The Packers announced that they have placed tight end Andrew Quarless on injured reserve – designated to return. The designation will allow Quarless to return to the club in eight weeks.
Quarless suffered an MCL sprain in Monday night’s game against the Chiefs. Their usage of the IR-DTR spot on Quarless comes as a bit of a surprise, but the Packers view him as an important offensive weapon and they want him back on the field in 2015.
Quarless, 27 on Tuesday, hasn’t made a major offensive impact thus far in 2015. Through three games (really two games and a piece of a third), Quarless has a grand total of two catches off of two targets. In each of the previous two seasons, Quarless has hauled in ~30 catches for 300+ yards.
This offseason, many expected Quarless to compete with Richard Rodgers for the starting tight end job and possibly unseat him. However, it was Rodgers that came out with the No. 1 job after the summer competition. The Penn State alum’s offseason arrest probably didn’t help matters. Quarless reportedly fired a pair of rounds following an argument with two women at a South Beach parking garage in July. When police pursued the vehicle he was riding in, the tight end tried to hide outside a restaurant and conceal his weapon in a potted plant.
Quarless is in the second year of a two-year, $3MM pact. In the four seasons leading up to this year (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).