Arizona Cardinals TE John Carlson Retires

A surprise announcement from the Arizona Cardinals tight end on Tuesday

Wow. Talk about something in the I didn’t see this coming file, Arizona Cardinals tight end John Carlson has announced his retirement from the NFL. Carlson played one season with the Cardinals.

Carlson had 33 receptions for 350 yards and one touchdown in 2014. He was signed in the 2014 offseason as a free agent after spending two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

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Carlson played 12 games for the Cardinals last season. He was expected to be a huge part of the offense here in Arizona but his contributions fell short of what many thought he’d do. A lot of that had to do though with the injury situations at quarterback. However there are also reports that Carlson may have suffered as many as five concussions in the past.

Multiple reports over the years have Carlson suffering 5 concussions -- three in NFL and two in college.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) May 5, 2015

Last summer prior to that start of training camp quarterback Carson Palmer stated that he was excited to have Carlson here. He said Carlson was the most exciting addition to the offense in 2014. Unfortunately their on-the-field relationship only lasted for six games.

His high-reception game last season for the Cardinals was against the Washington Redskins with four receptions. His yardage-high was 43 yards against the New York Giants and he caught his lone touchdown pass in the 28-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins and the Cowboys games were two of the six games in which Palmer started.

Carlson, from Notre Dame, started his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He spent three seasons with them from 2008-2010. He did not play in 2011. He leaves the NFL with 210 receptions for 2,256 and 15 touchdowns. He was a great first-down receiver. Off his 210 receptions, 115 of them were for first downs.

The void left by Carlson now leaves the Cardinals with five tight ends on the 90-man roster, including 7th-round draft pick Gerald Christian. The ‘veteran’ tight ends are now Darren Fells and Troy Niklas. Both are going into their second years with the Cardinals.

What does this mean for the Cardinals at tight end going forward? It is too early to say for sure but now I would look for the Cardinals to secure a veteran tight end to bring in. I don’t know if this announcement took the Cardinals by surprise or not but it sure did for me. I think it would have been nice of Carlson to make this announcement prior to the draft. However, good luck to him. He will be missed!

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