Veteran Free Agent Fits – Jermaine Gresham
Former first round pick Jermaine Gresham is battling back issues this offseason, but that isn’t preventing him from looking for a home. He underwent surgery in March for a herniated disk in his back, which held teams back from signing the 26 year-old. Gresham caught 62 passes for 460 yards and five touchdowns last season for the Bengals. He has remained healthy until this point of his career, despite an ACL injury in college. His combination of size, soft hands and speed make him a prime receiving option that any quarterback would love to have.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders showed interest in Gresham early in free agency, despite having Mychal Rivera. The team did draft Clive Walford out of Miami, who is expected to share much of the work load with Rivera. Gresham’s reliability could be a large stepping stone for a young quarterback such as Derek Carr. While most don’t expect this move to happen anymore, never count the Raiders out.
Cleveland Browns
With a team lacking strong wide receiver talent, loosing Jordan Cameron was a huge blow. His replacements? One sixth round pick, two UDFA and three no-name free agents. Sounds like a bad Christmas song if you ask me. Rob Housler is an injury waiting to happen; he’s missed nine games over the past couple seasons with injuries to his hip, ankle, and groin muscle. Gresham is reliable and can help Johnny Football develop and stay on his feet.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers have a limited number of options at tight end. Former Penn State receiver Andrew Quarless is their number one option, but he didn’t produce as well as they hoped. Their other options aren’t that flashy either. Working with an accurate quarterback like Rodgers for a season can help Gresham build-up his numbers and get a long-term deal elsewhere.
New Orleans Saints
Dec 22, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) makes a catch during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
After trading Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks, the Saints need to find their current options help. The team brought in Gresham for a work out last week, according to NBC Sports, but the team does not yet have plans to sign him. They signed Ben Watson, but the 34 year-old has a concussion history and is aging fast. While they may try to figure out what they have in rookies Josh Hill and Jack Tabb, bringing in a proven guy like Gresham could be a solid pick up.