The Bengals are excited about their offense this season, and the return of Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert are major reasons why.
Jones missed all of last season due to foot and ankle troubles. Eifert's season lasted just one week before a dislocated elbow landed him on injured reserve. Both players looked healthy during the Bengals' offseason program, a welcome sight for a team exposed by its depth issues last season.
"I'm rolling," Jones said last week at the conclusion of minicamp, according to ESPN.com. "I don't think that's ever going to change. But it feels good just to track those deep balls and go and just -- boom! -- go.
"I'm happy and I'm proud of myself for just pushing through this situation."
Receivers coach James Urban said this spring was a "baptism by fire" for Jones, who proved to coaches he's back to the player who racked up 10 touchdowns as a favorite Andy Dalton red-zone target in 2013.
The news is similarly promising on Eifert, who ran crisp routes this spring and "caught virtually everything thrown his way during open practices," per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey. Eifert -- who underwent shoulder surgery late in the season -- was not a full participant in practice, though that seems to be strictly a precaution at this point.
The Bengals should -- stress should -- be one of the AFC's highest-scoring offenses this season. Jones and Eifert will return to a unit that already includes star wideout A.J. Green and the talented running back duo of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. Everything is there for Dalton to have the biggest season of his career. The quarterback must play his part.
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