The Arizona Cardinals and tight end Jermaine Gresham agreed on a one-year contract for the 2015 NFL season, but it was a big mistake for the former Cincinnati Bengals’ tight end. He had interest from the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, and was also getting interest from other teams across the NFL. Signing with Arizona was the least attractive option for him from a football standpoint, and he will regret passing up on the Packers.
Simply looking at the quarterback position, signing with the Cardinals was a mistake. Carson Palmer is coming off of a torn ACL and hasn’t been known as being a legitimate franchise quarterback throughout the majority of his career. Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, would have completely changed Gresham’s career and would have made life much easier on him.
Last season with the Bengals, Gresham ended up catching 62 passes for 460 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers would have been much better if Andy Dalton wasn’t throwing the football his way, and it will be a struggle to put up much better production with the Cardinals’ offense.
CINCINNATI, OH – OCTOBER 12: Jermaine Gresham #84 of the Cincinnati Bengals carries the ball during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Paul Brown Stadium on October 12, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
Bruce Arians has never been known as a tight end friendly offensive coach. He can get the football to his tight ends at times, but the Packers and Saints both would have been able to offer more usage to Gresham. Arizona isn’t going to give him a chance to compete for a Super Bowl as well, while the Packers are considered one of the most likely teams to come away from the 2015 season as champions.
Needless to say, this is a head scratching decision for the 27-year-old tight end. He passed up having the chance to turn his career around and be the starting tight end in Green Bay for a much more crowded tight end position and less of a role with the Cardinals. What his decision was based off is unknown at this point, but it is disappointing to see him make this big of a mistake.
Perhaps he will bust out with a huge season and shock the entire league with the Cardinals, but that doesn’t seem very likely.
Gresham is still considered to be one of the more underrated tight ends in the NFL, and he is in need of a big season in 2015 if he wants to earn a bigger contract. Arizona was one of the league’s best teams last season for the majority of the year, but injuries completely ended their season heading into the playoffs. It is possible that Gresham believes they will get back to that level this season, and that he can become a big part of their success.
No matter what ends up happening, this is a very big mistake by Gresham. Choosing to sign with the Cardinals may seem right now, but with the Packers’ depth chart being so thin it will be a mistake when he sees what his role could have been with Rodgers under center. Gresham has quite a bit of talent and plenty of time to unlock all of it, but it will be interesting to see what type of production he is able to put up for the Cardinals this year.
