Patriots, Saints reportedly interested in Bengals’ TE Tyler Eifert

The 0-5 Bengals are being picked a part by media for the above-average pieces they do have on their team. Everyone is eyeing A.J. Green, and some have even offered a first-round pick for the seven-time Pro Bowler.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported Sunday that the Bengals may be able to get a first-round pick for Green. But in reality, it’s very hard to see the Bengals seriously considering a deal that would send their franchise receiver out of Cincinnati, let alone make the deal.

Instead, we should be talking about other players on the roster who could be trade bait. In that same report, La Canfora noted that the Patriots and Saints may target former Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert.

“League sources said the Saints and Patriots are among the teams most deeply looking for pass catching help, and both would have interest in oft-injured tight end Tyler Eifert as well, who is making just $1 million this season.”

Seeing as how the Patriots just waived Benjamin Watson on Monday, it’s clear they’re in desperate need of a tight end, so perhaps Eifert could be had for a Day 3 pick or two.

This is an especially interesting development given that Eifert has played in just 11 games over the past three seasons, managing to find snaps in all five this season. In his six completed season, Eifert has played over 10 games in just two.

There are also a few skeptical aspects of a trade for Eifert.

For starters, it’s difficult to gauge his worth. It seems unreasonable to request more than a fourth-round pick for Eifert when many would consider trading Green for a third. The team also re-signed C.J. Uzomah this offseason so they’ll certainly do have an insurance policy on Eifert in store already.

It’s even more odd considering the Saints have a tight end in Jared Cook that they added this offseason. They’ve underused the 6-foot-5 target so bringing in another end zone threat seems pointless. For New England, it would be, in theory, their attempt to replace Rob Gronkowski, a player that ended his last few seasons as primary an end zone target.

It’s almost time for the firesale to start in Cincinnati. The 6-foot-6 Eifert once managed 13 touchdowns in 13 games back in the 2015 season. He can play, but most managers would shy away from the 29-year-old solely for injury history.

There likely won’t be anything come of this report, but it’ll be interesting to follow as A.J. Green may set off a domino effect of trades in the Queen City.