NFL.com: Arizona Cardinals have weakest TE group in league
Jun 3, 2015, 8:28 AM | Updated: 8:28 am
The Arizona Cardinals don’t use their tight ends as offensive weapons too much.
Last season, under head coach Bruce Arians, Cardinal tight ends combined to catch 50 passes for 588 yards and one touchdown. Arizona was at or near the bottom of the league in all three categories.
In early May, veteran John Carlson decided to retire after just one year in the desert. Carlson led the tight end group last season with 33 catches for 350 yards and a score.
Arizona currently has six tight ends on the roster. Troy Niklas, a second-round pick in 2014, and Darren Fells are the only holdovers. In March, the Cardinals inked Ifeanyi Momah, who was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in training camp last summer, to a free agent deal.
They invested a seventh-round draft pick (the last pick overall) on Louisville’s Gerald Christian. They also have Ted Bolser and Gannon Sinclair among the group.
NFL.com isn’t exactly impressed.
Gregg Rosenthal has offered his opinion on the weakest offensive position groups in the league, and he’s got the Cardinals’ tight ends on his list.
The Cardinals don’t value tight ends in the passing game, which shows on the roster. Last year’s second-round pick Troy Niklas will be counted on to lead the way after John Carlson’s retirement. Darren Fells looks like his backup.
Honorable mention in the category went the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns, who lost Jordan Cameron in free agency and signed former Cardinal Rob Housler in the offseason.
