Bengals beat out 49ers and Rams to get back Tyler Eifert

The Cincinnati Bengals have re-signed Tyler Eifert to a one-year deal to remain in Cincinnati.

But, it didn’t come without competition. According to Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson, Eifert was sought after by two California teams in addition to the Bengals.

The Bengals, believed to have edged out the Rams and 49ers in the Eifert Derby, are delighted to get him back despite his injury history that has knocked him out of more than half his 80 NFL games.

It was surprising how little news there was regarding Eifert from the time the legal tampering period began on Monday to the time he was signed on Thursday afternoon. There was not one legitimate report or rumor linking Eifert to a team before his new deal with the Bengals was initially reported by Adam Schefter.

That’s not completely shocking due to his injury history, but backup tight ends with far less impressive resumes were off the market long before Eifert inked his deal.

Some tight ends who signed or agreed to deals before Eifert include Trey Burton with the Bears, Jimmy Graham with the Packers, Cameron Brate with the Buccaneers, Virgil Green with the Broncos, the Raiders signed Derek Carrier and even Austin Seferian-Jenkins was taking visits prior to the news on Eifert. He’s now signing with the Jaguars.

“I knew where I wanted to be,” Eifert told Bengals.com. “It’s a place I called home for five years. I like the guys in the locker room. I love the coaches. The fans have been great. The way I left it, it’s not the way I wanted to leave it. I felt like owed it to Mr. (Mike) Brown, Coach (Marvin) Lewis and the fans to come back and give them a good year.”

It sounds like Eifert is happy to be staying in Cincinnati and we’re thrilled to have him.