5 BEST TIGHT ENDS STILL AVAILABLE

BY ADAM GREENE

It’s bargain hunting time this late in the offseason and we have a pretty solid tight end group available here as I write this in early July. Four of the guys listed below can be added to any team today as long as they get a contract and pass a physical.

And one of them is probably maxing out his Tinder swipes on a beach somewhere or dropping a stack of Ben Franklins at the nearest strip club. He’s got a hard life.

Our lot here is not to be jealous of what it must be like to be young, retired, good looking, still in great physical shape by any standard and, most importantly, rich. We can be angry about that any old time. Nope, what we’re doing is looking at the free agent tight end market and picking out the five best available that could be coaxed onto a team.

Here are my hand picked artisanal selections for your perusal.

5. JIMMY GRAHAM, FREE AGENT

Age: 35

2021: 14 catches, 167 yards, three touchdowns

There was a time when Graham was ranked right alongside Rob Gronkowski as one of the best tight ends I the sport. He was so good, in fact, the New Orleans Saints had a real issue in his contract negotiations because he was treated more as a wide receiver than a tight end and he wanted to be paid that. It precipitated his trade to the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. Graham continued to put up decent numbers even as his star waned. Two years ago with the Chicago Bears, he had 50 catches for 456 yards and eight touchdowns. Every team in the league would take that.

Perfect landing spot: New York Giants

Graham would probably rather sign on with a team that has a realistic chance at a ring considering he spent the first decade of his career with the Saints, Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. But signing with the Bears two seasons ago means he’s probably in the “take the offers that come” stage of his career. There’s always the chance he calls it a day and hangs up his cleats too.

Graham didn’t find his way on the field much last season even though he was active for 15 games. If he did want to play on, New York would be a good spot, not only for him to get some solid targets, but for Daniel Jones to have a reliable pass catcher for first downs, dump offs and in the red zone.

4. KYLE RUDOLPH, FREE AGENT

Age: 32

2021: 26 receptions, 257 yards, one touchdown

Rudolph has never been as good as he thought he was, but for a long stretch he was one of the better tight ends in the league. Just not in Rob Gronkowski/Travis Kelce territory.

His best run was with the Minnesota Vikings from 2016-2018 where he’d routinely hit 60 ish catches, 500 plus yards and 4-8 touchdowns. He’s not managed that kind of performance since and, last year with the Giants, he was pretty much a non factor on a team that struggled in every offensive area.

Perfect landing spot: Kansas City Chiefs

Speaking of Kelce, at this point both the Chiefs and Rudolph would be best served by backing up the future first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. No man currently on the depth chart under Kelce has hit even 100 total yards in his career. With the issues Kansas City could have moving the ball with the worst wide receiver group Patrick Mahomes has worked with since Texas A&M, getting extra tight end help should be a priority. Plus, Rudolph might be cheaper for KC considering their title hopes.

3. JARED COOK, FREE AGENT

Age: 35

2021: 48 catches, 564 yards, four touchdowns

Jared Cook has experienced one of the weirder careers in NFL history. No one has produced more raw stats without accomplishing anything real that I can remember. Perhaps no player is more prone to put up dominant numbers in a meaningless game, but is an almost guarantee to drop a key pass (or fumble the ball) in a must win contest.

Considering his sheer production, even at his age, it’s strange to see Cook still on the market. Since 2012, he’s been a legitimate upper level tight end in nearly every statistical category. Of course, his ability to disappear in the big games probably also isn’t a secret.

Perfect landing spot: Carolina Panthers

I’ve got the perfect solution for Cook’s big game problem — play for a team that will not be in any big games. Carolina made the news earlier this week by completing a trade with the Cleveland Browns for Baker Mayfield, but this remains one of the worst rosters in the league. Their tight end group is led by Tommy Tremble, a guy with all of 20 NFL catches. Mayfield is not exactly an elite down the field passer and the less said about Sam Darnold’s long range accuracy the better, so this is a team that needs to play guys that can get open within 10 yards. Cook can do that and, when it matters the least, make the catch. Nothing will matter less than the 2022-23 Carolina Panthers season.

2. ERIC EBRON, FREE AGENT

Age: 29

2021: 12 receptions, 84 yards, one touchdown

Ebron was the No. 10 overall pick for the Detroit Lions in 2014 and while he’s been a good player and above average tight end in the league, he was hardly worth that investment. His best year was Andrew Luck’s last with the Indianapolis Colts (2018) where he caught 66 passes for 750 yards and a ridiculous 13 touchdowns. He’d never caught more than five in a season before that (with Matthew Stafford as his QB) and obviously hasn’t since.

He was supplanted by Pat Freiermuth after getting banged up and never got his job back, finishing the year on injured reserve. When healthy, Ebron has put up solid production on every offense for which he suited up.

Perfect landing spot: New Orleans Saints

The Saints aren’t hurting for guys on their tight end depth chart, it’s just that one of them isn’t a true tight end. Taysom Hill is the most boring multi-tool in the NFL, but as of this writing, he’s No. 2 at TE behind Adam Trautman. Trautman’s first two years in the league barely match the numbers Ebron can put up in a single healthy season. New Orleans is loaded on offense at receiver, but tight end is one spot they could use a serious upgrade. And Ebron would probably love to sign on with a real contender.

1. ROB GRONKOWSKI, RETIRED/FREE AGENT

Age: 33

2021: 55 receptions, 802 yards, six touchdowns

First off, yes, Rob Gronkowski has retired for the second time and in his last go-round in the old folk’s home he lasted all of a single season. I suspect his return had a lot more to do with COVID-19 making the Gronk party cruise and all the other wacky stuff he had planned a lot less fun (or even impossible). But, hey, he got another Super Bowl ring out of it and built on his first ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame resume.

Gronk has earned his ride off into the sunset. For my money, he’s the greatest tight end to ever play the game and that includes guys like Travis Kelce and Tony Gonzalez. But here’s the thing. The second he announced his retirement, everyone joked he couldn’t stay that way, even his buddy Tom Brady. I’m not sure anyone on the planet thinks this will stick except Gronk and even he’s probably already waffling.

Perfect landing spot: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

There’s no question if Gronkowski does decide to lace them back up, he’ll probably only do it to play with Tom Brady for one last time. I’m not sure it can happen before training camp or even before the season starts, but say, December? Like right when he can work his way into the offense for about six weeks before a playoff run? That sounds like a real (and unfortunate for every other NFC team) possibility to me.

There’s always a chance some other team could wave a wad of cash, a Super Bowl and an exciting adventure to lure Gronk back onto the field, but literally the only two that could are the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers would be a gamble as they’ve not proven they can win anything yet. The Rams would make a ton of sense. Who wouldn’t love Hollywood Gronk? The problem there is, there are only so many cap tricks the Rams have up their sleeve and their next fantabulous illusion will be working Odell Beckham Jr. onto the team.

If Gronk is going to play again, it’ll be with the Bucs.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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