnati Bengals.
  34. ↑ Rauf, Brian (2016-11-14). "Giants Hold On For Narrow 21-20 Win Over Bengals". Retrieved 2016-12-17.
  35. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (2016-11-27). "Rejected". Retrieved 2016-12-17 – via Cincinnati Bengals.
  36. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (2016-12-04). "Dalton, Bengals ground Eagles, 32-14". Retrieved 2016-12-17 – via Cincinnati Bengals.
  37. ↑ "Tyler Eifert lays out to haul in 13-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton". 2016-12-04. Retrieved 2016-12-17 – via Cincinnati Bengals.
  38. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (2016-12-11). "Bengals run down Browns, 23-10". Retrieved 2016-12-17 – via Cincinnati Bengals.
  39. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (December 26, 2016). "Eifert, Boling go on IR". Bengals.com.
  40. ↑ "Bengals' Tyler Eifert to have season-ending surgery". NFL. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Bengals place TE Tyler Eifert (back) on injured reserve". NFL.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  42. ↑ Terrell, Katherine (18 November 2017). "Bengals TE Tyler Eifert has procedure done on knee". ESPN.com.
  43. ↑ Patra, Kevin (March 15, 2018). "Tyler Eifert agrees to one-year Bengals contract". NFL.com.
  44. ↑ "Tyler Eifert's season likely over after ugly injury". NFL.com. September 30, 2018.
  45. ↑ Archer, Todd (October 6, 2016). "Zack Martin's wife won't be conflicted on whom to root for Sunday". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.