Jim Owczarski

jowczarski@enquirer.com

When Tyler Eifert left the Pro Bowl in a walking boot following an injury to his left ankle on Jan. 31, the initial diagnosis and estimates for his recovery were promising.

But in the nearly four months since, the ankle has not responded as quickly as all of the parties would have liked, and The Enquirer has learned from multiple league sources that the 25-year-old tight end will undergo what was deemed a "minimal procedure" on that ankle soon.

A three-month recovery is anticipated, which puts Eifert’s return to the field sometime in August. The Bengals are expected to open training camp the last week of July and they begin the regular season on the road in New York to face the Jets on Sept. 11.

Eifert played in 13 games last season – his first as the primary target out of the tight end position – and responded with a career year. He finished with 52 catches for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns, emerging as one of the league's best at his position.

The Bengals exercised Eifert's fifth-year option on April 13.

Since being selected No. 21 overall out of the University of Notre Dame in 2013, Eifert has endured a variety of injuries prior to January's misstep in the Pro Bowl:

2013: Missed the regular season finale with a stinger. He returned for the playoff game against San Diego but played only three snaps.

2014: Suffered a preseason shoulder injury and had his season ended in week 1 with an elbow dislocation after eight plays. Both required surgery to repair.

2015: Suffered a stinger in week 11 against St. Louis while recovering a fumble, which forced him out of action the following week in Cleveland. He returned to face Pittsburgh in week 13 but suffered a concussion, which forced him out of action for two weeks. He returned for the season finale against Baltimore and the playoffs.

The Bengals selected tight ends Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah in the 2015 draft and Kroft played in all 16 games as a rookie, starting six. He was targeted just 15 times, per pro-football-reference.com, catching 11 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. According to FootballOutsiders.com, Kroft played in 347 offensive snaps.

Uzomah appeared in five games and only received one target. He filled in for an injured Ryan Hewitt as an H-Back in Denver in week 15. FootballOutsiders.com calculated that Uzomah played just 48 offensive snaps.

Hewitt was at practice on Tuesday but did not participate due to a non-football related procedure. He is expected to be back on the field in the near future.

Which TD was Tyler Eifert's favorite this year?