Andrew Quarless made his first appearance for the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, at least in terms of catching the football. God’s Gifts hauled in his first two receptions of the season and then promptly got injured.
Now he can spend the next 4-6 weeks pretending to be a plant.
Another #Packers injury on offense: TE Andrew Quarless suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee, source said. He's out 4-6 weeks.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 29, 2015
With Quarless sidelined, that likely means a larger role for starter Richard Rodgers. It also means rookie Kennard Backman could start seeing some time on offense.
If the Packers want to make a move, they also have Justin Perillo on the practice squad. Perillo is a better blocker than Backman (and possibly even Rodgers, for that matter) and may actually be of more immediate use to the Packers.
But before we go shaking up the roster, let’s consider a few things.
First, Letroy Guion returns from his suspension this week, so clearing a roster spot for both Guion and Perillo could be problematic. That is, unless the Packers decide to shelve Quarless for the year by putting him on injured reserve.
It isn’t as if he’s setting the world on fire statistically, so that option has to be considered.
Then there’s the matter of that suspension we’ve all been waiting for.
Think back to Fourth of July weekend. Quarless was caught brandishing a handgun during an argument in Miami. The NFL doesn’t typically think too highly of such behavior, but they’ve been dragging their feet on handing out any sort of suspension.
If they handed that to Quarless now, that would make it easy on the Packers. While on suspension, Quarless wouldn’t count against the active roster.
Lastly, the Packers aren’t getting any production from their tight ends anyway. So who really cares?
Rodgers, Quarless and Backman have combined for 10 receptions, 79 yards and one touchdown.
The Packers could probably throw a tackling dummy out there at tight end and it wouldn’t make a difference.