The Packers don’t plan to release tight end Andrew Quarless despite his weekend arrest, sources tell Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Quarless is in the second year of a two-year, $3MM contract and is expected to compete for the starting job with second-year tight end Richard Rodgers.
Quarless reportedly fired a pair of rounds following an argument with two women at a South Beach parking garage. When police pursued the vehicle he was riding in, the 26-year-old tried to hide outside a restaurant and conceal his weapon in a potted plant. The gun, a source tells Demovsky, was legally registered to Quarless.
The league’s new Personal Conduct Policy could result in paid leave (“pending the resolution of these charges and the imposition of league discipline”) and a subsequent unpaid suspension for Quarless, but the Packers apparently won’t bail on him. The Penn State alum was drafted by the Packers in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. In four seasons (he missed the 2012 season with a knee injury), Quarless has compiled 85 receptions for 909 yards few six touchdowns. In 2014, he set career highs in yards (323), touchdowns (three), and first downs (20).
The Packers haven’t had the easiest offseason, with Datone Jones getting a one-game suspension and Letroy Guion potentially facing discipline for an arrest earlier this year.
Definitely a situation worth watching for fantasy players. I anticipate Nelson, Cobb, and Adams seeing a majority of the targets in Green Bay, but with Rodgers at QB, there’s usually plenty to go around. if Quarless is suspended or on the exempt list, or if the Packers eventually decide to cut him, Richard Rodgers could be an interesting sleeper in deeper leagues.