The New Orleans Saints missed out on an opportunity to upgrade when free agent tight end Tyler Eifert agreed to return to the Cincinnati Bengals. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported the re-signing, and Dan Graziano of ESPN confirmed it.. The Saints badly need capable tight ends, with backup Josh Hill providing the only point of confidence there on the depth chart. Last year’s starter, Ben Watson, retired after the season and neither of the Saints’ young prospects (Dan Arnold and Garrett Griffin) really stood out.
Eifert has played as well as any of the league’s elite tight ends when healthy, but a string of unlucky — and largely unrelated — injuries have kept him off the field far too often. That streak of poor health likely muted any interest from other teams in Eifert as a free agent, hence his return to Cincinnati.
As for the Saints, their only reported interest among the crop of free agent tight ends has surrounded Jared Cook, the consensus top option. Cook caught 122 passes for 1,584 yards and scored eight touchdowns over the last two years for the Oakland Raiders. It was reported on March 13 that the Saints agreed to host Cook on a free agent visit, but it’s been radio silence ever since.
