Shortly after word of his arrest broke back on July the Fourth, Andrew Quarless was thought by many Packer fanatics to be a man who was going to be looking for a job in just a short period of time. He simply hasn't performed at a high level for the Green Bay Packers despite being given several different opportunities to shine.
But, despite those rumors, Ted Thompson and company have decided to hang onto the former Penn State Nittany Lion. The reasons behind this seem to be puzzling at best to this writer. Andrew Quarless did catch the game winner against the Miami Dolphins last season, and he is a quality blocker either next to the offensive line or out of the backfield in the inverted wishbone, but neither of those two seem to justify the actions of keeping him.
The reasons to keeping him must be based off of a combination of what he was able to tell the Packers organization regarding the incident, and the fact that the Packers depth chart at tight end is not filled with a lot of developed talent. The Packers simply don't have anyone who has played much after Quarless and Richard Rodgers, partially due to cutting Brandon Bostick this past off-season, who famously botched the onside kick recovery against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.
Mike McCarthy simply has his work up his sleeve finding ways for Quarless to be more effective in 2015. Possibly he is working on more two tight-end sets, possibly looking for giving Quarless more opportunities against linebackers on the outside in 5 wide sets, but he definitely will have Quarless in his arsenal of weapons during the 2015 season. That is something that will make the Green Bay coach quite pleased.
Who knows Packer fans, maybe this will be the year that Quarless takes full advantage of his opportunity, realizing he has been given another chance to play for a great organization, and that they kept him despite his off the field issues.