Arizona Cardinals Tight End John Carlson Showing His Worth

Sep 8, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end John Carlson (89) against the San Diego Chargers at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer called him the best thing the Cards did in the off-season.  Agreed, signing tight end John Carlson was one of the best things the Cards did to improve their offense.

In an offense that hasn’t used the tight end as much as in the past, Carlson was an important addition given the inefficiency of the position over the past couple of seasons.  Some of that was due to injury thanks to guys like Todd Heap and Jeff King and some was due to just poor play.  See Rob Housler for that.

Carlson so far has come in and in the first two games has just three receptions but they were all huge catches at the time.  He caught two passes for 43 yards on Sunday in the 25-14 victory over the New York Giants. He had a huge catch for 20 yards in the opener against the San Diego Chargers.

In a pre-training camp interview with Palmer, he said that he and Carlson got on the same page real quick.  You knew right away the Cards had just upgraded their starting tight end.  What was especially nice was seeing backup quarterback Drew Stanton come in on Sunday and have the same connection.

Many felt Carlson was on the downside of his career after big seasons with the Seattle Seahawks but not so big with the Minnesota Vikings.  Carlson has great hands and can block, both traits a Bruce Arians offense needs to have at tight end.  The tight end position is fun to watch again.