What will be the free agent market for Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert?

Tyler Eifert gets it.

The phrase “when healthy” can apply to the bulk of the players in the National Football League – it’s the nature of the business – but for him, it’s more than just a qualifier. On the eve of free agency, it’s a phrase that will directly affect his life.

“It was pretty frustrating and I was pretty down thinking about my future and what was in front of me and now what the situation is,” Eifert told The Enquirer about the back injury he sustained in week two that eventually led to season-ending surgery.

“I got over that pretty quickly, just going back to the mindset I’ve always had, which is I just can’t control that stuff. I put myself in a good position after the last surgery to be ready to go and then this pops up again. If there’s something I could’ve done different, then I would have regrets. But I’ve just got to let the pieces fall where they may and control what I can.”

The 2013 first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals has spent more than half of his career on the sidelines, missing 41 out of a potential 80 regulars season games due to a string of injuries, from a concussion, several stingers, a severe elbow injury (and a torn labrum repaired at the same time), an ankle surgery and, in the last two seasons, multiple disc repairs in his back and a cleanup in his knee.

Despite all the injuries, surgeries and rehabilitation, Eifert never considered retiring.

“No,” he said quickly. “No. If I didn’t think that I could get back to being a dominant player then yeah, I probably would. But there’s no question I can get back to where I’ve been.”

And as of now, “everything is fixed,” he said.

Cincinnati Bengals' 2018 free agent tracker

Because when healthy it’s hard to find a tight end on the free agent market more dynamic than Eifert, who will be 28 in September.

The 13 games he played in 2015 led to a Pro Bowl berth after catching 52 passes – 13 for touchdowns. In just two starts (eight games) in 2016 he caught five touchdowns on 29 receptions.

Of his 127 receptions, 20 have gone for scores.

“Tyler, when he’s been healthy, has been a difference-making player for us,” Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said. “And so we’ll see what we can come up with. The interest has to be mutual and it’s got to work for him. But he’s a guy that we value. The biggest component of it is he’s got to get on the field and do it. He knows that more than anybody.”

So where does that leave Eifert as he heads to an unrestricted free agency for the first time?

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The Bengals still have interest in re-signing him and they know him and his history best, but he may find the open market to be more lucrative.

After all, when healthy, few are as good. Working out a contract, however, with the Bengals or any team, will be an interesting exercise in balancing his talent, his impact, and his injury history.

“Sure it’s a challenge. It can be done. It’s not insurmountable. But it’s a challenge,” Tobin said. “I think it’ll be a challenge for, my guess, is there will be interest around the league in Tyler Eifert because when he’s on the field he’s a difference-maker. We’ll see as it goes as to what that interest level is and what Tyler’s thoughts are. That will matter as much as anything. But yeah, it’s always an issue when a guy’s had injury issues that kept cropping up.”

Seattle tight end Jimmy Graham had set the market at the position in 2014 when he signed a four-year, $40 million deal with New Orleans.

Graham, now 31, is once again a free agent. So is 37-year-old future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates. Perhaps the most intriguing option around the league is 26-year-old Trey Burton, who is coming off a Super Bowl championship in Philadelphia.

“It’s hard for us to predict who else is going to be a player in (free agency) and what ultimately the contract will look like,” Tobin said. “Those are things we are working through as the offseason goes on.”

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As for the current market, former University of Cincinnati tight end Travis Kelce is the highest-paid tight end annually in the league at $9.36 million. Next is Washington tight end Jordan Reed at $9.35. After New England’s Rob Gronkowski, the fourth-highest paid tight end is Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz at $8.5 million.

Kelce, Reed and Ertz were drafted after Eifert in 2013 but because they were not eligible to play under a fifth-year option in 2017 – they all signed lucrative extensions before last season. All but Ertz have had serious injuries, but all have played in at least 50 games.

Yet Kelce and Ertz have caught 22 touchdowns and Reed 21.

When healthy…

“I’m open for whatever,” Eifert said. “I’m comfortable in Cincinnati. It’s a place that I’ve called home for five years and I’ve really enjoyed my time. It’s somewhere where I would like to stay if that was possible. But all options are on the table for sure. It’s just, I guess, who wants me. I don’t know. I’ve had my injuries and all that, so I don’t know. I don’t know what to expect.”