Chicago Bears: Risky free agents that could pay off
By Ryan Heckman
Tight End Tyler Eifert
A couple of years ago, Tyler Eifert was ready to set the NFL on fire. Coming off of a brilliant 2015 season in which he caught 52 passes for 615 yards and a whopping 13 touchdowns, Eifert emerged as one of the top red zone targets in all of football and a favorite target of quarterback Andy Dalton.
Everything had fallen into place for the former Notre Dame product. He broke out just like many thought he would. Then, in 2016, the string of bad luck began. Due to injury, Eifert only appeared in eight games that season.
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In 2017, he only saw action in two games. Then, last year, he appeared in just four. Much of his injury history has to do with nagging back issues, which is always scary.
When healthy, though, Eifert is an incredible red zone threat. It is likely that he won’t cost much this offseason, as teams will be scared to commit any significant amount of money to an oft-injured guy like him.
Sure, the Bears have Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen, but if Eifert is your third option, it’s a low-risk situation. A risk, yes. But, he’s a small on if he comes cheap.