CINCINNATI -- Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert says he is not worried about the future of his playing career despite having his third back surgery.
Eifert's season is over, but he said he will be allowed to resume normal play once he has recovered from the most-recent procedure, which ESPN's Adam Schefter reported was microdisk surgery. Eifert also had surgery on his back at the end of last season.
"No, I'm not," Eifert said Friday when asked if he was in danger by continuing to play. "Doc said I'll be recovered to 100 percent, so I was happy to hear that."
Eifert, who has long tried to have a sense of humor about his numerous injuries, joked that he would worry about that when he was older.
"The doctors said I'll be fine. I don't know, maybe [I'll worry] when I'm, like, 80," Eifert said. "Whenever my body is falling apart in 40 years, they'll have some kind of fix to make it better. That's what I'm hoping for."
Eifert is in the final season of his contract with the Bengals. A 2013 first-round pick, he was playing on his fifth-year option, which was guaranteed for injury.
But there will be no guarantees as he heads into free agency, which weighed on his mind while deciding to have the surgery.
"Obviously, my contract situation and being hurt a lot, and kind of letting the guys down by being hurt and not being able to be out there, there's nothing I wanted to do more than play and play a full season," he said. "But it's just part of the game."
Eifert said he didn't have a choice about playing through the injury, which appeared to occur in the second game of the season. All of the doctors he consulted were on the same page regarding surgery.
He had two epidurals in his back to try to get through the season without surgery, but it wasn't possible.
"It wasn't even like whether I could play through it or not, just tried to rehab it to the point where I could play. I got to a point where I went and saw Dr. [Robert] Watkins," he said. "It wasn't even really a question, with all the symptoms and everything. I had to get it done."
Eifert has had postseason surgery for two straight years on his ankle and back, so he will have a head start this time.
"Besides my rookie year, coming from the combine and everything, the last time I had an offseason to not rehab and actually get ready for the season was 2015, when I was coming off my elbow and shoulder because it happened so early," he said. "By OTAs, I was 100 percent, [and] 2015 [when he caught 13 touchdown passes] was pretty good.
"As disappointed as I am with having to not finish out the season, I'm pretty optimistic that getting a chance to rehab, get to where I want to be, and then actually prepare for a season, I'm excited for that part."
With several months of rehab in front of him, Eifert said he hasn't been thinking about his pending contract status.
"It's so far away for me right now. I'm just trying to get healthy," Eifert said. "I'll do whatever's best. Just tell me where to play and when."