The Jacksonville Jaguars are turning to former Cincinnati Bengals first-round draft pick Tyler Eifert in their latest effort to fix their tight end woes.
The team agreed to terms with Eifert on a two-year deal Tuesday night, a source told ESPN's Dan Graziano. The move makes the oft-injured player the top option for second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew. It also reunites him with current Jags offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, his former OC with the Bengals.
The Jaguars have been struggling to get consistent production out of the tight end for the past decade, and Eifert is the latest free-agent signee to add hope. The team also signed Julius Thomas (2016) and Austin Seferian-Jenkins (2018), but neither made much of an impact.
The current tight ends on the roster have a combined 64 career catches -- including 60 by James O'Shaughnessy, who is coming off a torn ACL. Second-year player Josh Oliver, a third-round pick last season, played in only four games last season because of hamstring and back injuries. He has just three catches for 18 yards.
Eifert set a notable personal feat in 2019 by avoiding injury and appearing in all 16 regular-season games for the Cincinnati Bengals for the first time in his career. He caught 43 of 63 targets for 436 yards and three touchdowns.
It was Eifert's most productive season since 2015, when he made the Pro Bowl.
Injuries have kept Eifert off the field for the majority of his career, limiting him to one game in 2014 (dislocated elbow), eight in 2016 (ankle/back), two in 2017 (back) and four in 2018 (broken ankle).
The 21st pick out of Notre Dame in 2013, Eifert played out his rookie contract with the Bengals and signed a one-year deal worth $3.025 million against the salary cap last offseason.
He has 185 receptions for 2,152 yards and 24 touchdowns in 59 career games.
ESPN's Ben Baby contributed to this report.
