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It was just a few days ago that the Arizona Cardinals waived undrafted rookie tight end Kyle Auffray, it figured that the team would be looking for another player at the position, if for anything else, for practice purposes. The team has replaced Auffray on the roster, as they placed a waiver claim and were awarded tight end Mickey Shuler, who last was with the Buffalo Bills.
Shuler (6-4, 247) entered the NFL with Minnesota as a seventh-round pick (214th overall) in the 2010 draft out of Penn State and played his rookie season with the Vikings and Dolphins where he had two catches for 44 yards in six games. He joins the Cardinals from the Bills where he was claimed off of waivers on May 14 from the Oakland Raiders. He spent 11 weeks on the Raiders practice squad in 2012 after splitting the 2011 season between Cincinnati, Minnesota and Miami.
He is the son of former NFL tight end Mickey Shuler.
Here is what was said about him coming out of Penn State.
Shuler is the son of ex-NFL TE Mickey Shuler Sr. and has a good understanding of the game thanks to his bloodlines. He is a big, powerful tight end that can overpower defenders to the ball when in a crowd and shows good strength as an in line blocker. He oozes off the line and lacks explosiveness when coming out of his breaks which makes it difficult to separate from defenders. He lacks much in the way of elusiveness when running after the catch. His best chance is as a No. 2 or 3 tight end that is used primarily as a second blocker.
He is big, not fast, not explosive, but he could be a blocking guy. Likely, his fate is to find himself cut before the preseason ends. For now, though, he is being given a shot.
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