Erick All's early return from NFI list creates a positive problem for the Cincinnati Bengals to solve

I've definitely mentioned this several times before, but it bears repeating one last time. The Cincinnati Bengals entered the month of March this year with exactly zero tight ends under contract.

Now as July is about to become August, there are five at the position with legitimate chances of making the team: Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, Tanner McLachlan, and Erick All.

An offense carrying five tight ends on the 53-man roster throughout an entire season isn't particularly common, but it now becomes a possibility with All, this year's fourth-round pick, practicing for the first time this offseason.

All was as surprised as anyone to come off the NFI list

All was officially given the all clear on Sunday hours before the team's Back Together Sunday practice. He was placed on the active/Non-Football Injury list two Saturdays ago for the torn ACL he suffered during his final year of college.

That injury occurred on October 14th last year, making the return time a total of nine months and 14 days. Nine months is pretty standard for most ACL recoveries nowadays, but All himself found it surprising to get the green light so soon.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” All told Bengals Radio Network's Dan Hoard. “I was thinking I was going to get cleared later down the road – like a month from now. I’m happy. I’m excited.”

All's return somewhat mirrors the comeback former Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie made last year. Awuzie suffered a torn ACL on Halloween in 2022 and was cleared to practice on July 25, 2023. He was able to practice throughout training camp, but the coaching staff brought him along slowly leading up to the regular season. It wasn't until late in the year that he began to play like his old self, spending most of the season regaining his regular playing speed.

The days could not be earlier for All in this process as his first official NFL practice was quite literally yesterday, but I'd be lying if I said he didn't look good out the gate.

All's surprise didn't come from a place of feeling unready to go. He's been working for the past several months to get here and fight for his standing in the tight end room. The surprise was simply the Bengals deciding to throw him into the mix so early when they didn't have to.

When All was on the NFI list, he could've been preserved for the next month and into the regular season without eventually counting against the 53-man roster. The team could then activate him after four weeks if the team needed him to compensate for another injury.

This would've been a method for carrying five tight ends on the roster without actually having five count against the 53. Now that All is on the field, he can't go back on the list for the same injury nine months ago.

Likely ramifications of All's return

The impact of this decision is up for time to tell, but the most likely outcomes seem to be pretty clear.

Five tight ends making the initial roster? It's a possibility now. Gesicki, Sample, and All are for sure not going anywhere. That's the starter who's flying under the radar , the veteran who just signed a three-year contract, and the team's fourth-round pick from this year's draft. Lock them into your roster projections.

If the final number is the more standard four, the Tanners are the ones who need to worry. Hudson is on a cheap one-year to be a reserve, and McLachlan's draft status as a sixth-round pick doesn't carry as much weight as All being picked notably earlier.

But can the team justify cutting Hudson? He was their best tight end last year by a country mile, and his per-route production stood up well compared to his peers around the league. That all seems to have been real signs of development as he looks just as good this year.

Hudson is already ahead of McLachlan on the depth chart purely due to experience, but the upside with McLachlan may be too great to expose him to waivers with four years of a cheap rookie contract attached to him. If the Bengals needed to cut one of the two in order to stash another player on IR or the Physically Unable to Perform list at the start of the season, Hudson would make plenty more sense.

Maybe that's how five tight ends can be justified in an offense when only one is on the field for over 75% of the plays. Injuries at other position(s) could afford the chance to go deeper at a position of newfound promise.

This, of course, assumes that all five tight ends remain healthy throughout the course of the next four weeks. Injuries are far too common at the position as players deal with contact as both receivers, blockers, and special teamers. Tight ends really do it all and put their bodies on the line more than most on the field.

But if all five are good to go by the end of August, there's a real chance they all make the team. Going light at potentially running back or offensive line are plausible outcomes as well. Would four running backs or nine lineman make more sense if a more talented tight end released is the alternative?

The more we think we know in July, the less we'll actually know in September. Injury developments like All's can change the outlook on the roster entirely in the blink of an eye.

But for now, the Bengals have an abundance of resources at a position considered an absolute weakness not five months ago. They'd like to keep it that way for as long as feasible.

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