Green Bay Packers: Odds of remaining free agents returning
By Kenn Korb
Andrew Quarless
One of the main needs for Green Bay that people talked up all offseason was to bring in a new weapon at the tight end position.
Richard Rodgers had the play of the year on that Hail Mary toss to beat Detroit and proved to be a decent contributor in the red zone and short-yardage situations, but he just proved too often to not have the dynamic ability to consistently make the plays across the middle fans and teams clamor for.
Behind him, there was just about nothing, and that includes what was added by Quarless.
That wasn’t exactly his fault necessarily though; he was injured for the vast majority of 2015, and barely got to play. We have had more than enough time over the years to see what he is capable of doing though, and it isn’t really all that much.
He’s been on the team since 2010, and missed 36 games in that time (only twice has he been active for all 16 games). When healthy, he capped out with 32 catches (2013), 323 yards (2012), and 3 TDs (2013), and this was in seasons where he was on the field for at least 60% of the team’s offensive snaps. At his best, he was no better than a #2 option on a team that could really use a bigger chunk of production from that spot.
Even without adding a tight end through the draft, the team has done a decent job in adding options who may be able to do better. This offseason saw Ted Thompson do what we all never expect him to do nowadays and use free agency to add Jared Cook. Last year’s draft saw the team take a late-round flier on Kennard Backman. The team also has had undrafted players such as Mitchell Henry and Justin Perillo who either can be or have been used in certain instances and done alright.
If either Cook jumps up to his perceived potential or Backman takes a positive step forward — each of which is possible — then the need for someone like Quarless is eradicated. Even if those players don’t manage to do so, they seem likely to at least be given every opportunity to do so.
Because of that, Quarless seems to not have a case for returning.
Odds of return: 0%
Next: Sean Richardson