Bengals get great news regarding intriguing rookie pass catcher

The Cincinnati Bengals got some great news regarding an intriguing rookie pass catcher. After passing a physical, first-year tight end Erick All Jr. has been cleared to practice, the team announced. All had been placed on the Active/Non-Football Injury list on July 20 as he continued to work back from the torn ACL that he suffered playing for the University of Iowa last year.

Bengals rookie tight end cleared for practice

The Bengals selected All in the fourth round (115th overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft, and there are some high hopes for him in Cincinnati. All has a solid combination of catching and blocking ability, but he was hampered by injury issues throughout his college career, as he played in just 10 total games over his final two collegiate seasons.

The clearance came earlier than expected for All, who is extremely excited to be able to get out on the field with his new teammates.

“I was eager to get out there,” All said after he was cleared. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve been ready to go, but I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was thinking I would get cleared later down the line, like a month from now or something, but that was just because I’m right at nine months and nine months is usually for a normal ACL, but I did like ACL, plus other stuff too, so I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m happy. I’m excited.”

All missed just a couple of training camp practices, so he won't be nearly as far behind as he might have been had his absence lingered longer.

So, what does All bring to the Bengals? Basically a driven, do-it-all tight end.

“I’m real competitive," All said. "So I’m a guy that’s going to be out there blocking and doing whatever I’m supposed to do, catching the ball, hopefully running great routes and making people miss when I have the ball in my hands and scoring touchdowns.”

All will now join a deep tight end group that also includes Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, fellow rookie Tanner McLachlan and free agent addition Mike Gesicki, who is expected to start. It will be interesting to see how many tight ends the Bengals carry into the season, but there's a good chance that at least one of those players won't make the final roster. For that reason, the position should provide one of the most competitive position battles of training camp for the Bengals.