The Cincinnati Bengals losing Tyler Eifert in free agency to the Jacksonville Jaguars wasn’t exactly shocking.
Eifert finally stayed on the field for all 16 games in 2019 but didn’t play in even half of the offense’s snaps.
Part of that falls to protecting Eifert, though most of it centers on how new head coach Zac Taylor deployed his weapons, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic:
“The problem is the Bengals ran 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) most of the time. Coaches really liked what C.J. Uzomah brought and think the arrow is pointing up on Drew Sample after his rookie season was chopped in half by injury.”
C.J. Uzomah has been a fun, proven target for the Bengals going on the better part of two seasons.
But the real revelation with the seemingly inevitable loss of Eifert is the pressure placed on Drew Sample.
Sample was an ill-received pick (publicly) by the new coaching staff in the second round last year. After spending most of his career blocking and not catching passes, he got in nine games as a rookie and caught just five passes before going on injured reserve in early December.
On paper, throwing more at Sample sounds good given how the Bengals want to use him. But the lack of proven production in the passing game is as concerning as it was when he was drafted.
The Bengals were never going to pay Eifert $15.5 million over two years. But barring something else, it’s now a learn-on-the-fly scenario for Sample and the team as a rookie quarterback gets under center.
