It’s been difficult to ignore the undersized wide receiver who’s been a star contributor for the Arizona Cardinals this preseason.
Each and every offseason, the front office of the Arizona Cardinals brings in a multitude of players who have very little chance of making the team.
Every so often, however, one of those individuals will overcome the odds and earn his way onto the club’s roster. Don’t look now, but there’s an unheralded wide receiver who’s doing exactly that with his stellar play for the Redbirds during the current preseason.
Greg Dortch, a veteran of several NFL practice squads, has been quite impressive for the Cards during their first two exhibition matchups. In fact, general manager Steve Keim may have a tough decision to make in a couple of weeks when he puts the finishing touches on the 2021 version of the Cardinals.
During Arizona’s 19-16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys last week, Dortch hauled in the two passes that were thrown in his direction for 27 yards. A spectacular 20-yard reception by the 5-foot-7, 175-pounder with just over three minutes left in regulation helped set up the Cards’ game-tying field goal. The speedy Dortch was also credited with three punt returns for a total of 35 yards versus Dallas, with a nifty 16-yard runback in the opening quarter.
This past Friday, Dortch was productive once again by grabbing all three of the balls that came his way during the Cardinals’ 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. This time around, the 23-year-old led all Arizona pass-catchers in both receptions (3) and receiving yards (44).
Arizona Cardinals wideout has bounced around since entering the NFL in 2019
Dortch played his college ball at Wake Forest University, and then turned professional when he signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent back in 2019. Later that year, the wideout was plucked off of New York’s practice squad by the Carolina Panthers, only to be sent packing by that organization in December.
Four days after his release by the Panthers, Dortch was signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad, before being cut by that franchise in July of 2020. The Virginia native then joined the Atlanta Falcons practice squad the following December, where he stayed until his release from the team this past June.
It’s been almost three weeks now since Dortch was brought to the desert. The progress he has made with the “Air Raid” offense in such a short time has been phenomenal. There’s a decent possibility that the next step for the talented Dortch will be a spot on the Cards’ 53-man roster this coming fall.
(Statistics provided by ESPN’s NFL scores)