The Jacksonville Jaguars made a big addition on defense last week when they came to terms with linebacker Joe Schobert. This week, however, they did it for the offense by adding tight end Tyler Eifert.
Just as he has for all of the Jags’ free agent additions, coach Doug Marrone discussed the Jags’ reasoning behind Eifert’s signing, and as most suspected, it was due to his abilities as a duel threat.
“Tyler is a proven contributor in this league, and we’re excited to add him to our team,” Marrone said, per Jaguars.com. “He has shown the ability to be a playmaker in the passing game, especially in the red zone, while also adding immense value as a blocker in the run game.
“I expect him to make us more efficient and productive on the offensive side of the ball, and after speaking with Tyler, I know he’s eager for this opportunity.”
The Jags entered the 2020 offseason with a clear need at tight end. Their two most notable names at the position, Josh Oliver and James O’Shaughnessy, both ended up on injured reserve in 2019, leaving them with a mix of regular season free agent additions. With both returning, the Jags will at least start the season off significantly better than they were last year but the key will be for them to remain healthy throughout the season.
Eifert will be coming off a tenure with the Bengals in which he had injury issues of his own and only played in 59 games over the course of seven seasons. Needless to say, this will make the contract details of his two year deal very important. However, it’s worth noting that he participated in all of the Bengals’ games last season.
With the Jags looking to build around Gardner Minshew II, Eifert’s addition could pay off in a big way as the young quarterback clearly took a liking to O’Shaughnessy before he tore his ACL in 2019. Without O’Shaughnessy and Oliver, the Jags registered a 40.43% red zone scoring percentage (touchdowns only) by the time 2019 ended. That figure was good for 31st in the league, so one could clearly understand the Jags’ efforts to fix the issue.