C.J. Uzomah has been saying it. Even with Tyler Eifert out for the year with his ankle injury, his opinion won’t be changing.

“I know I’ve said this a lot,” Uzomah said. “I still stand by it. We have the deepest tight end group, I think, in the league.”

The theory will be tested starting this week against Miami.

With Eifert down, the onus turns to Uzomah, Tyler Kroft and 2017 seventh-round pick Mason Schreck to pick up where the three-headed tight end monster left off.

Through four games the Bengals ranked in the top 10 of the league for percentage of passes thrown to tight ends. They ran two and three tight ends out on to the field at a time. As with any injury, the offensive alters based on personnel, but Uzomah feels like this group can pick up the same momentum left on the field in Atlanta.

“Obviously, it’s Ty, he’s a Pro Bowl tight end and a freaking stud, he’s our guy, our rock, our leader and will continue to be our leader,” he said. “But we are way more prepared because we are older and how we have been dividing the snaps throughout the season. I think we’re looking forward to doing our best to fill his shoes and asserting ourselves in this offense.”

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What that will look like could be different without Eifert. For offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, he consistently saw defenses flip to nickel defense whenever Eifert entered the game, treating him as a receiver. Uzomah and Kroft might not elicit the same treatment. All part of a new puzzle the coordinator needs to put together.

“When you lose a great player, a lot is going to change, so we have to figure that out,” Lazor said. “We obviously all feel terrible for Tyler personally, and there is no doubt that having him for these last four games was different than my first two years here where we barely had him … It takes away a big weapon, and we're just going to have to count on everyone else to take on some of that burden. That's the NFL.”

Uzomah actually has logged more offensive snaps than any other tight end through four games, playing 59 percent. That’s a total of 159 offensive snaps, a huge boost from last year when he only totaled 213 through 16 games.

His role will only grow now.

“I’ve said since I came in whatever I can do to help the teams, whether special teams or bigger role on offense. I’m all for trying to help the team. If it’s blocking every play. I don’t care as long as we get the job done. There’s definitely a lot more weight on our shoulders and the room in general. We are going to be looked at a lot more, but I think we are ready for it. I’m pumped to be able to play for our guy. We are going to be playing for him.”

If Uzomah were to touch the end zone Sunday, should we expect an ode to his close friend watching from home?

“I got something for Ty,” he said with a wry smile.

ERICKSON’S ROLE GROWING

With John Ross expected to be out this week with a groin injury it only opens the door wider for all-everything receiver Alex Erickson to keep chipping away at a larger role.

He already saw his responsibilities expand in Atlanta as he earned the most snaps at receiver of any game this year by a wide margin. Then he stepped in as the third running back when Giovani Bernard and Mark Walton were both forced out at one point. Of course, he continued his role as kick returner and flipped field position in the fourth quarter with a long return.

Look for him to see plenty of action against the Dolphins this week after a preseason where he continued to earn the trust of coaches, playing wideout.

For the former undrafted free agent given a contract extension just before the season began, earning the trust of coaches to do more little by little has always been part of his DNA.

“When I got to Wisconsin it was kind of the same thing,” Erickson said. “I just kept going and kept pushing and eventually injuries happened and I was there. The coaches could rely on me, so they put me in and I made enough plays so they had to play me. Be a guy they can count on, be where I’m supposed to be and make the play when he’s there.”

WALTON EARNING TRUST

Joe Mixon is returning this weekend, but Marvin Lewis doesn’t expect to fully unleash him as if he hadn’t missed any time three weeks removed from knee surgery. The coach said there will be some limits due to conditioning taking a hit during the rehab process.

Giovani Bernard will be out with a knee injury of his own, so eyes will turn to fourth-round pick Mark Walton to fill in on more snaps.

After a less than productive preseason in which he gained 21 yards on 22 carries and being inactive the first two weeks of the season, Walton saw opportunities to make plays the last two weeks and enjoyed some success. He pulled out a vicious spin move on a 24-yard reception against the Falcons one week after having an impressive, spinning run nullified by a penalty in Carolina.

“When the first week comes and you are inactive, I don’t know that the young guys really understand how that works,” Marvin Lewis said. “I think that was a little shock to his system. Since he’s gotten an opportunity to suit up and play he’s really taken advantage. So it’s great to see him grow and feel good about things. We have a comfort level with him. That’s why we picked him.”

ROSTER MOVE

The Bengals made the expected roster move Friday to place Tyler Eifert on injured reserve with his broken ankle and officially promote Vontaze Burfict off his roster exemption.

INJURY REPORT

The official list of Bengals injuries for Sunday confirmed Ross and Bernard would not be playing, along with center Billy Price.

Bernard is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with an MCL sprain, first reported by NFL Network.

The good news for the team was nobody else was listed as questionable, including Mixon (knee), Carl Lawson (ankle) and Michael Johnson (knee), who were all limited at times this week.