Arizona Cardinals Camp Preview: Tight Ends

The tight end position is one that has been a pit of emptiness for the Arizona Cardinals for some time.  Every time they seem to invest in a tight end, they end up under performing.  Yet, heading into the fourth season under Bruce Arians, we see this Arizona Cardinals roster stocked with talent at the tight end position.

After starting the season off with Ifeanyi Momah and Darren Fells looking like they'd take the starting roles, Momah was injured and it defaulted back to Troy Niklas while Jermaine Gresham got ready.

By the start of October, it was clear that the tight end rotation was Fells, Gresham and Niklas in that order.

This year, the question is not, who is starting, the question is who makes the roster and how many stay.

Barring injuries, we will see Darren Fells and Jermaine Gresham resume their roles as the starters on the roster, but do the Arizona Cardinals keep three or four tight ends?

The names fighting for the roster spots:

Troy Niklas
Ifeanyi Momah
Gerald Christian
Hakeem Valles

Niklas, the former second round pick, is coming off his best season, but that isn't saying a whole lot.  He still hasn't put it all together and he hasn't been consistently healthy, which we know does not endear players to Arians.

Momah looked like one of those Keim specials before his injury, he has the size, speed, and showed a physicality that wasn't expected.

Christian was a seventh round pick last year, and before the Cardinals had an all of a sudden budding tight end room, he was thought to be the perfect fit at H-Back.  Now, he's an afterthought to fans, but what does another training camp bring?

Valles is an interesting one, I think he ends up getting put on the practice squad, if he passes through waivers, because he has such a killer combination of size and speed, it is just learning the nuances of the position.  Which on a team like the Arizona Cardinals, won't have time for someone who could be good in a year or two.

My guess at the tight end room:

Darren Fells
Jermaine Gresham
Ifeanyi Momah

Practice Squad:
Hakeem Valles