Erick All Jr. didn't need a doctor's clearance to know he was back. He needed a moped — or more precisely, a three-wheeled mini-truck — to clip him on a street in Greece this summer. He got up. It didn't hurt. And just like that, after nearly two full years of surgeries, complications, and sideline watching, the Bengals tight end had his answer.
The injury that started it all came during All's 2024 rookie season — a knee that cost him not just that year, but the one that followed, after complications extended the recovery far beyond anyone's original timeline.
It didn't hurt me at all, but it kind of gave me that confidence, like - 'Oh, I'm back,'Erick All Jr., Cincinnati Bengals tight end
The vehicle that struck him wasn't what the internet would call a moped. All clarified: it was a three-wheeled mini-truck. The detail matters less than what happened next — he stood up, shook it off, and felt something he hadn't felt since before his knee gave out. That was the moment. Not the doctor's exam. Not the official training camp clearance. Greece.
How Well Do You Know Erick All Jr.'s Comeback?
Four questions on the Bengals tight end's road back.
In which season did Erick All Jr. first suffer the knee injury that started his extended absence?
- 2022 — his college year — Not quite. All's knee injury happened after he reached the NFL — it was in his 2024 rookie season with the Bengals that the trouble began.
- 2023 — his draft year — Close in timeline, but the injury that cost him nearly two full years struck during his 2024 rookie season — the year he was supposed to arrive.
- 2024 — his rookie season — Correct. The knee injury came in 2024, his rookie season, and complications following that injury pushed the absence to nearly two full years.
- 2025 — his second year — By 2025, All was already working through the long recovery — the original injury came a year earlier, in his 2024 rookie season.
What actually struck Erick All Jr. in Greece this summer — the incident that convinced him he was ready to return?
- A moped — That was everyone's first read — but All clarified. The vehicle was actually a three-wheeled mini-truck, not a standard moped.
- A three-wheeled mini-truck — Exactly right. All specifically corrected the record: it was a three-wheeled mini-truck. He got up unhurt — and felt like a football player again for the first time in nearly two years.
- A bicycle — Not a bicycle — it was a motorized three-wheeled mini-truck. The size of the vehicle made the moment even more significant: he took the hit and felt nothing.
- A scooter — Scooter and moped were the easy guesses, but All set the record straight — it was a three-wheeled mini-truck, which made it feel that much more like a football collision.
Where did Erick All Jr. play high school football before becoming a Bengal?
- Elder High School — Elder is a Cincinnati football powerhouse, but it's not All's alma mater. He graduated from Fairfield High School before his college and professional career.
- Moeller High School — Moeller has produced plenty of NFL players, but Erick All Jr. is not one of them. He's a product of Fairfield High School, right here in the Cincinnati area.
- Fairfield High School — That's right — Fairfield High School. All's roots are local, which makes his Bengals comeback story particularly meaningful to Cincinnati fans who watched him grow up.
- La Salle High School — La Salle is another Greater Cincinnati football name, but Erick All Jr. came up at Fairfield High School before his path to the Bengals.
How did head coach Zac Taylor describe Erick All Jr.'s playing style when talking about his return?
- Said he's the best blocking tight end in the AFC — Taylor didn't frame it that specifically. His description was more visceral — he said the word 'physical' in the dictionary has a picture of Erick All trying to put his face through somebody's soul.
- Said his picture belongs in the dictionary next to the word 'physical' — Exactly — Taylor said: 'The word physical in the dictionary, is a picture of Erick All, trying to put his face through somebody's soul.' High praise from a head coach for a player not yet back on the field.
- Called him the most important player in training camp — Taylor didn't use that framing. What he did say was even more colorful — he connected All's identity directly to physical play, saying his picture belongs next to the word 'physical' in the dictionary.
- Said he plays like he never left the field — That wasn't Taylor's quote. He described All's style in much sharper terms — saying the definition of 'physical' in the dictionary should be a picture of All trying to put his face through somebody's soul.
Head coach Zac Taylor wasn't understating things when he described what All brings to the field. That kind of endorsement — from a coach who has been waiting nearly two years to get a player back — says everything about what All's return means to this Bengals roster.
The Bengals are bringing All back carefully, working him into football activities step by step as training camp builds. After two years of watching from the sideline — and one unexpected moment on a Greek street — Erick All Jr. is exactly where he's supposed to be.
The word physical in the dictionary, is a picture of Erick All, trying to put his face through somebodys soul,Zac Taylor, head coach
For Cincinnati fans who grew up watching Erick All Jr. play at Fairfield High School, this comeback carries a particular weight. He is one of their own — a local product who made it to the NFL and then had to fight to stay there. The moped story will become Bengals lore. But behind it is a genuine two-year battle that tested him in ways that went well beyond the physical.
Training camp is where the work begins — but for Erick All Jr., it already began on a summer street in Greece. He got up. He was ready. Now Cincinnati gets to watch what comes next.