Arizona Cardinals: Jermaine Gresham Re-Signing Aids Running Game
By Tyler Olson
The Arizona Cardinals are bringing back Jermaine Gresham, a move that fills a need and ultimately helps the offense.
Coming into the offseason for the Arizona Cardinals, tight end was likely circled as one of their biggest needs. With the top of their depth chart from 2016 set to hit free agency (Jermaine Gresham unrestricted, David Fells restricted), it was a hole they needed to fill. Soon after the start of the legal tampering period on Tuesday, though, they made a move to do so.
Gresham will be returning to the Cardinals on a four-year deal as they agreed to re-sign the veteran tight end.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news on Twitter, which was later confirmed by the Cardinals:
Cardinals and TE Jermaine Gresham have reached agreement on a four-year deal, per sources. One TE off the market.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 7, 2017
Gresham spent his first five seasons in Cincinnati after being drafted 21st overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. After the Bengals drafted Tyler Eifert 21st overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, he could see the writing on the wall that Eifert would be the future there.
Gresham took the opportunity to join Arizona in 2015, but was rather ineffective as far as the passing game is concerned. Last season, he returned on a one-year deal and improved his numbers across the board.
After Tuesday’s news, Gresham continues to fill a need in the desert. While not dynamic in the passing game, he’s been a consistent force in the running game. In 2015, Pro Football Focus rated him as the thirrd-best run-blocking tight end in the league. However, he was rated the 59th best tight end overall in the league out of 63 in 2016.
Cardinals sign TE Jermaine Gresham to a four-year extension. He ranked 59th out of 63 tight ends in 2016.https://t.co/IjRt0OFXIM pic.twitter.com/uzLMFrQSKC
— PFF (@PFF) March 7, 2017
General manager Steve Keim knows Gresham’s value. He’ll need to find a more consistent weapon at the position for the passing game, but he still holds a small value there.
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Kiem and head coach Bruce Arians will have options come draft time. There are many intriguing prospects available such as Evan Engram, Adam Shaheen and George Kittle. For now, bringing back a veteran presence is a smart move at tight end by the Cardinals—and probably puts the writing on the wall for Fells.