Eifert cleared for OTAs

Bengals TE Tyler Eifert (back) has passed his physical and been activated from the PUP list. He missed some time this spring and the first week of training camp after reportedly tweaking his back. We'll now see if Eifert can put together a healthy August. He's the biggest injury risk at any position this season, according to Sports Injury Predictor. But that's largely baked into his 13th-round ADP. Eifert remains a good bet for top-10 production whenever he's on the field.

Bengals TE Tyler Eifert apparently doesn't think we need to worry about the troublesome back that has landed him on the camp-opening PUP list. "There is no setback," he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I'm feeling good. This is just the route we chose to take." Eifert added that he's "100 percent" certain he'll play in the regular-season opener. This sounds good, but we'll put his chance of starting on time somewhere short of 100%. Still, Eifert's going late enough in fantasy football drafts to be a fine shot worth taking at this point. He'll carry big weekly upside for however many weeks he's available.

Bengals TE Tyler Eifert will begin training camp on the active/PUP list. He's eligible to be removed at any time, but it's not a good start for a guy who's missed 22 games over the past 2 seasons. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Eifert "tweaked" his back in spring workouts. That'd be the same back that's required 2 surgeries, with the most recent coming in October. We'll continue to monitor Eifert's status, but any production he provides to the Bengals and fantasy owners should be considered a bonus at this point.

Bengals HC Marvin Lewis admitted on Wednesday that TE Tyler Eifert is uncertain for the start of training camp. It sounds like he's still recovering from October back surgery. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in February that Eifert had been medically cleared -- and he was on the field for OTAs. But Lewis claims Eifert hasn't endured a setback. “There’s no reason to get him jostled,” Lewis explained. “Just ease his way into things. No setback. We’re trying to make sure we manage everything they want him to do." We'll see what Eifert is able to do when camp opens in late July. He remains 1 of the biggest injury risks in fantasy football.

Bengals TE Tyler Eifert did not participate in Tuesday's minicamp workout. This wouldn't earn a Shark Bite for most guys, but Eifert isn't most guys. He's missed 41 games over 5 NFL seasons and had back surgery in October and surgery to remove a cyst on his knee in November. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in February that Eifert had been medically cleared. It's unclear what's keeping him sidelined now. "As time goes on when we start to play football then we will have an idea of where he is," HC Marvis Lewis said Tuesday. We'll continue to keep a close eye on Eifert. He's lasting until the 11th round of recent best-ball drafts.