Source: Tyler Eifert's rehab 'on schedule'

Bengals TE Tyler Eifert had surgery on his right ankle on May 27 after an injury suffered at the Pro Bowl on Jan. 31 did not recover as hoped.

A little over eight weeks following the surgery and on the eve of training camp, a league source said Eifert’s rehab is on schedule and progressing as planned.

At the time of the procedure, the plan was for him to be ready for the Sept. 11 regular season opener in New York. But, there remains the possibility he could miss games should the rehabilitation process take longer than expected. The story went on to say typically, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis doesn’t allow a player to suit up on Sundays unless he participates in practice in some capacity that week, so a key marker for Eifert and his potential return will be when he is able to jump back into some kind of team drills in later in the preseason. The Bengals will have to begin to answer the question of where Eifert is in his rehab schedule when the calendar flips to September in order to make decisions on the role of second-year tight ends Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah, as well as H-back Ryan Hewitt, and how that affects the offense, the story went on to say.