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The tight end position has been one fraught with disappointment since... well, forever, for the Arizona Cardinals. Finally, two seasons ago, the Cardinals caught lightning in a bottle after signing Jermaine Gresham, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals, to a one-year "prove it" deal. After that, he signed another one-year deal to remain in Arizona with the expectations of bringing home the Lombardi Trophy.
While the team fell short of that goal, Gresham himself actually played quite well for the Cardinals. He is a reliable playmaker catching the ball and possesses talent blocking at the point of attack, which is the most important trait a tight end can have in Bruce Arians' offense.
One thing that Gresham probably needs to work on, whether he is back with the Cardinals or not, is his tendency to rack up penalties against him.
Sportsfacts.org compiled a list for every player in the NFL as to how many penalties they received and Jermaine Gresham topped every tight end on the list. He was called for 9 total penalties last season, ranging from holding calls to false starts and even a couple of taunting flags thrown his way.
He obviously has a tough time against the Seattle Seahawks, as 4 of his 9 total penalties were in games against the division foe, including 2 holding calls, a false start and a taunting penalty.
This amount of penalties shouldn't have much of an effect on him when it comes to contract negotiation time, but it's just something to think about as we begin the offseason.