Erick All Jr. is back from a knee injury and shining in Bengals training camp

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tight end Erick All Jr., who hasn’t played in a game since the 2024 season, has immediately made his presence felt at Cincinnati Bengals training camp.

All, a fourth round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has only played in nine NFL games. After missing nearly two full years with a knee injury, he’s back to full strength and making a strong impression.

“It’s great to have him back,” quarterback Joe Burrow said. “Obviously, he had a lot going on with his knee but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him. He looks fit, fast, explosive. He’ll play a big role for us this year.”

All’s injury history goes back to his college career as he dealt with significant back and knee issues during his time at Michigan and Iowa. The injury history led to him being available in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in 2024, and the Bengals had a vision for how his versatility could help their offense.

That vision immediately came to life that season. He was a standout tone setter as a blocker, created wide running lanes for running back Chase Brown and also made impressive catches in space down the field. All quickly became a starter for the Bengals.

Then on Nov. 3, 2024, All tore his ACL. He suffered a setback in his recovery and ended up missing the entire 2025 season.

Now, he’s back and playing with the Bengals’ first-team offense.

“It feels great,” All said. “I need to calm myself down because I get upset about a lot of things. You’ve got to work back into it. I need to understand that. But it’s a part of who I am. When I mess up, I can’t take it too hard.”

Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki is mostly used as a receiving threat. Tight end Drew Sample is a blocker who hasn’t offered the Bengals a ton as a receiver. There isn’t another player quite like All on the roster.

“Erick is built a certain way physically and mentally,” Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “He’s a (tail) kicker. He’s violent. He loves that. It’s not that we don’t have big, strong and tough guys on this team. There are a lot of them. Erick is up there at the top.”

The Bengals are heavily featuring All in training camp so far with both his blocks in the run game as well as his ability to make plays in the passing game. His teammates can tell how excited he is to make an impact.

“No one wants to play football more than him right now,” Sample said. “He has done a fantastic job. He has been in here for the last year and a half grinding away.”

All is much stronger than he was in 2024. He spent the offseason doing specific weight training designed to improve his power as a blocker. It was the most normal, injury-free offseason he has had since 2021, which gave him extra time to build up his strength.

He worked a lot on pull-down machines in the weight room.

“On offense, when you’re blocking someone, you’re pulling them to you and the defense is trying to extend you away,” All said. “You’ve got to (pull) as strong as possible.”

His work has shown up in a big way.

“He’s a really physical football player,” Gesicki said. “What he does in the run and pass game and the things defenses have to account for when he’s on the field, he’s very versatile. I’m excited to get him rolling. I don’t think he has scratched the surface.”

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