The Cincinnati Bengals just got some terrible news regarding tight end Erick All Jr., who the team selected in the fourth round (115 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft. All was limited to just nine games as a rookie after tearing his ACL in early November, and now Bengals fans are going to have to wait a lot longer to see him back out on the field again.
Erick All Jr. expected to miss the entirety of the 2025 NFL seson
According to The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr., All is expected to miss the entirety of the 2025 NFL season due to complications from a previous knee surgery in college. As a result, All's path to recovery requires two knee surgeries, instead of just one.
The first surgery already occurred, per Dehner, with the second expected to take place in the coming months. After the second surgery, All is expected to face a traditional recovery time from an ACL surgery. So, if all goes well, he should be good to go for the 2026 season.
All appeared in nine games as a rookie for Cincinnati and tallied 20 receptions for 150 yards. He also proved proficient as a blocker. The team was really excited about what they saw from him before he was knocked out of action with the ACL injury.
“He just gets better, does nothing but work hard and improve and learn from his mistakes and continue to get better every day,” star quarterback Joe Burrow said of All early in the season. “That’s what you want out of a young player. He’s got all the physical tools. He’s big, fast, strong, catches it really well and he’s continuing to understand what we’re trying to do with concept and scheme, so I’m excited about his future.”
At the end of the day, the hope is that All will be able to make a full recovery and contribute to the Bengals in a major way down the road, because he's a very promising player.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how All's injury impacts Cincinnati's offseason plans, as they have three tight ends -- Mike Gesicki, Tanner Hudson and Cam Grandy -- headed for free agency. Perhaps re-signing Gesicki will be even more of a priority for the team now following the update on All, and maybe they'll even look to add a tight end earlier in the draft than they would have otherwise.